Public Health References
CDC * Colorado * Jefferson County * City of Golden
Coronavirus report from Jeffco Public Health’s Case Summary Page, as of 3PM Friday:
Cases in Jeffco
Monday: 2634 | Tuesday: 2702
Deaths in Jeffco
Monday: 208 | Tuesday: 210
Ever Hospitalized in Jeffco
Monday: 419 | Tuesday: 424 (currently 16)
Recovered
Monday: 2297| Tuesday: 2339
Known Cases in Golden
Monday: 112 | Tuesday: 112
The Safer at Home protocol is in effect. Check the City’s site to learn more about what that entails. Everyone is still requested to wear a mask that covers the nose and mouth when leaving the house. City and County fire restrictions are in place.
Virtual Golden
9-10AM Virtual Power Training
10:15-11:15AM Let’s Dance with the Library
6-8PM Golden United Housing Task Force – Register here
6-8PM Wednesday Watch Meeting with the Library: Santa Claus Conquers the Martians
6PM Coronavirus Community Briefing with Mayor Weinberg and City Manager Slowinski
6:30PM Planning Commission Study Session
The Planning Commission will be joined by Golden Urban Renewal Authority members tonight. They will discuss the planned redevelopment of our West Colfax corridor, specifically focusing on how to include affordable housing in the plan.
City Council and Coronavirus Measures
City Council had a fairly complicated discussion about masks and creek closings last night. Rather than try to recap it, I encourage you to watch it yourself. That meeting was 3 hours long, so you might get the information more easily by watching the Mayor’s and City Manager’s Coronavirus Community Briefing tonight at 6PM on GCO.TV.
There were a lot of interesting public comments regarding masks and creek closure that you might like to read. In yesterday’s email I said “the merchants say that the people who come to the creek don’t shop and don’t eat in our restaurants.” That has been said many times, for many years, but I shouldn’t have over-generalized, since one of the public comments came from a merchant, saying that his store does get patrons from among the creek-users.
Councilor Fisher wrote me yesterday to ask whether the photos I posted of Creek crowds were taken this year or previous years. They were taken on the 4th of July on two different years, and one was taken during a Fine Arts Festival. I thought they were relevant since we’re coming up on the 4th of July, but here are two that the City took last weekend:
Golden History Moment
Downtown Golden had a movie theater for more than 60 years. The Golden Gem opened in October of 1908 in a former church, located across 10th Street from Parfet Park (location). They quickly upgraded, moving to the Merkle building (1110 Washington Avenue–now Windy Saddle Cafe (map). Films were silent at that time, and in 1910, the Gem employed a five-piece orchestra to accompany the films. In 1911, the owner installed “The finest electric sign ever placed in Golden.” (Colorado Transcript, 6/1/1911)
In 1911, the owners of a former stable at 13th and Washington decided to demolish it and build a new, modern building on the site. The Golden Athletic Club rented the second floor and the Golden Gem Theater rented the first floor. The Theater moved in June 1912 and stayed there for the rest of its existence.
Early films came on large reels, each reel weighing about 5 pounds and running for about 11 minutes. Advertisements would describe a film as a 2-reel film. An evening’s program would commonly include several films. The films weren’t necessarily stories–they often showed real events, such as a rodeo. In one case, they showed movies of a hunting trip taken by Theodore Roosevelt. The Gem showed their first “talkie” (movie with sound) in 1929.
The theater ran many promotions over the years. In 1928, they partnered with the Fromhart Motor Company and the Golden Transcript to give away a car to “the most popular young lady in Jefferson County.” During the Depression, they would give away silverware on Tuesday nights, and at times they held drawings for a box of groceries.
The Gem was “refreshed” several times, to update the look (and often the seats). One major remodel took place in 1949. A newly-updated Gem theater, with a brilliant new neon marquee, had its Grand Opening the same night the Golden Welcome Arch was illuminated for the first time (it used to have neon letters).
The Gem was always a centerpiece of our visitor attraction efforts. Golden was “the” downtown for many people living west of Denver and in the mountains, so people would come to Golden for a night out–dinner and a movie.
The Golden Gem, along with Golden’s downtown business district, slowly eroded throughout the 1960s and 70s. It went through several owners. One even showed x-rated movies. The Transcript mentioned that some young people referred to the place as “the Golden Germ”. Finally, the Foss family (of Foss Drug Store fame) bought the building and divided it into several retail spaces.
