Boulder County Courthouse National Historic Landmark Nomination
Warzel E and Unger A. 2024. Boulder County Courthouse National Historic Landmark Nomination. National Historic Landmark Nominations. AD80000878_NHL. National Park Service. Washington, DC
This document is the National Historic Landmark (NHL) nomination for the Boulder County Courthouse in Boulder, Boulder County, Colorado. The NHL nomination for the Boulder County Courthouse documents its national significance under NHL Criterion 1 for its significant association with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights and the early national struggle for same-sex marriage equality. Though isolated instances of marriage licenses issued to same-sex couples occurred elsewhere in the country at earlier dates, the series of those issued in Boulder in 1975 were the result of a deliberate decision by County Clerk Clela Rorex to apply the state marriage law without discrimination, acting on the advice of Assistant District Attorney William C. Wise that such licenses were not prohibited by law. Due to its exceptional significance under Criterion 1, the Boulder County Courthouse meets the burden of National Historic Landmark Exception 8 for properties that have achieved national significance less than fifty years ago.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Warzel, Erika; Unger, Amy
- Date of Issue
- 2024-12-13
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Keywords
- Boulder, civil rights, Clela Rorex, Colorado, LGBTQ+, National Historic Landmark, same-sex marriage equality