Vaccine Rollout, Artist Meetup, Whirlygigs, and Electric Lines

*Golden Eye Candy – Jen Rutter – Ruby – click to enlarge*

COVID Updates

12.4% — *% of Jeffco residents (16+) who have received the first shot – source*

Appointments to Get the COVID Vaccine (Eligibility)
State of Colorado’s Find Out Where You Can Get Vaccinated page
Safeway | King Soopers | Lutheran Medical Center

Jefferson County has a vaccination clinic in Arvada, which is open to those who are 70 or older. Learn more….

Educators and people 65+ will be eligible for vaccines starting Monday, February 8th. Learn more….

The state has a new hotline to answer questions, including location of vaccine providers: 1-877-268-2926. It is staffed 24 hours a day.

Jefferson County Case Summary:
Cases in Jeffco – Weds: 34,957| Thurs: 35,071 (+114)
Deaths in Jeffco – Weds: 716 | Thurs: 718 (+2)
Currently Hospitalized in Jeffco – Weds: 32| Thurs: 39 (+7)
Known Cases in Golden – Mon: 1344 | Thurs: 1415 (+71)
Recovered – Weds: 32,980 | Thurs: 33,229 (+249)

Virtual Events

Artist Joni Emily — *Artist Meetup this morning with Joni Emily*

6-6:55AM Virtual HIIT
8AM Morning StART: An Artist Coffee Meetup
8:30-9:30AM Virtual Power Training
10:30-11:15AM Play and Learn – RSVP for Zoom link
10:30-11AM Mental Fitness Fridays – Joyfulness
4-5PM Friday Crafternoons – Whirlygigs

Real World Golden

6PM John Adam Smith at Golden Moon Speakeasy

Golden History Moment

Map of Golden showing the locations of the downtown depot, Castle Rock Railway, and Lookout Mountain Funicular. Also shows the route for the proposed railway extension. — *Downtown Depot, Castle Rock Scenic Railroad, and Lookout Mountain Funicular Railway, along with the route for the proposed electric line – click to enlarge*

107 Years Ago
The February 5, 1914 Colorado Transcript announced, “It now seems to be an assured fact that an electric railway will soon be in operation to connect Golden with the funicular railway runnig to the summit of Lookout mountain.”

At that time, Golden had two scenic incline railways. One went from East & 13th Streets up to Castle Rock, while the other went from a point near Beverly Heights Park to the top of Lookout Mountain. The two railways were fierce competitors. While the Lookout Mountain line went higher, and had arguably better views, the Castle Rock line was much more convenient to reach from downtown.

Most Golden visitors arrived on one of the two “electric lines.” One came from Denver through Lakewood, while the other came from Denver through Arvada. Both terminated at 13th and Washington.

Rees Vidler owned the Lookout Mountain Funicular, and he was desperate to get a line to bring tourists all the way to his attraction. His plan was to run a line from 13th & Washington to 14th & Washington, then west to Illinois, then south on 17th and thence past the city limits to the base of the funicular.

*Downtown depot with automobiles standing by to provide passenger service – click to enlarge*

Despite the Transcript’s certainty, the new electric line was never built. Automobiles were quickly becoming popular, and for the next few years, tourists rode to Lookout mountain in a car.

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!