34 Years Ago
The April 30, 1992 Golden Transcript describes the beginning of the monumental streetscape project on Washington Avenue. The streetscape was one of many changes happening at that time, all aimed at reinvigorating the historic downtown. The city was removing diagonal parking, adding trees and planters, and putting in new curbs and sidewalks. It was a big, ambitious project that would make downtown nicer in the long run but was massively disruptive in the meantime. The contractor doing the project described the street as "a war zone."
The process was hard on the merchants. The front page of that issue quoted Pat Kellenbenz, owner of the Country Mouse: "I usually make $800 to $1,000 on a Saturday. Last Saturday I made $44."
The Loveland building (now the Old Capitol Grill) had been standing empty for some time, but the April 30th Transcript announced that the owner had obtained a $100,000 grant and a $150,000 no-interest loan to help with the restoration.
A debate was raging over the Goltra family's plan to establish a quarry on Sheep Mountain. Many groups had testified in opposition to the quarry, including the Cities of Golden, Wheat Ridge, Arvada, Central City, and Black Hawk; the Sierra Club, Colorado Mountain Club,Colorado AAA, the U.S. EPA, U.S. Fire & Wildlife, Trout Unlimited, the Environmental Defense Fund, and the Daughters of the American Revolution. Mr. Goltra dismissed them all as "Nature Nazis."
In domestic news, Realtor Joy Brandt was selling the home at 500 18th Street for the asking price of $195,000. "A carriage rental house will help you make your mortgage payment!"
Apologies for the faulty arithmetic in yesterday's history article. It was the Golden Chamber's 106th birthday, not 126th!
