Golden is a home rule city that is the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

of Jefferson County,

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...

, United States. The city population was 20,399 at the

2020 United States Census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to off ...

. Golden lies along Clear Creek at the base of the

Front Range The Front Range is a mountain range of the Southern Rocky Mountains of North America located in the central portion of the U.S. State of Colorado, and southeastern portion of the U.S. State of Wyoming. It is the first mountain range encountered ...

of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...

. Founded during the

Pike's Peak Gold Rush The Pike's Peak Gold Rush (later known as the Colorado Gold Rush) was the boom in gold prospecting and mining in the Pike's Peak Country of western Kansas Territory and southwestern Nebraska Territory of the United States that began in July 1858 ...

on June 16, 1859, the mining camp was originally named Golden City in honor of Thomas L. Golden. Golden City served as the capital of the provisional Territory of Jefferson from 1860 to 1861, and capital of the official

Territory of Colorado The Territory of Colorado was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 28, 1861, until August 1, 1876, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Colorado. The territory was organized in the ...

from 1862 to 1867. In 1867, the territorial capital was moved about east to Denver City. Golden is now a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Front Range Urban Corridor. The

Colorado School of Mines The Colorado School of Mines, informally called Mines, is a public research university in Golden, Colorado, founded in 1874. The school offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering, science, and mathematics, with a focus on en ...

, offering programs in

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

and

science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence ...

, is located in Golden. In addition, it is also home to the

National Renewable Energy Laboratory The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in the US specializes in the research and development of renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy systems integration, and sustainable transportation. NREL is a federally funded research an ...

, National Earthquake Information Center,

Coors Brewing Company The Coors Brewing Company started as an American brewery and beer company in Golden, Colorado. In 2005, Adolph Coors Company, the holding company that owned Coors Brewing, merged with Molson, Inc. to become Molson Coors. The first Coors b ...

CoorsTek CoorsTek, Inc. is a privately owned manufacturer of technical ceramics for aerospace, automotive, chemical, electronics, medical, metallurgical, oil and gas, semiconductor and many other industries. CoorsTek headquarters and primary factories a ...

, Boston Market,

Spyderco Spyderco is an American cutlery company based in Golden, Colorado, producing knives and knife sharpeners. Spyderco pioneered many features that are now common in folding knives, including the pocket clip, serrations, and the opening hole. Spyd ...

, Software Bisque, American Mountaineering Center, and

Colorado Railroad Museum The Colorado Railroad Museum is a non-profit railroad museum. The museum is located on at a point where Clear Creek flows between North and South Table Mountains in Golden, Colorado. The museum was established in 1959 to preserve a record of ...

. It is the birthplace of the Jolly Rancher, a candy bought out by the Hershey Foods Corporation, and home to Yeti Cycles. Western showman William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody is buried nearby on

Lookout Mountain Lookout Mountain is a mountain ridge located at the northwest corner of the U.S. state of Georgia, the northeast corner of Alabama, and along the southeastern Tennessee state line in Chattanooga. Lookout Mountain was the scene of the 18th-centu ...

History

Established during the

, Golden City quickly became a leading economic and political center of the region. Its geographic location made it a center of trade between the gold fields to the west and settlements to the east. Golden City was established on June 16, 1859, along Clear Creek west of Denver. The city is named after Thomas L. Golden. Other important businessmen and prospectors like

William A.H. Loveland William Austin Hamilton Loveland (May 30, 1826 – 1894) was a U.S. railroad entrepreneur and businessman in the late 19th century. An early resident of Golden when it was the capital of the Colorado Territory, he was one of the founders o ...

and George West were among the first people to settle in Golden. By the end of 1860, Golden City had been popularly elected the seat of Jefferson County and was capital of the provisional

Jefferson Territory The Territory of Jefferson was an extralegal and unrecognized United States territory that existed from October 24, 1859 until the creation of the Colorado Territory on February 28, 1861. The Jefferson Territory, named for Founding Father and U ...

