Colorado City Claiming First Cheeseburger: Boulder (1930)

Boulder, Colorado claims invention of the cheeseburger.

The Story

• 1930: Louis Ballast, owner of Humpty Dumpty Drive-In
• Innovation: Added slice of American cheese to hamburger
• Result: Immediate hit; became fast-food staple nationwide

Competing Claims

Other claimants exist (Pasadena CA 1924, Louisville KY 1934, Denver 1935), but Boulder's 1930 documentation is most cited. Colorado officially recognized the claim in 2018.