COVID Updates
Appointments to Get the COVID Vaccine (Eligibility)
State of Colorado’s Find Out Where You Can Get Vaccinated page | Lutheran Medical Center | JCPH Clinic in Arvada (70+ only) | www.vaccinespotter.org/CO/
Jefferson County Public Health’s COVID-19 Vaccine Call Center: 303-239-7000 | State Hotline to answer questions, including location of vaccine providers: 1-877-268-2926. It is staffed 24 hours a day
Golden Testing Sites
Mines COVID Testing | Jeffco Fairgrounds COVID Testing
Jefferson County Case Summary:
Cases in Jeffco – Weds: 38,890 | Thurs: 39,103 (+213)
Deaths in Jeffco – Weds: 773 | Thurs: 776 (+3)
Currently Hospitalized in Jeffco – Weds: 30 | Thurs: 35 (+5)
Known Cases in Golden – Tues: 1559 | Thurs: 1589 (+30)
Recovered – Weds: 37,233 | Thurs: 37,339 (+106)
More Public Health References
School of Mines COVID-19 case page. | Sign up for exposure notifications | CDC | Colorado | Jefferson County | City of Golden
Virtual Events
6-6:55AM Virtual HIIT
8:30-9:30AM Virtual Power Training
9-10:30AM Positive Youth Development Training
10:30-11:15AM Play and Learn with the Library
10:30-11AM Mental Fitness Fridays
4-5PM Friday Crafternoons
Real World Events
10AM-5PM Mountain Side Gear Rental Used Gear Sale
Live Music:
6PM Mike Heuer at Golden Moon Speakeasy
8PM Born to Run @ Buffalo Rose
Golden History Moment
50 Years Ago
The March 19, 1971 Golden Transcript featured an editorial: “Empty hulks aren’t helping Golden.” The “hulks” included the Golden Theater and the Armory, which were both standing empty, and the new post office on Jackson Street.
As mentioned yesterday, the movie theater at 13th and Washington had been limping along for some time–sometimes operating for a brief time, then shutting again, and at times showing X-rated movies. In March of ’71, it was empty and the owner wasn’t returning calls.
The Armory (13th and Arapahoe) was owned by the state of Colorado, which didn’t really have a use for it. The obvious state user would have been the School of Mines, but it wasn’t well-suited for any of their uses either.
The “new post office” was a construction site at 18th and Jackson , across from the current Safeway location. The half-finished building had collapsed in September of 1969 and was the subject of on-going litigation. In the meantime, the remains of the building lay in a jumble of concrete and twisted steel.
The pioneer West family had started the Transcript and owned it for nearly 100 years, but in 1959, they sold it. The new owners were noticeably unsentimental about Golden’s past and its historic buildings.
Of the theater, they said “it is certainly a eyesore to the community. Its emptiness indicates failure and penalizes every business surrounding it. If nothing else, it would make a fine parking lot.”
As for the Armory: “This ancient building is supposed to be historic which still doesn’t enhance its beauty or usefulness.” The editorial concluded with “these three buildings have become festering boils.”
The Armory was sold at a state auction later that year. There was only one bidder–an attorney representing unnamed investors, who paid $41,430. By the end of the year, they were renting out retail spaces on the building’s first floor. The theater sat untenanted for four more years, but in 1975 the Foss family bought it and remodeled it for retail use.
The remnants of the unfinished post office were partially removed that same summer, but the property remained unused for nearly 50 years. The new sophomore apartments for School of Mines students recently opened on that spot.
In July of that same year, the last owner of the Astor House boarding house (built in 1867) decided to retire. The Golden Downtown Improvement District offered to buy it for $30,000. The August 13th Transcript announced “Astor House to go.”
For many citizens, this was the final straw. In the past ten years, they had seen three churches, the South School, and several large old houses be demolished to make way for parking lots. They drew the line at the Astor House, one of the oldest remaining buildings in town. The rest of the year was one long, spirited debate over the wisdom of trying to preserve the Astor House. The Transcript wrote multiple editorials urging demolition, calling it “a 105-year-old former hotel of dubious historical value” (and less polite things).
By the end of the year, the fledgling Golden Landmarks Association had secured permission from City Council to let them work on fixing up the property and prove its value to the citizenry. In 1972, it went to a vote of the people, and the citizens of Golden agreed to purchase and preserve the old hotel.
Many 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!