. As drafted in the territorial constitution, the capital of the Jefferson Territory was initially proposed to be Golden, then with a population of 700, as a result of its proximity to mountain mining towns, and greater ability to hold a congressional quorum than had Denver. Golden City was temporarily removed from the status of territory capital as a result of an act passed on November 5, 1861, by the territorial government. Colorado City, a small town to the south of Denver, became the new temporary territorial capital, but saw only one short event at this location. This status was quickly revoked, however, as on August 4, 1862, the territorial government voted formally to move back to Golden. While the town lost much of its populace and leading citizenry during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

for several reasons (ranging from military to economic), Golden City became capital of the federally recognized

Colorado Territory The Territory of Colorado was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 28, 1861, until August 1, 1876, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Colorado. The territory was organized in the ...

on August 2, 1862, continuing as such until 1867. Between 1862 and the early 1870s that a fierce railroad competition developed between Denver, to the east, and Golden. By the mid-1860s, Golden held a merely honorific status as the territorial capital, rather than serving as the legitimate source of territorial power. Denver, the increasingly larger and more-developed city, was the focused core of important territorial occasions, with the Governor residing in Denver, and territorial government meetings occurring there as well. The citizens and supporters of Golden realized that a spur from Golden to the new transcontinental railroad, running through

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enr ...

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to t ...

, to the north, was the only possibility for Golden to reemerge as the dominant heart of commerce in the territory. W.A.H. Loveland founded the Colorado Central Railroad on February 9, 1865, to do just this. With Golden beginning talk of creating a railroad, prominent Denver residents raced to do the same. In an appeal to the residents of Denver, ''

The Rocky Mountain News The ''Rocky Mountain News'' (nicknamed the ''Rocky'') was a daily newspaper published in Denver, Colorado, United States, from April 23, 1859, until February 27, 2009. It was owned by the E. W. Scripps Company from 1926 until its closing. As ...

,'' which was based in Denver itself'','' wrote an article imploring the citizens of Denver to vote to fund a railroad; "If we vote $500,000 in bonds to the Denver Pacific railway all is well. If we defeat those bonds, all hope of a railroad for the next two years is gone... Gentlemen of Denver, what will you do? The fate of your city is in your own hands." The residents of Denver voted for the bonds, spurring construction of the

Denver Pacific Railway The Denver Pacific Railway was a historic railroad that operated in the western United States during the late 19th century. Formed in 1867 in the Colorado Territory, the company operated lines in Colorado and present-day southeastern Wyoming in ...

. By 1869, the railroad race to Cheyenne was becoming less and less of a race, as the Denver Pacific Railway pulled ahead of the struggling Colorado Central Railroad. Realizing they were going to lose the race to Cheyenne, the Colorado Central began expanding west into mountain communities such as Georgetown,

Black Hawk Black Hawk and Blackhawk may refer to: Animals * Black Hawk (horse), a Morgan horse that lived from 1833 to 1856 * Common black hawk, ''Buteogallus anthracinus'' * Cuban black hawk, ''Buteogallus gundlachii'' * Great black hawk, ''Buteogallus urub ...

, and

Central City In urban planning, a core city, principal city metropolitan core, or central city, is the largest or most important city or cities of a metropolitan area. A core city is surrounded by smaller satellite cities, towns, and suburbs. A central cit ...

, all areas founded on and focused in silver mining. Golden, having then sidetracked into servicing various close by mountain communities, continued to fall behind the pace set by the Denver railroad, and by 1870, officially lost the race to Cheyenne. However, The Colorado Central Railroad connected directly with Cheyenne seven years later, in 1877, but by that point, the race with Denver had been lost. Although Golden's Colorado Central Railroad offered a challenge to Denver's railroad, the better funded Denver Pacific Railway was able to connect to Cheyenne far more quickly than Golden, securing for Denver its long-term status as both capital and prominent city. Denver Tramway at Golden depot, 1909 (cropped)

Denver Tramway at Golden depot, 1909 (cropped)

Golden City became the " Lowell of the West", a regional center of trade and industry that boasted at various times three flour mills, five smelters, the first railroad into the Colorado mountains, the Coors Brewery, brick works, the only paper mill west of

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

, clay and coal mines, and more. During the 1870s, it became home to three institutions of higher education, the Colorado University Schools, of which the

remains today. Golden was also home to an opera house and seven churches, including Colorado's third (

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

) church, oldest

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul c ...

church, likely oldest Christian (

Disciples of Christ The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States and Canada. The denomination started with the Restoration Movement during the Second Great Awakening, first existing during the 19th ...

) church, and first Swedish immigrant (

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

) church. The town was home to sizable populations of German, Swiss, Swedish, Italian and Chinese immigrants; five immigrants became mayors of Golden. Until the early 20th century, Golden maintained a small-town population of around 2,500 people. Several industries faded or were destroyed by tragic events, but others flourished to continue Golden's industrial legacy, including its brewing, brick making, clay mining and porcelain industries. Golden became even more connected through

mass transit Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...

