Golda Meir House Museum

Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement. —Golda Meir

Golda Meir House

Golda Meir was the Prime Minister of Israel from 1969–1974. She was Israel's first female prime minister and the third female prime minister in the world. Meir was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 1985. She was one of the Twentieth Century's most influential women, a powerful international leader and diplomat who enormously impacted the course of history.

Golda Meir was born Goldie Mabovitch in Kiev, Russia, on May 3, 1898. In 1906, Golda and her family fled to the United States to escape religious persecution along with thousands of other Russian Jews. The family settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Meir was a brilliant student who showed her humanitarian instincts by age 11 when she organized an elaborate fundraising effort to collect money so that poor children could buy school books. As a teenager she decided she wanted to go on to high school and become a teacher, however her parents had already chosen a husband. Married women were not allowed to teach in Milwaukee at that time. In 1913, she ran away from home to pursue her education in Denver, Colorado.

She moved in with her sister Shayna, niece Judith, and brother-in-law Sam Korngold in their modest brick duplex at 1606-1608 Julian Street in Denver. It was less than a mile from the present Auraria Campus. Meir attended North High School for nearly two years. During that time she worked part-time as a presser for her brother-in-law at Korngold's Cleaning and Pressing Works, near the Brown Palace Hotel.

The Korngold house was considered a social and intellectual haven by many Jewish immigrants from Russia. Most of them had traveled out West for treatment at Denver's famous Jewish Hospital for Consumptives (Jewish Consumptive Relief Society and National Jewish Hospital). They were either ill or had recently recovered from tuberculosis. Meir would discuss politics and serve them tea at the house. It was here she met her future husband Morris Meyerson and began to develop her political philosophy. She also became deeply involved with Zionism and eventually decided to emigrate to Israel.

The importance of Meir's Denver experience is documented in her 1975 autobiography My Life, where she states,
"It was in Denver that my real education began..."

Future Israeli prime minister Golda Meir (center)
stands with her sister and brother-in-law, Shana
and Sam Korngold, and their daughter, Judith.
The formal portrait was taken in Denver, Colorado.
Source: Beck Archives Photograph Collection

Golda Meir House Museum

The Golda Meir House Museum on the Auraria Campus is her only known U.S. residence, a standing tribute to her commitment to freedom, peace, and human dignity. The museum celebrates a theme inspired by Golda's life – the story of a woman who came from a low-income, ethnic environment but whose perseverance, ideals and dedication changed the world. The house was relocated to the Auraria Campus from its original location in northwest Denver. Today, the 1606-side of the duplex serves as the Golda Meir House Museum. The adjoining side of the duplex currently serves as a conference room that can be reserved through Auraria Campus Event Services (ACES).

The living room and bedroom are exhibit spaces, and the bathroom and kitchen are consistent with how they would have looked when Meir lived there. Original artifacts on display include:

• A mezuzah or parchment inscribed with religious texts typically attached in a case to the doorpost of a Jewish home as a sign of faith
• A bank statement from Sam Korngold's business
• A pushke or little container used to save money to be donated to charity
• A health department notice framed in the bathroom was found on the 1608 side of the house, imploring residents to "bury your dead chickens and stop throwing them in the alley"
• Original bath tub
• A square oak kitchen table manufactured locally by the Denver Furniture and Carpet Company
• A feather duster handmade in Colorado by the Capitol Brush factory
• A kitchen stove on loan to the museum from the Colorado State Historical Society

Restoration

Golda Meir House at it's original location, 1606-1608 Julian Street, Denver.
Photo from Survey HABS CO-82

In 1981, the tiny duplex at 1606-1608 Julian Street was first identified as the Denver home of Golda Meir. The house was inches away from demolition. An intense effort by a small group of concerned citizens including the late Mel Cohen and his wife Esther temporarily saved the structure, which narrowly escaped fire, a tornado, vandalism and repeated demolition attempts by the city. The house was moved twice before being relocated by the Auraria Foundation to the Auraria Campus in September 1988.

The Golda Meir House was designated a Denver landmark in 1995, and a total restoration was accomplished through private contributions and a grant from the Colorado Historical Fund.

GMHM Mezuzah

CU Denver College of Arts and Media Visual Arts and sculpture professor Rian Kerrane created the new mezuzah for the Golda Meir House Museum. Kerrane is originally from Ireland. A noted sculptor in cast iron, mixed media, and installation, she has shown her work in sculpture gardens, museums, and galleries in the United States, Ireland, Italy, Austria, and Mexico.

Kerrane entitled the mezuzah "Fluid Units," using cast bronze and steel to create the piece. She says, "the vantage point of not belonging to my home nor my adopted land fuels my visual language, which manifests in sculpture, installation, performance, and print. The design of the mezuzah is that of a vessel one might use for science experiments." 

Visit Kerrane's website to view her portfolio.

Rian Kerrane | Irish Sculptor 

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In her autobiography My Life, Golda Meir expresses the significance of time in Denver, “my own future convictions were shaped and given form, and ideas were discarded or accepted by me while I was growing, those talk-filled nights in Denver played a considerable role.”

For More Information and to Schedule Museum Tours Contact:
Lena Fishman | Executive Director of the Golda Meir House Museum | lena.fishman@ahec.edu

Questions About Reserving the Golda Meir Conference Room and Event Space?
Lena Fishman | Executive Director of the Golda Meir House Museum | lena.fishman@ahec.edu