by neil kearney | Mar 4, 2009 | Uncategorized |
Boulder is celebrating its 150th anniversary but one wouldn’t expect there to be many opportunities for archeology. It’s not quite Pompeii, but current construction on Broadway just a few blocks north of Pearl Street have revealed trolley tracks running under a quite few layers of asphalt.
Thanks to the kind librarians at the Carnegie Branch of the Boulder Public Library who pointed me in the right direction, here is the history of those tracks. The Boulder Railway and Utility Company was founded in 1898 with the idea of bringing an electric streetcar system to Boulder. The initial plan was to provide transportation between downtown and the newly built Chautauqua.
The headquarters for the line was located on the SW corner of Arapahoe and Broadway where Whole Foods (Alfalfas) now stands. A coal fired power house was built on the site as well as storage for the four cars. Rails were put into place along with the electric poles during the first half of 1899 with the idea of opening in time for the 4th of July at Chautauqua.
On June 24th, 1899 the Daily Camera headline stated “She Starts, She Moves”. The 3 mile loop was completed in time for the festivities. The original loop ran from downtown to Chautauqua by way of Broadway, College Ave, and 9th Street and returned via 10th, Aurora and Broadway. It was reported that the desirability of the plateau that is now the Chautauqua neighborhood greatly increased with the installation of the line. The line also provided transportation for the students at the University of Colorado.
The line soon opened a North Boulder loop that served the Colorado Sanitarium (now Boulder Community Hospitals Mapleton Center) and the Newlands neighborhood along Broadway, Maxwell, 5th St. and Evergreen.
In 1914 the line was purchased by the Public Service Company. Boulder’s trolley line closed for good in 1931 when it was replaced by a bus line. Obviously, they opted to pave over the tracks rather than remove them.
Source: Tracking Down Boulder, Colorado’s Railroads by Silvia Pettem, 1996.
Photos: Willie Culkin and the Carnegie Branch Library website.
by neil kearney | Feb 10, 2009 | Uncategorized |
Boulder is celebrating its sesquicentennial this year and today citizens were invited to kick off the extended celebration by ringing a bell 150 times at noon. This was just the first in a series of events to mark the first 150 years of Boulder.
To learn more about the history of Boulder I would recommend the Boulder History Museum and the Carnegie Library.
Here is a timeline and some old photos offered on the Boulder History Museum website.
The best resource for the events surrounding the sesquicentennial is located at http://www.boulder150.com
The Daily Camera has also done a nice job this week in documenting the celebration and the history of our fine city.
Here is a good interactive timeline which gives a good event history with photos. I like the flipbook option.
Here is a video showing the ringing of the bell at the Methodist Church at 15th and Spruce. The Methodist Church was established in 1859, the year Boulder was founded.
Next Tuesday, February 17th you might want to attend the first of six lectures about Boulder entitled Native Americans: the Boulder before Boulder. The lecture will begin at 7 PM at Boulder’s Main Branch Library Canyon Theater and is presented by the Boulder History Museum and the Boulder Public Library.
As a Boulder native I am always interested in the changes that Boulder has seen over the years. I love to hear the stories of what Boulder was like when my dad came to town in the 1950’s to attend CU. Boulder was a much different place than it is now. One story I especially like is the recollection of horse stables at Chautauqua and riding the horses down Baseline Road to the end of town. The eastern end of town at that time was Broadway, from there it was dirt roads to Kansas.
by neil kearney | Jan 27, 2009 | Boulder County Housing Trends |
Beyond sixth grade we don’t tend to think about tetherball much. It’s a pretty simple game. One of momentum, angles and coordination. Doug White a fellow broker here at Metro Brokers Boulder had a great idea about how tetherball is an analogy for the economy.
First, let’s review the basics. Tetherball is played by two people on opposite sides of a pole. From the top of the pole hangs a rope and at the end of the rope is a ball. The goal for each person is to push or hit the ball in a certain direction, either clockwise or counterclockwise around the pole. Before the rope begins to wrap around the pole the circumference of the arc is large and the ball seems to be moving relatively slowly. As the rope begins to wrap around the pole, the circumference becomes smaller and the time it takes for the ball to travel in a circle decreases. As the ball travels around the pole more quickly the players have less time to react. In the end the rope is fully wound around the pole and the ball hits the pole. The game is over and the ball begins to unwind. This is probably more than you ever wanted to remember about tetherball but here comes the analogy.
