What’s Happening in Golden Today?
7AM-10PM Shelton Elementary School Give Back Day @ Morris & Mae
Eat at our new food hall today, and benefit Shelton Elementary!
9AM Public Art Commission Meeting @ City Hall
The PAC will discuss their goals for the year, which include the following:
Commission a Large Piece of Public Art
Commission Small Public Art
Solicit Community Art Proposals
Prepare the 2022 Annual Report
The first quarter will be spent defining the criteria for each goal.
9:15-9:45AM Baby Time @ Golden Library
10AM-12PM Affordable Housing Committee Meeting @ Public Works Building (map)
This meeting just popped up on the City’s agenda page. I haven’t been able to find the list of committee members, but it’s my understanding that the plan was to include the City’s Affordable Housing Coordinator and developers. Here’s the agenda:
Committee Purpose and Introductions
Review of the Proposed Workplan and Future Meetings
Overview of the Housing Needs and Strategies Assessment and Affordable Housing work
Discussion/Observations/Next Steps
10-10:30AM Call In: Mid-Morning Meditation (Virtual)
10-10:55AM Chair Yoga (Virtual)
10-11:30PM Everything Dinosaur (on the Rocks) Lecture Series: Geology 101 @ Dinosaur Ridge Discovery Center
10:15-10:45AM Toddler Time @ Golden Library
3-9PM Cheese Night with Cheese Ranch @ Mountain Toad
6PM Run Club @ Runners Roost
6-7PM Ukulele Thursdays @ Golden Library
7PM Parks Recreation and Museums Advisory Board
This group will discuss their work plan for 2023 and “Naming Rights.” The meeting packet hasn’t yet been posted, so I’m not sure what that entails. Check the Agenda page later to see if they’ve posted it.
7:30PM The Great American Trailer Park Musical @ Miners Alley Playhouse
Live Music
5-8PM Shawn Nelson @ Goosetown Station
5:0PM Lindsey Giffey @ Over Yonder
6-9PM Kevin Austin @ Buffalo Rose (Sky Bar Stage)
6PM Josh Yancy & The High Hopes @ New Terrain Brewing
8PM Karaoke @ Rock Rest Lodge
Golden History Moment
54 Years Ago
The February 2, 1969 Colorado Transcript reports on a speech given to the Chamber of Commerce by the new owner of a defunct amusement park. Magic Mountain was an unsuccessful attempt to copy Disneyland. It opened in 1959 and closed the following year. The property remained unused for several years, but in 1969 it was purchased by a Steven Arnold, a real estate developer.
Asked what he planned to do with the property, he “spoke mostly of what his company, the Woodmore Corp., was not going to do. They are not going to build an amusement park.” He said he was “leaning in the direction of some type of residential area. Perhaps it will be homes, town houses or something of this nature.”
This is interesting in that the property did later become an amusement park, and the one thing that the current owners–Martin Marietta Materials–insist it not become is residential property.
By 1971, Steven Arnold had decided to use the area as an arts and crafts village, with individual crafters renting studios and selling their goods. At various times, candle making, glass blowing, blacksmithing, leatherworking, ceramics, jewelry making, and several other crafts were represented.
Arnold’s company declared bankruptcy in 1974 and the property went into receivership. Eventually, the quarry next door bought Heritage Square. They allowed it to operate as an amusement park, shopping area, special events center, and live theater spot. Their overriding objective was to ensure that the property would not be redeveloped by someone who would complain about having a quarry next door.
Martin Marietta Materials closed Heritage Square in 2015. They plan to redevelop the property for commercial or industrial use.
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!
