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Then and Now Images

sfarson

New member
Thought I would place a selection of "then and now "photos captured over the years, standing where the photographer stood many years ago. I didn't always get it right... rushed pics, different lens, and other excuses, but hey, there was always a bike pausing nearby or idling underneath :). They do, or can, cause moments of reflection.

The mining community of Apex in the late 1800's, having a 4th of July parade...
apexthen.jpg


Apex today, a semi-ghost town about five miles NW of Central City...
apexnow.jpg


Bonanza, as in "It's a bonanza boys!" flared when a rich gold vein was discovered nearby. President Ulysses S. Grant visited upon reports Bonanza could be the next Leadville...
bonanzathen.jpg


The gold was mined and fires swept through the close proximity structures (A common fate of many frontier towns... wood heat, wood structures, close proximity, no 911)...
bonanzanow.jpg


Tracks were laid over the Boreas Pass summit to haul ores from Leadville to Denver...
boreasthen.jpg


The tracks were pulled up in the 1930's, and in the 1950's a road was placed on the old rail bed. Riding friend Rick cheesily agreed to place himself where the train was...
boreasnow.jpg


The Cathedral Spires along the North Fork of the South Platte...
cathedralthen.jpg


Two rails then, two wheels today...
cathedralnow.jpg


The pastoral Dedisse Ranch above Evergreen...
evergreenthen.jpg


That pastoral Bear Creek above would turn demonic when its raging waters would crash through towns below after heavy rains. The dam creating Evergreen Lake had me off to the side for the "now" pic...
evergreennow.jpg


The Bradford Junction Community in the late 1800's would gather at this ranch for all things social... dances, celebrations, etc...
foxtonthen.jpg


Today, busy U.S. 285 passes by the same place near the town of Conifer...
foxtonnow.jpg


Gold Hill is the location of one of Colorado's earliest gold strikes. An image from around 1890...
goldhillthen.jpg


In a way, not a lot has changed. Well, there are more trees... less need to cut down the nearby woods for structures and heat. Colorado's oldest continuously operating school is here. The massive Four Mile wildfire of September 2010 licked the edges of the town off to the left, but a valiant firefighting effort spared the historical buildings. If you have a BBQ sandwich at the general store, a pot bellied stove is a main source of the heat and the bathroom is about the size of your coat closet...
goldhillnow.jpg


A thrilling road for owners of their 1920's cars was built above Golden...
lookoutthen.jpg


Today the Lookout Mountain road thrills for owners of two wheeled transportation devices. The sun kindly obliged and a rider was caught just in time on the far left...
lookoutnow.jpg


Marshall Pass about 70 years ago...
marshallthen.jpg


And today...
marshallnow.jpg
 
Narrow gauge trains/rails were used 100 years ago because, well, they were narrow and could squeeze between canyon walls and rivers. Denver passengers often took weekend trips into the mountains on these trains. Not far from Buffalo Creek...
peterheadthen.jpg


The aptly named Peterhead Rock today. Could have climbed higher for a more accurate "now" image, but I risked life and limb just getting this high!
peterheadnow.jpg


An 1890's hacked out road just south of Ouray...
skywaythen.jpg


Today's famed Million Dollar Highway...
skywaynow.jpg


Cripple Creek and Victor pumped out so much gold, the amount was greater than the California and Alaska gold rushes combined. Back then Victor had a population of 5,000...
victorthen.jpg


Today about 100 call Victor home...
victornow.jpg


Looking west towards Westcliffe in 1900, towards the dramatic Sangre de Cristos Range...
westcliffethen.jpg


Well, someone has surely came along since then with some seeds or seedlings!
westcliffenow.jpg
 
Great pictures :rocker
I bet some of those shot were not easy to find the correct location for the present pictures.
 
That is very cool. You must have put a lot of work into it. I thoroughly enjoyed looking at then and now.
 
Travel broadens the mind, or something like that. What's neat about these pictures is you can not only travel, but travel back in time!

Great set of pics!

Harry
 
I am speechless. Awesome. Funny thing is this that I recently purchased Butler maps for Colorado and Southern California. They had a discounted package when you buy map and book on CO, I didn't know that it was by the author of this thread, so I only purchased the map instead of the combo. Oh well.
 
Very inspiring. Can think of some local comparisons and your presentation shows just how well it can be done. thanks. - