On March 3rd, I published an article about the Golden Plunge—the historic swimming pool under the Buffalo Rose. I ended with an invitation for GoldenToday readers to join me for a tour of the place. Last night, 20 people gathered in the Buffalo Rose event venue to see the famous pool.
I told the group about the pool, which opened in 1927. It was popular and quite a draw for visitors from Denver. Golden had a new water supply at that time, piped over the mountains from Beaver Brook. The city fathers were so proud of our water quality that they provided it gratis for the swimming pool, considering it a good way to show off our fine water. It was a big pool—100 ft long by 30 feet wide, 9 feet at the deep end sloping up to 3 feet at the shallow end.
As I said, it was popular, but it opened at the wrong time (1927), and the Depression eventually put the pool out of business. In the 1930s, the owner of the building put a floor over the pool (the ceiling in the photo above) and made the place available for dancing and roller skating. Since that time, the building has served as a union hall, a department store, and now a performance venue. Through it all, the pool remains, identifiable now only by the sloping floor and the floor drains that would have been used to drain the pool.
I learned something new yesterday! About 10 years ago, a woman wrote in the "You Might Be From Golden If" Facebook group that she remembered watching the swimmers at the Golden Plunge. I had always wanted to ask her what she remembered about the pool, so I found her phone number yesterday and called her. She's 102 years old and has fond memories of the Golden Plunge. I asked if, when watching the swimmers, she was sitting on the pool deck on in a mezzanine above. She said there was a mezzanine. (The next time I sit in the Buffalo Rose mezzanine, I'll feel like I'm reliving history!)
Derek Giulianelli, the General Manager, was kind enough to show us some lesser-seen areas, such as the Stateroom on the second floor, which contains the oldest bar in Colorado.
Most of the group stayed for dinner after the tour and enjoyed the fine Buffalo Rose cuisine. Many thanks to the Buffalo Rose for a very fun evening. A good time was had by all!
