One visit to Longmont, Colorado, is all it takes to learn the main thoroughfares around town. One question that seems to be asked quite a bit is who Ken Pratt is and why Longmont named Highway 119 after him.
To understand Mr. Pratt’s contributions to the community, we have to go back a few decades, so our story starts in 1912.
In 1912, M.E. Pratt opened The Pratt Agency, a residential real estate development firm. The Pratt family began brokering real estate and operating coal and fuel businesses in the Longmont area. M.E. Pratt passed the business on to his son Harold, who passed it on to his son Kenneth (Ken), but not before creating Northern Colorado’s largest independent real estate agency.
After Harold’s death, Ken Pratt sought new growth opportunities for his family’s residential and commercial real estate business. From Fox Hill to Longmont Estates, Ken oversaw the development of nearly 2,000 homes in Longmont. On the commercial side of the business, The Pratt Agency developed or built almost 2 million square feet of commercial property, including the former Plaza Event Center.
Ken Pratt was truly a businessman who focused on Longmont’s economic development. He was one of the founders of the formerly named Longmont Area Economic Council, and he helped bring Japanese business to Boulder County. Pratt even traveled with Colorado Governor Roy Romer (1986-1990) to Japan to encourage development in Longmont, and the emperor and empress of Japan visited Longmont in 1994, staying with Pratt and his wife, Susan.
Pratt died on March 30, 1995, at the age of 53. On April 1, 1996, the City of Longmont, Colorado Government, renamed Florida Avenue Ken Pratt Boulevard from Main Street to Hover Road, honoring Pratt’s contributions to the community.
There are a few other streets in Longmont with the name Pratt, and many folks assume they are also named for Ken Pratt. Pratt Parkway, Pratt Place, Pratt Street, and Pratt Way are all actually named for Colonel C.N. Pratt. Col. Pratt organized the Chicago-Colorado Colony in Chicago in November 1870. There is no relation between these two men other than where their streets intersect.
