View of the Humpty Dumpty Barrel Restaurant at 2776 North Speer Boulevard Denver, Colorado, 1933. Patrons placed their orders in the window. This was the home of the original cheeseburger. Louis Ballast, owner and creator of the cheeseburger.
This photograph is a digital scan of an original photograph lent for copying during the Italians of Colorado project. The original photograph is not owned by History Colorado. The digital scan was donated with permissions (see permissions in Registrar's file) and accessioned into the History Colorado collection.
Project description:
In 2002, the Colorado Historical Society (now known as History Colorado) founded the Colorado Italian American Preservation Association (CIAPA). A volunteer organization, CIAPA’s mission is to work collaboratively with the Society and other organizations to develop, support and coordinate projects that preserve, promote and celebrate Italian American culture and heritage. Since 2002, CIAPA has carried out its mission by meeting with people from the Colorado Italian American community, recording their stories and creating an archive of research materials that includes oral histories, photographs, moving images, sound recordings and artifacts. To date, CIAPA has helped the Society acquire over 200 oral histories, 600 artifacts and nearly 6,000 photographs. Since 2002, CIAPA has developed over 4,000 research files, all of which document the history, culture and traditions of Italian American families in Colorado.
Notes:
See MSS.02595 Humpty Dumpty (donor David Ballast) and Tom Noel files for additional information and images.
The Humpty Dumpty Drive-In opened in the 1920s as Colorado's first fast food drive-in restaurant, located on Speer Boulevard just a few blocks from North High School. Denverites often referred to as "The Barrel" because, well, it had a big barrel outside.
One owner, Louis Ballast, experimented with different ways he could serve hamburgers to his customers. Tossing a slice of cheese wasn't the only innovation he tried, he also experimented with peanut butter and melted Hershey's bars on top of his burgers.
Ultimately, the trademark failed because the process was never completed. In 1987 a local dairy association put a granite monument to commemorate the site. The family also claims that they were the first drive-in and the first to serve deep-fried chicken sandwiches.--from History Colorado, March 5, 2019