In the mid-20th century, downtown Golden had a chronic shortage of parking. When the Baptists moved their congregation from 12th and Jackson to 19th and Washington, the Chamber jumped at the chance to convert that property into a public parking lot.
For the next several decades, the downtown stores proudly advertised the availability of "FREE PARKING!"
When GURA began revitalizing downtown, one of their goals was to develop that half-block. They began by building the parking garage in the middle of the block.
This left smaller lots on the two end spaces–one on 12th Street and one on 13th. These were always intended to be temporary, while GURA sought out developers for the two remaining lots. For a few interesting years, the sides of the parking garage served as a large public art gallery. The GURA board worked with Foothills Art Center to select paintings by local artists and had them blown up into billboard size posters, printed on heavy vinyl.
11 Years Ago
In 2015, a mixed-use (retail/office/residential) building was constructed on the corner of 13th and Jackson. A second mixed-use building followed, on the 12th and Jackson corner, in 2016.