, with two trolley lines extending to

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, while the movie theater gradually took the place of the opera house for downtown entertainment. Downtown revitalization efforts began in the 1920s with its first streetscape and ornamental lighting project and

urban renewal Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...

on its north and east, anchored by new senior high and grade schools. The historic cultural tension between the city's north and south sides gradually eased, and the town successfully endured additional major economic depressions, including the Silver Crash of 1893 and the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. The School of Mines gained a worldwide academic reputation, Coors rapidly came to the forefront of the national and international brewing and ceramics industries, and the city modernized with a recreation center, paved streets and more. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Golden boomed, rapidly gaining population, size and economy. In 1959, the town nearly tripled in geographic size overnight when it annexed large properties to the south, including the new Magic Mountain theme park, one of the earliest entertainment attractions of its kind. A number of new subdivisions were built and public infrastructure was modernized, including new buildings for the senior high school, city hall, recreation center, library, museum and central fire and police stations. Also built were new downtown anchors, including

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic appe ...

s and

grocery store A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday U.S. usage, however, "grocery store" is a synonym for supermarket, a ...

s, several new church buildings, new county offices, and the Horizon Plan, which transformed the School of Mines. The decline in the price of petroleum and near-simultaneous failure of several downtown anchors placed the central business district into recession in the 1980s. The 1990s saw the revitalization of the downtown through various initiatives, including its second streetscaping project in 1992. In 1993, the old Golden High School building was converted into the American Mountaineering Center, making Golden a research and education hub for mountaineering. The Coors Brewery had become the largest single-site brewery in the world, its

porcelain Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises main ...

subsidiary among the foremost of its kind, and Golden became home to the

. Today Golden has a population of over 18,000 and is home to more people and businesses of national and international influence than ever before, yet maintains a small-town historic identity. A Golden mailing address may also represent one of several communities in unincorporated Jefferson County to the north and west of Golden, communities undergoing continual residential development of former farm, ranch and mining land and which possess a considerable population.

Geography

Golden lies just north of I-70 and west of

at the foot of the

. It is situated between Lookout Mountain and the two Table Mountains, within a sheltered valley fed by Clear Creek. Clear Creek flows through town from the west, out of its canyon shared by

US 6 U.S. Route 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, honoring the American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the U.S. Highway system. While it currently runs east-northeast from Bishop, California, to ...

, and exits the valley it carved between North Table Mountain and South Table Mountain and in which is located the Coors Brewery. At the

, the city had a total area of including of water.

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2010, there were 18,867 people, 7,394 households, and 3,985 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was 2,096.3 inhabitants per square mile (809.7/km). There were 7,748 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 90.6%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 1.2%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.6% Native American, 3.8% Asian, 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 1.4% from other races, and 2.3% from two or more races. 8.2% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race. There were 7,394 households, out of which 23.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.4% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 46.1% were non-families. 31.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.8. In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.7% under the age of 20, 13% from 20 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 25% from 45 to 64, and 10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33.9 years. The population was 56.6% male and 43.4% female. As of the

of 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $49,115, and the median income for a family was $67,414. Males had a median income of $41,822 versus $32,413 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the city was $25,257. About 3.5% of families and 11.3% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 6.4% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

Golden is home to numerous museums, including the Golden History Museum & Park, Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum,

, Colorado School of Mines Geology Museum, and the Bradford Washburn American Mountaineering Museum. There is also the Mother Cabrini Shrine. Golden is home to the Jefferson Symphony Orchestra, which performs seasonally at Bunker Auditorium in the Green Center at the

, and has performed continuously since 1953. The city is also home to the Foothills Art Center, an art exhibition venue housed in a historic church. Miners Alley Playhouse in downtown Golden, is a live theater which has performed there since 2001. The 150-year-old Buffalo Rose Bar and Grill is the longest-surviving

Colorado gold rush The Pike's Peak Gold Rush (later known as the Colorado Gold Rush) was the boom in gold prospecting and mining in the Pike's Peak Country of western Kansas Territory and southwestern Nebraska Territory of the United States that began in July 185 ...

-era business and remains a popular music venue for touring rock and blues bands. Golden has several annual events, including E-Days of the Colorado School of Mines in April (since 1927), the Golden Music Festival at Clear Creek History Park,

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Many ...

fireworks shows sponsored by the Golden Lions Club (since 1972), the largest event of the year is Buffalo Bill Days in late July (since 1946); the Golden Fine Arts Festival in August (since 1990), and Olde Golden Christmas in November to December (since 1972). The American Mountaineering Center is home to the

American Alpine Club The American Alpine Club (AAC) is a non-profit member organization with more than 24,000 members. Its vision is to create "a united community of competent climbers and healthy climbing landscapes." The Club is housed in the American Mountaineerin ...

