Stillness on the Pond
Photo by Ryan Evans
Click to enlarge
What's happening in Golden today?
Events for Monday, May. 12th
- All day - CURRENT EXHIBITS AT THE MUSEUMS
- All day - Live Workouts with Community Center Pros
- All day - Golden History Tours
- 8AM - Municipal Court Criminal Arraignments
- 10:15-10:45AM - Let's Dance - Registration Required
- 10:55AM - Full Moon
- 12-12:30PM - Mondays with the Mayor
- 2-3PM - Virtual: Active Minds Monday
- 5:30PM - Board Game & Euchre Night
- 5:30PM - GURA Board Meeting @ City Hall
- 5:30-7:30PM - The Fundamental Principles of Art
- 6-9PM - Teach Me to Play! Mondays
- 6:30PM - Soundcheck Music Bingo
- 6:30-8PM - Golden Anti-Racism Collective Policy & Policing
- 6:30PM - Movement Monday Running Club
For more information, click the item above or visit the Golden Today Calendar
What’s blooming along Golden’s Trails? Blue flax!
Figure 1. Top left and bottom: Blue flax – Linum L. sp. – in New Loveland Mine Park. Top right: Native blue flax – Linus lewisii Pursh – near Leadville.
By Tom Schweich
A common blue wildflower along Golden’s trails is “Blue Flax.” You will see it in all our open spaces and most of our parks. This may be our native Linum lewisii Pursh or the non-native Linum perenne L. or … a hybrid of the two.
Our native blue flax — Linum lewisii Pursh — was described by Pursh (1814) from a collection by Lewis & Clark (Those guys again!), found in the valleys of the Rocky Mountains and on the banks of the Missouri River. Typically, descriptions of new plants are written from a dried specimen, but Pursh wrote that he described the plant from a live specimen. How did that happen? Sometimes seeds can be found in dried plant collections. Perhaps there were some native blue flax grown from seeds in A. B. Lambert's London garden, where Pursh was working while he wrote his Flora of North America.
The non-native blue flax — Linum perenne L. — is native to central Europe east to Siberia and was well-known to botanists in the 18th century.
Genetic data shows that the blue flaxes are very closely related (McDill, et al., 2009). So close that some botanic authors treat our native L. lewisii as a variety of the Eurasian L. perenne, which is thought to be an ancestor of our native blue flax. It probably migrated to North America across the Bering land bridge 3 to 4 million years ago.
As it happens, the non-native blue flax is often planted (highway departments are the usual culprit) because the seed is more readily available. Or sometimes seed that was sold as the native blue flax is later determined to be non-native blue flax. This happened with a horticultural selection called “Appar.”
How do you tell the two flaxes apart? It’s not easy. Our native blue flax lost a very subtle technical trait called heterostyly, about the relative lengths of stamens and styles. So, the absence of one very technical trait determines native blue flax, whereas the presence of that trait shows non-native blue flax. There are also intermediate or ambiguous plants because the two flaxes hybridize. Sitting in the field beside a blue flax plant and carefully examining all the flowers, sometimes I can tell which blue flax it is, and sometimes I cannot.
Regardless of which blue flax it is, blue flax is a very attractive plant along our trails. It is also easy to grow from seeds in the garden. I don’t do anything special to prepare the soil or seeds. Mostly I just throw the seeds out when it starts to snow. Blue flax is a short-lived perennial and will come back year after year while spreading slowly by seed.
References
McDill, Joshua, Miriam Repplinger, Beryl B. Simpson, and Joachim W. Kadereit. 2009. The Phylogeny of Linum and Linaceae Subfamily Linoideae, with Implications for Their Systematics, Biogeography, and Evolution of Heterostyly. Systematic Botany. 34(2), pp. 386-405. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235443463
Pursh, Frederick. 1814. Flora Americae Septentrionalis; or, A Systematic Arrangement and Description of the Plants of North America. 1. London: White, Cochrane, and Co., 1814. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/1987#page/251/
Horses & History
If you've ever wanted to hear Golden's story from beginning to end (or more accurately from Native Americans to the 21st Century downtown renaissance), here's a perfect opportunity:
My daughter Margaret and I will be doing a Wagon Ride Through History Tuesday May 20th from 10AM-noon. Margaret—with her Clydesdales, Wallace and Todd—will drive us through Golden's oldest commercial and residential neighborhoods while I tell the tales of Golden's past.
