Golden City
From the beginning, Clear Creek has determined the layout of the town first known as “Golden City.” Golden is placed at an angle from the compass to align its streets to the river. The first river crossing also determined the location of Golden’s main street, Washington Avenue. Originally, Golden’s streets had different names on each side of the river. On the south side, Jackson Street was originally Miner Street; Illinois Street was Jeanette (later Mary) Street; Maple Street was Mary (later Helen) Street. On the north side, Ford Street was Green Street; Arapaho (later Arapahoe) Street was Aurora (later Russell) Street; Cheyenne Street was Camp Street. Numbered streets were originally only south of Clear Creek, numbering ten less than they do now; 1st through 10th Streets were Junction, Main, Park, Golden, Gregory, Fayette, King, Wall, Garrison, and Platte streets. Only Washington Avenue and East Street had the same name on both sides of Clear Creek. Golden’s street names were unified with changed in 1881 and 1904.
Clear Creek also divided Golden along cultural lines. The poor and immigrant families generally lived on the north side of Clear Creek. The more affluent as well as the middle classes generally lived on the south side. Industries usually congregated to the north while merchants set up shop on the south. Each neighborhood had its own school, and the student rivalry between north and south was fierce. As time passed, the differences between north and south have faded.
Background photo: Golden, 1908, Courtesy Denver Public Library, Western History Collection.
Marker is on Washington Avenue Bridge, on the right when traveling north.
Courtesy hmdb.org
