Art Exhibit, Quilt Celebration, a Play, a Dance, and a Strike

*Golden Eye Candy – Chris Davell – Goldens in Golden – enlarge*

Real World Events

10AM-3PM Brunch at the Rose @ Buffalo Rose

12-5PM Two Exhibits at Foothills Art Center – FREE ADMISSION
2022 Members’ Show and Power of Process: A Jeffco Student Exhibition
Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri, Sat: 10AM-5PM
Wednesday: Closed
Sunday: 12-5PM

12:15-1PM Bhakti for Brunch @ Pranatonic
1-3PM Rocky Mountain High Tea & Annual Meeting of Nan’s Hundred Club @ Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum
2PM Moon Over Buffalo @ Miners Alley Playhouse

Live Music

3-6PM Jenn Marsh @ Golden Mill
3-6PM Good for Nothin’ Thunder Mountain Boys @ Over Yonder

4-7PM Jon Eric Farmer @ Buffalo Rose (Sky Bar Stage)

5-7:30PM Sunday Swing Supper Club @ Buffalo Rose
8PM Karaoke @ Ace Hi Tavern

Golden History Moment

*The first Northwestern car reaches Golden in 1904, seen at the corner of 12th and Washington with the Bella Vista Hotel in the background – Golden History Museum collection – enlarge*

103 Years Ago
The Intermountain railway began offering service between Denver and Golden in 1891. That line ran through Lakewood. The Northwestern line, which ran through Arvada, arrived in 1904. By 1919, they were both owned by the Denver Tramway company. At that time, Tramway was under pressure from Denver’s mayor to cut fares. In order to do that, they reduced wages and reduced service

As a measure of economy, the Tramway company has materially reduced service between Golden and Denver on the Intermountain and the Northwestern. All Golden cars will run as “express” cars while in the city limits of Denver, and will not stop between the loop and the county line to pick up or discharge local passengers. These cars will operate on a two-hour instead of a one-hour schedule except during the morning and evening rush hours.
Colorado Transcript – February 6, 1919

Both lines terminated at 13th and Washington–the Northwestern on the west side of Washington and the Intermountain on the east side. After 1919, they abandoned use of this depot and instead shared a less elaborate facility on the east side of Washington. – enlarge

The company continued with their program of reduced wages and service until finally, on August 1, 1920, the employees went on strike. What followed was all too familiar for labor confrontations in that era. The company called in a professional strikebreaker, who arrived with a gang of 150 men to operate the streetcars. The strikers attacked the cars. The strikebreakers fired on the strikers. The strikers responded with stones and bricks. The Mayor of Denver and Governor of Colorado called in the Army. Soldiers protected the strikebreakers and imposed martial law. In the end, the strike was broken, 700 of the strikers lost their jobs, 7 people were killed, and many were injured.

By October, 1920 the strike was over and Golden was back to hourly service on each line. The Intermountain would leave Golden every hour on the hour from 6AM till 8PM, with two additional departures at 10PM and midnight. The Northwestern would leave every hour on the half hour from 6:30AM-8:30PM, plus one departure at 12:30AM.

Learn more about the strike: https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver-tramway-strike-1920

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!