The New Deal program that built Boulder’s mountain roads — and rebuilt lives

In the late 1920s, the area along Boulder Creek between 9th and 11th streets was called the “jungle section” of Boulder and was referred to by newspaper reporters as “tramp quarters” and a “disgrace to the city.” Homelessness in Boulder is nothing new, but a solution was on the horizon. In Franklin D. Roosevelt’s inaugural address on March 4, 1933, the incoming U.S. president told the American people, “Our greatest task is to put people to work.” And soon, he did.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was part of Roosevelt’s New Deal. Beginning in 1933, and continuing for several years during the 1930s, the federal government provided jobs all over the country to men ages 17 to 23. They lived under supervision during the week but were free to leave on weekends.

These men worked on public works projects that we still enjoy today. In Colorado, some of the best-known ones were Rocky Mountain National Park, Mesa Verde National Park and Red Rocks Amphitheatre near Morrison.

In Boulder, the CCC crews built Legion Park (west of 75th Street off Arapahoe Road), the Sunrise Amphitheater near the summit of Flagstaff Mountain, and widened and improved Flagstaff Mountain Road. After the road’s upgrade, the public was so enthusiastic about driving on the east side of Flagstaff that the “scenic drive” was extended down the mountain’s west side to Boulder Canyon. Named Chapman Drive, the new road honored then-Assistant Secretary of the Interior Oscar L. Chapman.

To house the Boulder workers, the CCC provided two sets of Army-style barracks. One was south of Baseline and 6th Street, just west of Chautauqua Park. The other was north of Boulder Creek at 6th Street, only a few blocks from the city’s former “jungle section” and on the site of today’s Boulder County Justice Center.

Instead of living on the streets or off their families, many men — for the first time — had jobs that gave them meaning and purpose.

One of those men was the late Elmer Roehrs. I was fortunate to have met him in 2004 when the then-Virginia resident was visiting his sister in Boulder. He told me that times were tough during the Depression on his family’s sugar beet farm near Fort Morgan, on the eastern plains of Colorado. In 1936, at age 18, he joined the CCC and moved into the barracks on Baseline Road.

By the time Roehrs arrived in Boulder, the amphitheater had been completed, but there still was plenty to do. Roehrs was part of the group assigned to Flagstaff Road. Since he joined near the end of the CCC’s work in Boulder, one of his last jobs was to help dismantle the Baseline Road barracks. The land is now part of Boulder’s Open Space and Mountain Parks.

“My family was very thankful that the program existed,” Roehrs said. The men were paid $30 per month, equivalent to about $700 today. Room and board, as well as medical care, were included.

Each month, the men were allowed to keep $8 (equivalent to $186 today) for incidentals that included movies and candy. The remaining money was sent home to their families. Roehrs said his parents set aside $11 per month for him in a savings account. After working for two years, he had enough money to buy a used car.

Besides giving Roehrs a job when he needed it most, he enjoyed the friendships he made with other workers throughout the years. He added that the CCC lifestyle helped him adjust to Army life in World War II.

When I asked Roehrs why the federal government hasn’t created similar jobs in recent times, he replied, “I was wondering that myself. I’ve never been sorry I went.”