|
Golden celebrated its 150th birthday
in June of 2009. Many, many people worked hard to
make the celebration a success. We had a
great
parade downtown and capped the evening with a
laser light show and a slide show of Golden's
history in photos. You can buy the DVD that was
shown that night at the Golden Visitors Center (10th
and Washington) or watch it online, by clicking on
the pictures below.
Golden was established in the
mid-19th century. It served as a supply stop for
gold miners heading into the mountains. Closer to
home, people have always done some gold panning in
Clear Creek right in Golden. A lot of coal mining
took place in Golden, and a lot of clay was
extracted, particularly by the Parfet family. The
area also included several farms, in the valley that
now holds the Coors complex.
The territorial legislature met here
from 1862-1867, in the building that now holds The
Old Capitol Grill restaurant. Local outrage ran
high when Denver snagged the honor of becoming the
capitol.
 The
Colorado School of Mines was established in 1870, by
an Episcopal Bishop. The school was turned over to
Colorado Territory in 1874 and became a state
institution when Colorado attained statehood in
1876. Learn more about CSM's history on their
web site.
Coors was established in 1873 and
has been a strong economic force in Golden ever
since. They are a big area employer and their
tours bring 250,000 tourists to Golden every year.
The National Renewable Energy was
established in 1977 and exerts a strong local
influence in favor of sustainable living.
A small amount of gold in Clear
Creek attracted Golden's earliest settlers.
The creek soon became an important resource for
industries settling in the area in the 19th and 20th
centuries. Today we use it for drinking water
and for recreation. The Clear Creek Whitewater
Park, which runs right through downtown, is a
popular spot for kayaking and tubing.
Golden served as a regional shopping
center for well over a century, serving not only the
city itself but the surrounding farms and the
ranches in the mountains to the West. By the
1980s, our historic downtown was experiencing the
decline that was common to most historic town
centers. In response, we established a Golden
Urban Renewal Authority and charged it with
stimulating business, improving the appearance, and
making downtown a gathering place once again.
The results have been spectacular. Our
downtown now attracts people for shopping, dining,
and recreation, and is the heart of the community
for our residents.
You can learn more about
Golden's history at the
Golden
History Museums!
Golden has a number of historic
buildings, with the earliest dating to the mid-19th
century. The oldest buildings in town, not
surprisingly, tend to be in and near the downtown
area. Local historian Richard Gardner has built a
database of historic structures in Golden. To see
it online, visit the
Golden
Landmarks Association site and click on the
"Historic Structures" link.
We currently have three Historic
Districts in town. The
12th Street district is the oldest. It was
placed on the National Register on September 22,
1983, and locally designated in 1984. The
8th and 9th Street district was designated in
2002, with the East Street district following in
2004.
Golden has a Historic Preservation
Board. Its members are volunteers. They must apply
for the job and are interviewed and chosen by the
City Council. The Board is consulted on a variety
of issues regarding preservation of historic
structures within the city. Learn more about the
HPB by
visiting their page on the City's web site. The
page shows the current board members, describes
their charter and responsibilities, and includes
links to a number of interesting documents.
If you're interested in keeping
track of what this group is doing, you are welcome
to attend their bi-weekly meetings. It's also
interesting to read their
meeting notes, which give you a quick overview
of issues that the group has been considering in
recent meetings.
There are a lot of good websites
covering Golden history. These are direct links to
some of our favorite pages within those sites:
|