I hope to see you next week! Tickets are available at ClearCreekCarriages.com.
2-3PM Virtual: Active Minds Monday
At Jefferson County Public Library, we foster continuous learning and connections. Keep your minds engaged every Monday! Be sure to explore our website for additional weekly event options, including call-ins and livestreams.
Today’s theme: Women Composers in Classical Music
Women in classical music might not have the same representation or achieved the same recognition as their male counterparts, brothers or husbands, but they have made significant contributions throughout music history. Join Active Minds as we explore the lives and music of female composers from the Middle Ages up to the 20th century. We’ll listen to works by Hildegard of Bingen, Barbara Strozzi, Fanny Mendelssohn, Clara Schumann, Amy Beach, and more.
When:
2-3PM on Monday, May. 12th
5:30PM GURA Board Meeting @ City Hall
- Meeting Agenda
- Watch the meeting streaming live starting at 5:30PM
- Attend the meeting @ City Hall Council Chambers - 911 10th Street - (map)
- Provide in-person comment during the meeting, at 5:30PM.
- Send email comments to gura@cityofgolden.net.
The meeting will be recorded and available to watch at your convenience on the Agendas and Meetings page on the City of Golden website.
The Economic Development Manager is no longer with the City, so they are advertising for a replacement. In the meantime, Rick Muriby, the Community Development Director, will fill in. The GURA board will need to adopt a resolution allowing Rick to fill in as their Executive Director until they hire a new Economic Development Manager.
The GURA board may take a bus tour together instead of their regular meeting in June. The purpose of the tour would be to drive around and evaluate areas of the City that could be marked for Urban Renewal.
They are hoping to identify The Junction (the future industrial and commercial park just north of the city limits) as an Urban Renewal Area. This property is currently zoned A-2 (Agriculture), but the developers plan to rezone it for industrial and commercial use. They must wait until the property has been annexed by the City before they can propose it for Urban Renewal. Learn more about Urban Renewal in Colorado.
A developer has approached GURA about the possibility of making the Church of the Nazarene site (map) an Urban Renewal Area. The developer hopes to build for-sale affordable housing on that site.
The developer of 17200 West Colfax (map) has received a "land banking award" from the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority.
The meeting packet includes a public comment (on p. 7) regarding the plan to remove mature trees along Ford Street to make way for a sidewalk and a Housing Authority project.
Location:
City Hall Council Chambers
911 10th Street (Map)
When:
5:30PM on Monday, May. 12th
6:30PM Soundcheck Music Bingo @ The Buffalo Rose
Always free and always fun!
Buffalo Rose
1119 Washington Avenue (map)
Golden History: What is Goosetown?
Goosetown Neighborhood as shown on the 1882 Birdseye View Map of Golden, Co – enlarge
Click to enlarge
Goosetown is one of our oldest neighborhoods and is the newest addition to the City’s property.
What exactly is Goosetown? There isn’t an exact definition–it’s not an officially designated district. Roughly speaking, it’s the area north of the Creek, south of Highway 58, and east of Ford Street. It includes the spot where the Coors office building once stood, and the parking lots across from that spot. The other chief buildings in the neighborhood are the Golden Masonic Temple, the American Legion hall, Goosetown Station, Golden Well Being Collective, and the Burgess House apartment building.
David Wall, who may have been Golden’s very first (white) settler, planted a vegetable garden in that area in the spring of 1859. aHe dug a ditch from Tucker Gulch to his field, thus earning two titles–“the Father of Colorado agriculture” and “the Father of Colorado irrigation.”
In 1870, the Colorado Central Railroad came to town. Having a railroad put Golden on the map: because of it, we were able to develop significant industry and commerce. The Colorado Central’s roundhouse, machine shop, and freight depot were built in the Goosetown area, and many boarding houses and homes were soon built in the vicinity to house the railroad workers.
