Automobiles were all the rage in 1920. The Denver Mountain Parks were specifically designed for access by automobile: they offered miles and miles of good roads and beautiful mountain scenery.
Most people didn’t own automobiles at that time—and many more were daunted by the prospect of driving mountain roads—so tourists often hired drivers to take them through the Mountain Parks.
Golden was the natural gateway to the Mountain Parks. Visitors from Denver rode out on one of two electric railways and ended up at 13th and Washington. From there, they could find a place in a touring car that would take them to the mountains.
105 Years Ago
The April 15, 1920 Colorado Transcript announced that the City would begin licensing cars belonging to transportation companies and requiring their solicitors to wear badges.
“Solicitors” had begun traveling on the Denver-to-Golden lines with the sole intent of drumming up customers and had been making quite a nuisance of themselves. The new licensing process would restrict the number of solicitors that each transportation company could employ and would require that they stay in their own designated “stalls” near the depot, rather than accosting visitors on the trip out from Denver or as soon as they stepped off the electric car.
The license would also provide each company with designated parking spots. This would eliminate friction between the companies, which had been building as they contended for the best spots.
