Gaslights and gingerbread: Colorado's historic homes

by Sandra Dallas

Few books can show so vividly the tenor of social change, for the pictures give an intimate account of how living and styles changed in three generations of families in Denver, Colorado. The authors indicate how the difference in economy and the problems of securing household help had their influences upon the changes. More than 200 photos highlight this book.

200 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1965

About the author

Award-winning author SANDRA DALLAS was dubbed “a quintessential American voice” by Jane Smiley, in Vogue Magazine. Sandra’s novels with their themes of loyalty, friendship, and human dignity have been translated into a dozen foreign languages and have been optioned for films.

A journalism graduate of the University of Denver, Sandra began her writing career as a reporter with Business Week. A staff member for twenty-five years (and the magazine’s first female bureau chief,) she covered the Rocky Mountain region, writing about everything from penny-stock scandals to hard-rock mining, western energy development to contemporary polygamy. Many of her experiences have been incorporated into her novels.

While a reporter, she began writing the first of ten nonfiction books. They include Sacred Paint, which won the National Cowboy Hall of Fame Western Heritage Wrangler Award, and The Quilt That Walked to Golden, recipient of the Independent Publishers Assn. Benjamin Franklin Award.

Turning to fiction in 1990, Sandra has published eight novels, including Prayers For Sale. Sandra is the recipient of the Women Writing the West Willa Award for New Mercies, and two-time winner of the Western Writers of America Spur Award, for The Chili Queen and Tallgrass. In addition, she was a finalist for the Colorado Book Award, the Mountain and Plains Booksellers Assn. Award, and a four-time finalist for the Women Writing the West Willa Award.

The mother of two daughters—Dana is an attorney in New Orleans and Povy is a photographer in Golden, Colorado—Sandra lives in Denver with her husband, Bob.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/sandra...

Reviews

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you enjoy Colorado history, especially the grand old houses and the people who built and lived in them, this is the book for you.
Thirty five houses and their stories are featured in this book. There is a pictue of almost every house and many of the chapters include pictures of special features of the homes. These houses were built across the state during the early times of Colorado.
Sandra Dallas wrote this book and if you have read her stories, many of them include old houses.
In her book, "Bride's House", Sandra tells that she purchased a house in Georgetown, Colorado. At the time she purchased the house, the idea for the book was born. It took her 3 years to remodel the house and the same amount of time to write the book.
This book was written in 1965. I wonder how many are stil standing. We are fortunate that their stories are preserved in this book.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An awesome book of the early houses of the west. This book is a look at the elegance of the victorian era houses in Colorado. The book is very detailed accounts of some real gems, some standing, some lost to "progress".