In our analogy the ball is the economy. On one side of the pole is “Positive Paul”. Paul stands for all of the positive forces of the economy. When Paul is doing well the economy is doing well. On the other side of the pole is “Negative Ned” and he represents all that would derail the economy. Since the early 1990’s Paul, for the most part, has been been doing well. All of the forces that make Paul work, like job growth, increased productivity, and population growth have been gaining momentum. As a result, momentum builds and companies are created, values on real estate and investments rise. With each arc around the pole momentum builds and the negative forces that slow the economy (Ned) has a harder and harder time even touching the ball. All is good.
During the last decade momentum has built up to a frenzied pace due to increased globalization, easy credit and unprecedented consumer confidence. As of two years ago, momentum had built up to a point where most thought it was unstoppable. The ball was whipping around the pole way out of the reach of Negative Ned. Positive Paul became complacent and cocky and then all of a sudden, just when Paul thought it would go on forever, Ned reached in and stopped the momentum. We are now seeing the excesses of the positive momentum resulting in the economy moving in the other way, quickly. The credit crisis, the housing crisis, unemployment, low consumer confidence; each of these factors is moving the ball in the negative direction. The negative momentum is moving fast since we still at the top of the pole. The economy seems to be unraveling.
Just as the exuberance (bad loans, over hiring, bad personal decisions) of the positive era caused the ultimate downfall of the economy. The correction (layoffs, record low housing starts, increased lending diligence etc.) is resulting in behaviors which will eventually turn it around.
What we need now are forces to stop the negative momentum. In a tetherball game more advanced players succeed because they know how to use angles. The strong hit is not nearly as effective if you hit it right to your opponent. To succeed a player must hit the ball so that the ball is at its highest point right where the opponent is. Right now, I think our overall financial re-trenching is weakening the negative forces, like a boxer punching the gut. What the government is trying to do with the proposed stimulus plan is to change the angle. To make the most of each action. Let’s hope they get it right.
by neil kearney | Dec 30, 2008 | Uncategorized |
I like many set goals for the coming year. Here are a few online resources to help with that task. Remember to think big and to imagine the life you would like to live – because you can make it happen!
http://www.goal-setting-guide.com/
http://www.entrepreneur.com/management/leadership/leadershipcolumnistraysilverstein/article188454.html
http://www.time-management-guide.com/personal-goal-setting.html
by neil kearney | Oct 10, 2008 | Boulder County Housing Trends |
Here is What I Know:
Wow what a ride we have been in lately. It seems that people have been led to question the underlying value of everything financial. I try not to look at my retirement portfolio value and am constantly amazed by the huge
swings in the stock indices. With the realization that many companies have made huge bets on financial instruments that even they don’t understand makes one question what actually one owns. Is is the potential future profits or is it the hope that they didn’t make any really bad investments in other companies or contracts? The unknown brings fear and much of what we are seeing at this point is fear of the unknown. Banks and companies won’t lend to each other because they don’t know what skeletons they might have in their closet that would prevent a payback. With so many of the big names going down investors don’t know what is a good company and what is a bad company.
Real estate is certainly not immune from the unknown or from fear. How much value will I lose? Will I be able to sell my house? Will I be able to get a loan? Is this a bad time to sell? These are all questions that are on the mind of consumers right now. Here is what I know. The value of real estate can fall but it cannot disappear. You can use, live and enjoy a house. You cannot get any value out of a stock certificate.
When people talk about a return to quality, I keep thinking about my real estate investments. There may be a few fewer buyers out there right now but without exception everyone needs a place to live. The last few days people have been selling all of their investments and returning to cash (not a great move at this point, remember sell high – buy low). This does not hold true in real estate. Just because there is uncertainty does not mean that you should sell, you still need a place to live. The housing market is a semi-liquid investment, meaning that there are buyers,but it doesn’t happen right away. This illiquidity means overall stability. The national news made a big deal about a nationwide loss of 10% of home values, and this is not true in most areas. The Dow Jones average has lost 10% over the last few days, this is true instability.
All of thee news has scared people into believing that the sky has fallen. Obviously things have changed and we are in uncharted waters but people still need to move. People are still getting married, moving for jobs, getting divorced or having babies. Loans for most of those people (as long as they have a down payment and good credit) are still available. Sales of real estate are down but we are comparing today’s sales to those of the last few years which represented all time records.
Yes you need to be realistic. Yes you may need to be a bit patient but houses are still selling and people will continue to recognize real estate as a stable investment that provides a basic need.
Please call me if I can help you in any way.
Neil 303-413-6624
