Walking Denver

It makes sense that as the West was being explored and mined for its precious metals, people would need to study metallurgy. The school began as a liberal arts and theology college in 1869, then with support from the state legislature added a School of Mines in 1873, and by 1874 became the Territorial School of Mines minus the original liberal arts and theology campus. The Colorado School of Mines has been a state institution since 1876, when Colorado became a state. Today the school’s focus has expanded to environment and energy studies, as well as engineering.

The enormous white M on the side of the hill west of Golden was first “built” in 1908 and electrified in 1932 so it is visible day or night.

Walk north on Illinois Street through the campus. As you cross 13th Street, note that the

School of Mines Geology Museum is to the left on the corner of Maple Street. It’s free to go in and see fossils, meteorites, gemstones, moon rocks, and to learn about the state’s mining history.

Look to the right down 13th Street and you should also be able to see the Armory Building, which might just be the country’s largest cobblestone building. It’s made from Clear Creek boulders that were dragged over by the wagonload by James Gow in 1913. This served as part of the Colorado National Guard Armory and Golden’s post office until 1971. It is now office and retail space.

The next two blocks are part of the Twelfth Street Historic District that includes wood-frame and brick houses built in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Many of the houses were home to faculty members on the School of Mines campus in the early 1900s.

Two blocks to the right down 12th Street is the

Astor House Museum, a white two-story former boardinghouse that was in business, under a few different owners and names, from its opening in 1867 until 1971. Saved from demolition, it is now a museum showing off the 18-inch-thick stone walls of Golden’s first stone building, and several rooms—kitchen, dining rooms, five bedrooms—have been outfitted to look like you’ve stepped back in time to the early 1900s. Go out on the balcony for a different view of Golden.

After crossing 11th Street you will be in

Clear Creek History Park on the south side of Clear Creek. When housing development encroached on a historic ranch about 15 miles from Golden, preservationists stepped in and moved many of the original buildings to this site—log by log—and then reconstructed them. The buildings are from the Pearce Ranch in nearby Golden Gate Canyon and include a schoolhouse, cabins, blacksmith shop, and chicken coop, all from the 1800s. There are tours, classes, and crafts offered at the park.

Kid Tip: In the history park, you can run around, climb up a ladder secured on an old house, and walk down the path to see chickens, and all of that makes this my favorite part of this walk and really different from the other walks in this book. Oh, look in the old schoolhouse—so different than where I go to school!

Walk over the Billy Drew Footbridge, but not too fast! If you stop in the middle of the bridge and look west you might see kayakers and canoeists in the Clear Creek Whitewater Park. The man-made chutes run for a quarter mile of the creek and are used for championship races as well as practice runs.

Turn right onto the path alongside Clear Creek after crossing the footbridge. On your left between Cheyenne Street and Arapahoe Street is the

Golden History Center. This museum has artifacts from Golden’s mining and agricultural past, as well as books, photographs, and other items that tell the story of this small town and the Native Americans who were here before the town was founded.

Turn left from the creekside path and walk up the stairs just before the Washington Avenue Bridge. If you have breezed by the museums, the bridge’s signs and historical photos also tell the story of Golden. There is also a good view of Castle Rock to the east from the bridge.

Turn right at the top of the stairs and walk to the Washington Avenue Bridge. Directly across Washington Avenue is Parfet Park, the town’s oldest park and a lovely spot for a picnic in summer.

To the north of Parfet Park is the

American Mountaineering Center in the old high school. The center is home to several climbing organizations and also the

Bradford Washburn American Mountaineering Museum. The museum has exhibits about mountain and rock climbing all over the world.

The bigger-than-life bronze statue greeting you at the bridge is Buffalo Bill, who is further commemorated every summer during Buffalo Bill Days. What started in the 1950s as a trek up to the celebrated frontiersman’s grave has grown into Golden’s largest annual festival that includes a parade and Wild West Show with Buffalo Bill look-alikes.

HOWDY FOLKS! That big sign ahead has been welcoming, well, folks to Golden since 1949. According to the Golden Pioneer Museum’s book about the town, the sign was changed to say “Where The West Lives” during a renovation in the 1970s because the previous tagline, “Where the Rest Remains,” had negative connotations for some people.

To your right is the

Golden Hotel, with rooms and a restaurant that overlook Clear Creek. The Bridgewater Grill serves steaks, burgers, and a mix of fine and casual dining options.

At 12th Street look to the east and you will see the iconic red-and-white Coors sign painted on the side of the brewery. According to the Golden Pioneer Museum book, Adolphus Kuhrs (more commonly known as Adolf Coors) came from Germany in 1873 and cofounded the brewery, which was an instant success. There are tours, tastings, and a gift shop at what is now

MillerCoors.

Continue walking south on Washington Avenue. The next few blocks offer an assortment of shops, bars, and restaurants to sample.

The

Old Capitol Grill is located in the old capitol building from that brief time when Golden City was the capital. Built in the 1860s, it housed the first legislature session, and over the years it was also a mercantile building and a saloon featuring Coors beer.

The name sums up what you’ll find at

Golden Sweets Ice Cream & Chocolate, a summertime favorite for locals and visitors.

Table Mountain Inn started out as the Spanish-style Hotel Berrimoor in 1925, and after a couple of other reincarnations it was redeveloped and reopened in 1998 to be the Southwestern-style hotel it is today. Their grill and cantina have catbird seats on the patio overlooking the goings-on along Washington Avenue.

At the corner of Washington Avenue and 15th Street is the

Foothills Art Center in a church built in 1872. A Victorian-era house provides additional art display space next door, and a sculpture garden outside also has changing exhibits.

On the other side of the Foothills Art Center is the

Sherpa House Restaurant and Cultural Center—a logical fit with the mountain clubs just down the street—serving traditional Nepalese food.

Turn right and walk west up 15th Street back to the School of Mines campus to end the walk.

Points of Interest

Guggenheim Building 1500 Illinois St., 303-273-3000, mines.edu

Geology Museum 1301 Maple St., 303-273-3823, mines.edu/Geology_Museum

Astor House Museum 822 12th St., 303-278-3557, goldenhistory.org

Clear Creek History Park 11th St. between Illinois and Arapahoe Sts., 303-278-3557, goldenhistory.org

Golden History Center 923 10th St., 303-278-3557, goldenhistory.org

American Mountaineering Center 710 10th St., 303-996-2755

Bradford Washburn American Mountaineering Museum 710 10th St., 303-996-2755

The Golden Hotel 800 11th St., 303-279-0100, thegoldenhotel.com

MillerCoors 1221 Ford St., 800-642-6116, millercoors.com

Old Capitol Grill & Smokehouse 1122 Washington Ave., 303-279-6390

Golden Sweets Ice Cream & Chocolate 1299 Washington Ave., 303-271-1191, golden-sweets.com

Table Mountain Inn 1310 Washington St., 303-216-8040, tablemountaininn.com

Foothills Art Center 809 15th St., 303-279-3922, foothillsartcenter.org

Sherpa House 1518 Washington Ave., 303-278-7939, ussherpahouse.com