Big Changes Afoot In Golden

As regular blog readers know, I really like the town of Golden, Colorado, located up against the foothills to the west of Denver, as seen in the photograph on the left. In addition to the popularity of Clear Creek, on which tubers and kayakers play all summer, the town features many old buildings from the late 1800s, including historic frontier era structures in the Clear Creek History Park. Of course, in addition to all those recreational activities that take place on Clear Creek, just downriver the Coors Brewing Company uses that water for it's beer.  I am not exactly sure on the procedure for making beer, but I know it involves a boiling process, which I assume will remove whatever was left in the water by those recreationists further upriver. 

The big news out of Golden is the remodeling of the Astor House, which was a hotel and rooming house built in 1867 for miners, legislators (Golden was at the time the territorial capitol) and others who settled there back in frontier days. In addition to being a boarding house, it also had one of the first bathtubs in Golden, and the Astor House rented that tub out for 25 cents to anyone who wanted a hot bath. The Astor House eventually became a museum, but was not very popular, and for the past few years the City of Golden has been trying to find an alternative use for it. It now appears the Foothills Art Center will build an addition on the back and turn the place into an exhibition space. I just hope they will consider renting out that bathtub for a suitable price (it is still there) in order to maintain that historic tradition.

I like historic structures and have toured the Astor House several times. However, I have to admit that I would not like to actually live there, despite its historic bathtub. Of course, Golden has many houses from around that same era that I wouldn't mind setting up residence in, such as the house in the photograph on the left. Not only does it look like a fine 19th century home, but it is just a short walk from the Golden City Brewery, the second largest brewery in Golden, with a beer garden located in the owner's backyard. Location, location, location, as they say in the real estate world.