What’s Happening in Golden Today?
6-6:55AM Dynamic Circuit (Virtual)
8:30-9:30AM Power Training (Virtual)
10AM and 1PM Wild West Walking History Tour
10AM, 1PM and 4PM Wild West Short Tour
10:15-10:45AM Let’s Dance @ Golden Library
11:15-11:45AM Let’s Dance @ Golden Library
12-12:30PM Mondays with Mayor Weinberg (Virtual)
2-3PM Active Minds Mondays – Abraham Lincoln (Virtual)
Examine the life and legacy of the man many consider the greatest president in our country’s history. There are as many fascinating myths as there are great true stories of his life. We will tell a few of these tales and reflect on how he changed history in ways that continue to this day. Instructor: Marjorie Berman. Save your spot for this Zoom program. Log-in instructions will be emailed out approximately 30 minutes before the start of the program.
4-4:30PM Kids Martial Arts Class (Virtual)
6:30PM Golden Anti-Racism Collective Policy & Policing
6:30PM GURA Board Meeting @ City Hall
The GURA board will review their accomplishments for 2022 and discuss their goals for 2023, which include:
1 Seek or respond to redevelopment opportunities, especially for affordable housing.
2 Continue to plan for infrastructure and other community investments.
3 Engage with other urban renewal authorities in Colorado to maintain a high standard of urban renewal best practices.
Celebrating Heart and Soul of Golden Month
GOLDEN CULTURAL ALLIANCE MEMBER: THE BUFFALO BILL MUSEUM AND GRAVESITE
William Cody died in 1917 and was buried on Lookout Mountain. The City of Denver was developing their Mountain Parks at the time, and they added the grave site to their parks system.
Three years later, in 1920, Cody’s “foster son,” Johnny Baker, proposed founding a museum, cafe, and gift shop near the grave, and the City accepted the proposal. Baker put up some of the money and Denver the rest. Together they built a large log building that included living quarters, exhibit space, and room for the gift shop/cafe. Baker had appeared in Cody’s Wild West shows for many years, and used his connections to help build the collection. After Mr. Baker’s death in 1931, his wife, Olive Baker, took over the operation and ran it until her death in 1956.
The ownership of the museum was peculiar. The building was at least partially financed by the Bakers, and their personal collection was used as the nucleus of the museum. Their investment seemed to give them a lifetime lease on the building. The Transcript referred to one of their successors as the museum’s “owner.” However, the museum’s website pointedly states that after the Bakers’ deaths, “under an earlier agreement, the collection became the property of the City.”
Most museums dedicated to an individual lose popularity over time, as the memories of that person fade. That never happened with the Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave. Cody’s Wild West shows had done much to define the history and the mythos of the American West. People all over America, as well as Europe, saw that show and were captivated by the pageantry and romance of the stories that Cody presented.
As the twentieth century progressed, the budding movie industry discovered the popularity of western stories. Cody’s show programs, posters, and story lines served as great source material.
By the 1970s, the 1920 log building was clearly inadequate for the hundreds of thousands of visitors that the museum hosted every year. The City of Denver allocated funds to build a new, modern building with a large deck overlooking the spectacular view of the plains. They considered demolishing the older building, but in the end, decided to use it for the gift shop and cafe. The Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave remains one of the most popular visitor destinations in the state.
Buffalo Bill and Equity
In recent years, many articles have been written about Cody’s views of equal rights for women and his policy of equal pay for Native American performers. Two weeks from tonight, we’ll be offered some insights into LGBTQ history in Cody’s American West. This lecture was inspired by an invitation for Buffalo Bill to join Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Wilde for tea at their home in London.
The speaker will be Gregory Hinton, a nationally renowned playwright and historian. He spent part of his childhood in Golden, attending Golden Junior High when it was located at 10th and Washington. The lecture will be given in that same building–now the American Mountaineering Center. Please plan to attend this very special event on Monday, February 27th, at 6:30 PM. Learn more….
Thanks to the Golden History Museum for providing the online cache of historic Transcripts, and to the Golden Transcript for documenting our history since 1866!