, The Colorado Mountain Club, and Outward Bound. The Henry S. Hall, Jr. American Alpine Club Library and Colorado Mountain Club Collection is the world's largest repository of mountaineering literature and is internationally known. The American Mountaineering Center is also home to the Bradford Washburn American Mountaineering Museum and hosts many programs and events each year. This premier facility and the town's location near plenty of world class rock climbing, skiing and mountaineering make Golden a center for mountaineering culture. The city's thriving beer culture supports several microbreweries, including Golden City Brewery, Mountain Toad Brewing, Cannonball Creek Brewing Company, and Barrels & Bottles Brewery. Beer festivals in Golden include the UllrGrass beer festival every January and the Knock Your Boots Off Beer Tasting and Chili Cook-off every October. Golden is home to the headquarters and brewery of Coors Beer. Golden was where the beer company had its start, and it has kept its headquarters in the city ever since its founding in 1873. The brewery offers tours to the public. It is one of the leading employers in the Golden area, with 900 employees working full-time in the brewery.

Sports

Clear Creek Golden CO with South Table Mountain and tubers

Golden's competitive athletics go back for well over a century and feature public school and collegiate teams and athletes. Golden High School competes in various sports in 4A competition in Colorado, and its football program dates as far back as the 1890s. The

competes primarily in NCAA Division II athletics in a variety of sports including football (dating to 1888), baseball and basketball. Clear Creek is also home to a nationally renowned

kayak A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word '' qajaq'' (). The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each s ...

course, and the city is home to the American Mountaineering Center and features noteworthy rock climbing, mountain biking, hiking, and hang gliding opportunities in close proximity. Golden has to date generated three Major League Baseball players, four Olympic competitors and two Olympic medalists.

Government

Golden is a home rule municipality of the city form of statutory government in Colorado. Its government is a city council/city manager form of leadership which consists of a popularly elected mayor elected by the entire citizenry, two councilors each representing a district comprising one half of the city, and four councilors each representing a ward of which each district is divided into two. These seven members of the city council are each popularly elected from their ward/district/at large and they serve as the governing body of the city. The council hires and supervises the city manager, who hires and supervises the city staff, which handles the daily operations of the city. Golden'
current elected officials
are: * Councilor (Ward 2) and Mayor Pro Tempore – Joseph G. Behm * Councilor (District 1) – Saoirse Charis-Graves * Councilor (District 2) Casey Brown * Councilor (Ward 1) – Marcia Claxton * Councilor (Ward 3) – Pamela Gould * Councilor (Ward 4) – Laura Weinberg The current city manager is Jason Slowinski. Golden was among the first municipally governed cities in Colorado and has one of the oldest continuously functioning governments in the state. To date Golden has held 91 popular elections for municipal officials since its first such election in 1860, including 85 regular elections and 6 special elections in 1860, 1879, 1882, 2005, 2006 and 2008.

Education

Golden, originally home to the second school in Colorado, is today part of the Jefferson County R-1 School District, which provides public education throughout Jefferson County, Colorado. The city has four elementary schools (Mitchell, Kyffin, Shelton, and Ralston Elementary) in the foothills to the west, one middle school (Bell Middle School), and Colorado's oldest senior high school ( Golden High School.) In higher education, Golden features the oldest

public university A public university or public college is a university or college that is in owned by the state or receives significant public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private university. Whether a national universi ...

in the state, the

, which can be found a few blocks south of downtown Golden, situated on a hill overlooking the city. Nearby is the Mountain Language Institute, an English language school providing classes both in Golden and online.

Media

Newspapers

* '' Golden Transcript'' – founded in 1866 * The Oredigger – Colorado School of Mines student paper, founded in 1920 * ''The Coffee News'' – founded in 2009

Infrastructure

Transportation

City streets

The main part of Golden is laid out upon a historic street grid system running on an approximately northwest–southeast axis, aligned with Clear Creek upon which the heart of the city was established. Most of these are paved streets with a total right of way, including area for sidewalks which in older areas are often separated by a landscaped strip from the street featuring beautiful and historic trees. The only historic street in the grid not named as a "street" is the main thoroughfare, Washington Avenue, an right of way featuring a downtown care streetscape with trees, planters, brick, flagstone and ornamental street lights. Golden's streets are generally numbered on the east–west streets, and named on the north–south streets, and are named after pioneers, American Indian tribes and trees. The streets of the southeasterly part of town are aligned with the Denver metropolitan street grid, which are aligned directly with the true directions of the compass, and they share the names of the Denver grid. Outlying subdivisions of Golden consist of their own, often curvilinear street systems, with varying degrees of connection to the rest of the city. Golden has several main thoroughfare street connections to the east which date to the Gold Rush times, including West 44th Avenue, West 32nd Avenue and South Golden Road.

