History
In 1911, Charles Gates, Sr. purchased Colorado Tire and Leather Company in Denver, Colorado for $3,500. Four years later he began construction of the first new manufacturing site on the current site.
By 1919 the company changed its name to Gates Rubber Company and was the largest employer in Denver by the mid-1950s employing over 6,000 employees at the height of operations.
To accommodate the expanding business, Gates began purchasing land adjacent to Denver’s Consolidated Main Line railroad tracks and the Central Platte River at the site of what today is the intersection of I-25 and South Broadway.
In 1961, the company completed its final manufacturing facility and completed their final office building for their worldwide headquarters in 1984. When manufacturing operations ceased in 1991, the company had 80 total acres, located less than three miles from the heart of downtown Denver.
Thirty (30) acres were primarily office, parking and warehouse space and included more than 315,000 square feet of office space while the remaining 50 acres was dedicated to manufacturing and manufacturing support and included over 1.1m square feet of factory space.
Demolition of the remaining buildings started at the end of 2013 and was completed by the end of the summer in 2014.
By 1919 the company changed its name to Gates Rubber Company and was the largest employer in Denver by the mid-1950s employing over 6,000 employees at the height of operations.
To accommodate the expanding business, Gates began purchasing land adjacent to Denver’s Consolidated Main Line railroad tracks and the Central Platte River at the site of what today is the intersection of I-25 and South Broadway.
In 1961, the company completed its final manufacturing facility and completed their final office building for their worldwide headquarters in 1984. When manufacturing operations ceased in 1991, the company had 80 total acres, located less than three miles from the heart of downtown Denver.
Thirty (30) acres were primarily office, parking and warehouse space and included more than 315,000 square feet of office space while the remaining 50 acres was dedicated to manufacturing and manufacturing support and included over 1.1m square feet of factory space.
Demolition of the remaining buildings started at the end of 2013 and was completed by the end of the summer in 2014.
