46 Years Ago
The July 18, 1979 Golden Transcript was promoting events planned for the upcoming Buffalo Bill Days weekend. One of the highlights would be Golden Landmarks Association’s ice cream social, in the back yard of the Astor House. The servers would be based in the gazebo, and chairs and tables were set out to allow people to relax in the garden
Golden’s citizens voted to preserve the Astor House in 1972. Members of the Golden Landmarks Association threw themselves into the work of restoring both the house and the yard. By 1979, the yard was an oasis of trees and flowers, including a reconstructed gazebo.
GLA member Gene Child spearheaded the effort to rebuild the gazebo, which had stood in the yard in the early 20th century. The gazebo was later turned into a storage shed, and remnants of the shed were still in the yard when the City acquired the property. Gene used those remnants to determine the dimensions of the original structure.
GLA received a $2,000 grant from the Colorado Centennial/Bicentennial Commission to fix up the “Golden Legislative Park” (backyard of the Astor House), including the gazebo. Gene appealed to Warren Tech school for carpentry help. The students built the structure at the school. The City moved it to the park, and Golden High School Key Club members provided the muscle to move it into position.
“I think it adds a lot to the park,” Childs said, wiping his brow after completing work on the gazebo. “On a nice day it will give somebody a good place to take a lunch break.”
After the Astor House Museum was dismantled, the little park went through a period when no one was claiming or maintaining it. It was filled with weeds and strewn with empty liquor bottles. When the City cleaned it up in 2020, they found that people had been camping in the gazebo, so they removed it.