Highways

Since its beginning, Golden has been at a crossroads of major Colorado thoroughfares. Today

Interstate 70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of I-695 in Baltimore, Maryland, and is the fifth-longest Interstate in the co ...

(I-70) runs through the southern part of the city, which connects to the northern terminus of SH 470 which runs to the south. U.S. Highway 6 (US 6), which turns into 6th Avenue, is a historic thoroughfare (built in 1950) which runs east–west through the southern part of the city then curves northward through the western part of Golden, ultimately arriving at the mouth of Clear Creek Canyon. State Highway 93 (SH 93), which traces its roots to the 1860s, continues north through the western part of the city from the canyon and northward towards

Boulder In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In ...

. SH 58, which turns into Golden Freeway, bisects Golden on an east–west route between 6th and 7th Streets, and ultimately joins to go up Clear Creek Canyon. West Colfax Avenue, the historic US 40, runs on an approximately northeast–southwest route through the southern end of the city and turns westward up Mt. Vernon Canyon and parallels I-70.

Mass transportation

Golden is part of the network of the

Regional Transportation District The Regional Transportation District, more commonly referred to as RTD, is the regional agency operating public transit services in eight out of the twelve counties in the Denver-Aurora-Boulder Combined Statistical Area in the U.S. state of Col ...

which provides bus and light rail service throughout the Denver metropolitan area. Its bus routes 16, 16L, and GS connect Golden with other points of the Denver metropolitan area and Boulder. The West Corridor (W line) of the

FasTracks FasTracks is a multibillion-dollar public transportation expansion plan under construction in metropolitan Denver, Colorado, United States. Developed by the Regional Transportation District (RTD), the plan consists of new commuter rail, light ...

light rail line, which parallels 6th Avenue into Golden to its terminal at the Jefferson County Government Center, opened to the public on April 26, 2013. This is a modern version of the historic trolley line that Golden interests spearheaded in the 1890s. At the same time the W Line opened, a Community Call-n-Ride bus launched in Golden, offering flexible service along with regular stops within the city itself. The new bus system was designed to complement the light rail, extending the transit service into the whole community, including the downtown corridor. Although passengers are no longer served by heavy rail, Golden continues to be served by

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

transportation for cargo, as it has been continuously since 1870. These lines are owned by the

BNSF BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...

railroad and serve business interests in the northeastern end of the city. Within the Coors Brewery grounds it becomes the brewery's own in-house railroad.

Airports

The closest airport to Golden is nearby

Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport is a public-use airport located in Broomfield, Colorado, United States. The airport is owned and operated by Jefferson County and is situated midway between Denver and Boulder on U.S. Highway 36. It is loc ...

, a

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

air transport facility located in northeastern Jefferson County. Passenger traffic generally uses

Denver International Airport Denver International Airport , locally known as DIA, is an international airport in the Western United States, primarily serving metropolitan Denver, Colorado, as well as the greater Front Range Urban Corridor. At , it is the largest airport i ...

in northeastern

Notable people

Notable individuals who were born in or have lived in Golden include engineer and historian Edward L. Berthoud, brewer

Adolph Coors Adolph Herman Joseph Coors Sr. (February 4, 1847 – June 5, 1929) was a German American brewer who founded the Adolph Coors Company in Golden, Colorado, in 1873. Early years Adolph Hermann Joseph Kuhrs was born in Barmen in Rhenish Prussi ...

, photographer

Gertrude Käsebier Gertrude Käsebier (née Stanton; May 18, 1852 – October 12, 1934) was an American photographer. She was known for her images of motherhood, her portraits of Native Americans, and her promotion of photography as a career for women. Biography ...

, and Gudy Gaskill, the driving force behind the creation of the

Colorado Trail The Colorado Trail is a long-distance trail running for from the mouth of Waterton Canyon southwest of Denver to Durango in Colorado, United States. Its highest point is above sea level, and most of the trail is above . Despite its high elevat ...

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City of Golden websiteCDOT map of the City of GoldenGolden Chamber of CommerceVisitGolden.comGoldenHistory.org
{{authority control Cities in Jefferson County, Colorado County seats in Colorado Former colonial and territorial capitals in the United States Populated places established in 1860 1860 establishments in Kansas Territory Cities in Colorado