68 Years Ago
The April 4, 1957 Colorado Transcript announced that the Golden Savings & Loan was moving to its new building at 701 13th Street. Golden had two savings institutions at that time; the other was the First National Bank.
First National Bank (and its precursor, the Rubey Bank) had always been located at 12th and Washington. The Savings and Loan, which had been in business since 1910, had occupied several locations on and near Washington Avenue.
In 1957, both institutions built new homes on 13th Street, and both opened within a few weeks of each other. The new buildings were inspired by a need for parking. A bank isn’t a place to linger—people want to make a quick stop and get in and out. They expect to have a convenient parking spot, and Washington Avenue couldn’t provide it. This was before the Foss lot and Meyer Hardware/Miners Alley-adjacent lot, and decades before the parking garages were built.
Sixty-eight years later, both buildings remain banks. The First National Bank building now houses Wells-Fargo and the Golden Savings & Loan building is BMO.