Why was it called “Goosetown?” I’ve heard a couple different answers to that question (and both may be untrue). One is that the brewery kept a flock of geese, and they wandered around the neighborhood, honking. The other answer is that the women of the neighborhood, many foreign-born, kept up a steady stream of chatter, unintelligible to those who only spoke English, who claimed the women sounded like a flock of geese.
The Colorado Central was built to service the mountain mining towns (Blackhawk, Central City, Idaho Springs, Georgetown, etc.) as well as transporting freight and people between Denver and Golden. By the 1930s, automobiles and trucks were taking the place of railroads, and the railroad employed fewer and fewer people.
After World War II, Coors entered a time of tremendous growth. To enable their expansion, they gradually purchased property adjacent to the brewery. The Goosetown neighborhood was particularly affected. Where there once were a few dozen homes, we now see parking lots and Highway 58.
Moving 10th Street
In 1975, Coors needed more room for beer “cellars,” the buildings where beer is stored for aging. They approached the City of Golden, proposed an exchange of several parcels of land, and asked the City to allow them to reroute 10th Street to make room for their newest building.
The July 28, 1975 Golden Transcript reported that the exchange of land and rights of way was complete, and that 10th Street had been rebuilt at Coors’ expense.
Building and Demolishing the Office Building
The September 9, 1980 Golden Transcript announced Coors’ plan to expand the brewery and construct a new office building on 10th Street between Archer and Vasquez. The article said that the new building would be 150 feet wide by 250 feet long, five stories tall, and 154,600 square feet. It would include a cafeteria and a small park. They anticipated moving into the building in September of 1981.
In 2019, Coors contacted the City to say they would be selling the building and adjacent property. The City wanted more room for city staff, the history museum, a cultural center, and affordable housing and the much-larger office building seemed like a great answer to those various needs, so they bought it from Coors at a cost of $12.5 million. They then decided that the building would not meet the City’s needs, so they demolished it.
The City plans to build a new City Hall and police department on the site of the former Coors building at a cost of $60-65 million.
With this addition, Goosetown will likely see a resurgence. There are very few homes left in that area, but the area may see commercial and multi-family development. The Heart of Golden design drawings show new parks and landscaping along the Creek. Eventually, they hope to persuade RTD to bring the gold line into Golden. That would make Goosetown a prime location for transit-oriented development.
Weather
Overnight: Mostly clear. Low around 55, with temperatures rising to around 57 overnight. West southwest wind around 9 mph.
Monday: Sunny, with a high near 84. South southwest wind 5 to 9 mph.
Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 56. South southwest wind around 9 mph, with gusts as high as 17 mph.
Monday Night: Partly Cloudy, 56°F
Tuesday: Mostly Sunny, 82°F
Tuesday Night: Mostly Clear, 51°F
Wednesday: Mostly Sunny then Slight Chance Showers And Thunderstorms, 70°F
Wednesday Night: Slight Chance Showers And Thunderstorms then Partly Cloudy, 45°F
Thursday: Mostly Sunny then Slight Chance Showers And Thunderstorms, 67°F
Thursday Night: Partly Cloudy, 44°F
Friday: Mostly Sunny then Slight Chance Showers And Thunderstorms, 71°F
Friday Night: Mostly Cloudy, 48°F
Saturday: Partly Sunny then Chance Showers And Thunderstorms, 72°F
Saturday Night: Chance Showers And Thunderstorms then Mostly Cloudy, 48°F
Sunday: Slight Chance Rain Showers then Chance Showers And Thunderstorms, 70°F
News About Golden - May 12, 2025
Golden baseball polishes up its 5th straight Class 4A Jeffco League title
By Dennis Pleuss
Colorado Preps
GOLDEN — Golden baseball proved it again … the Demons are the champions of the Class 4A Jeffco League and everyone else were just contenders... Read more...
Protestors speak out after 114 laid off from local National Renewable Energy Lab in Golden
Fox 31
This week, 114 people were let go from the National Renewable Energy Lab in Golden. FOX31's Genelle Padilla reports why the workers were let go and why protestors are speaking out... Read more...
