Today’s Events:
In light of the weather, it’s probably wise to check before heading out to any of these events.
9:15AM Baby Time at the Library
10AM Everything Dinosaur Talk: Thyreophora Part 1 (Stegosaurs)
10:15AM Toddler Time at the Library
11:15AM Toddler Time at the Library
New Exhibit Opening at the Railroad Museum: Railroads and the American Industrial Landscape
1PM Hexie Ladies English Paper Piecing Group at the Quilt Museum
2PM Introduction to Computers at the Library
2PM Golden Chamber’s South Golden Merchants’ Meeting
5PM Golden Landmarks Association Board Meeting
5:30PM Golden Library Textile Society
6:30PM Intro to Improv at Miners Alley
The Never-Ending Story of Parking in Golden – Part 3
Let me begin with a correction: yesterday’s cliffhanger was “In 1971, the Downtown Development Authority voted to acquire the 1867 Astor House and turn it into a parking lot.” That was incorrect–it was the Golden Downtown Improvement District (GDID), not the Downtown Development Authority.
As traffic levels grew in Golden, the City began to regard diagonal parking–a great solution in the 1920s–as a waste of lane space. In 1970, Washington Avenue reverted from diagonal parking back to parallel parking, and we went from two lanes of traffic to four. This loss of parking spots made it more urgent that we create off-street parking.
Businesses began to move out of downtown–or to the fringes of downtown– in order to have their own parking lots. Increasingly, businesses would advertise “Plenty of Free Parking!” Likewise, the church congregations also moved out of downtown, in search of properties big enough to include parking lots. Residential neighborhoods were also changing to include off-street parking. In 1971, council passed an ordinance (#650) requiring that multiple family dwelling units provide two off-street parking spaces per dwelling.
The Golden Downtown Improvement District continued to acquire and demolish old buildings to make way for parking lots–as did Mines, and Coors, and Jefferson County, and the rest of the country.
In 1971, the GDID acquired the Astor House. For some Golden residents, that was the last straw. In the past few years, we had lost the Courthouse, South School, North School, several churches, and many old houses. People didn’t think that trading the Astor House for 8 parking spaces was worth it. What followed was an amazing display of grassroots advocacy (worthy of another post on another day), and in 1972, the citizens of Golden voted to have the City purchase and preserve the building.
The endless search for parking slowed in the 1980s. Downtown Golden was in an economic decline, and we actually reached a point where our parking was adequate to our needs. We had plenty of other things to worry about (notably the dying downtown), but for a few years, we had plenty of parking.
Tomorrow: Golden’s Renaissance and Our Love-Hate Relationship with Parking
Wednesday Preview:
9AM Golden Walks: Wednesday Morning Celebrating Life
9:15AM Toddler Time at the Library
10AM Cutting Day at Golden Quilt Company
10AM TriceraTOTs at Dinosaur Ridge
10:15AM Toddler Time at the Library
11:15AM Discovery Play at the Library
11:30AM Golden Chamber’s Community Development Council
2:30PM Advanced Microsoft Excel: Charts and Graphs at the Library
5PM Mines Entrepreneurship & Innovation Social at the Buffalo Rose
5:30PM Golden Orators Toastmasters
6PM Composers in Love at the Library
6:30PM West Denver Chapter Trout Unlimited Monthly Program
6:30PM Avalanche Awareness Clinic
6:30PM Planning Commission Meeting
7:30PM SCRIPTprov at Miners Alley