Colorado School of Mines celebrates Spring 2025 Undergraduate Commencement
By Jasmine Leonas
Colorado School of Mines Newsroom
Colorado School of Mines celebrated its Spring 2025 Undergraduate Commencement on May 9, conferring a total of 1,118 bachelor’s degrees during three ceremonies at Lockridge Arena... Read more...
City of Golden Police Blotter
Crimewatch
April 24, 2025
April 25, 2025
April 26, 2025 - not posted
April 27, 2025
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April 29, 2025
April 30, 2025
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Supporters
Many thanks to the people and organizations who support What’s Happening in Golden? If you would like to support local news, please CLICK HERE!
Sponsors:
($100/month and up)
Buffalo Rose, Buglet Solar, Foothills Art Center, Golden City Brewery, Golden Cultural Alliance, Miners Alley Performing Arts Center, The Golden Mill, Golden Chamber of Commerce, Golden History Tours, Miners Saloon, Golden Hayride Outpost, Unite Fitness, Joy Brandt, Tom Reiley, Michael Mason, and the Colorado Railroad Museum
Friends:
($50-99.99/month or $550/yr)
Tall Pines Painting, Baby Doe’s Clothing, Goozell Yogurt & Coffee Paul Haseman, Donna Anderson, Carol & Doug Harwood, Beth Bidwell, Stephanie Painter, Greg Poulos, Ann Norton & Jonathan Storer, Mary & Don Parker, Saré Merrigan, The Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum, and Vic DeMaria
Supporters:
($25-49.99/month or $250/yr)
Laura King and Scott Wilson, Bobby German and Alison McNally, Forrest Jones, Barry & Liz Bettis, Cheryl & Tom Schweich, Marjorie Sloan, Chris and Joyce Davell, Rick Flint, Forrest Jones, Cynthia Merrill Tamny, Stephen Pero, Meg Van Ness & Steve Kalasz, Steve & Karla Schaefer, Bud Rockhill, Steve Enger, Kristie Brice & Mike Schwartz, The Golden Hotel, Kurt & Janet Siegfried, and Ella Lyons & Jeanne Fritch.
Members:
($10-24.99/month or $110/yr)
Brad Miller & Julie Bartos, Holly Thomas, Jim and LouAnne Dale, Ann Pattison, Thomas Hoffman, Carol Abel, Brian Quarnstrom, Sandra Curran, Bobby German and Alison McNally, Kathy Smith, Karen Smith, Carlos & Nancy Bernal, Robert Storrs, Michele Sannes, Elaine Marolla, Dixie Termin & Ron Miller, E Tom Hughes, Crystal M Culbert, Patrick A. Madison, Alice Madison & Jim Kalivas, Deb Goeldner, Christopher Ball, 6th Chair Home Services, Dot & Eric Brownson, Rosemary Coffman, Emeline Paulson, Sandy Schneider, Mark and Cathy Pattridge, Cheryl G Leidich, Jen Rutter, Frani R Bickart, Jennings and Litz, Bill Sedgeley, Nancy Hughes, Justin L Wade, Kathi Eggers, Traci Case, Donna Owen, Leslie D Lutz, Karen Oxman, Catherine Skokan, Ross Fraser & KC Gilliland, Lynne Haigh, Elizabeth Hilliard, Frank Young & Terre Deegan-Young, Kathy Hirons & Jack Markin, Jess & Anthony Monasterio, Heather Duncan, Lee Ann & Pete Horneck, Carol Cameron, Cheryl Williamson, San Daugherty, Jim Garner, John and Carol McEncroe, the Golden Welcome Center, the Golden Transcript, Koshare Eagle, Ken and Colleen Krantz, Traci Neuman Lacey, Jo Barber, Jamie Cookinham, Kermit Shields, Meridee Cecil, Vicki Olson, Colleen & Michael Ramey, Nancy & Pete Torpey, Jax Baker, Simon Maybury, Rose McLaughlin, Cameron Chambers, Joyce Gravina, Patrick Klein, Barb Robie, and Mary Rains, Richard Caldwell, Janice Waring, Sam & Marilyn Baron, Carmen Johnson
Followers:
($5-9.99/month)
Golden Community Garden, Lora Haimes, Mariane Erickson, J.J. Fraser, Mel Perkins, Bob Hamilton, Kim Linton, Steve Stevens
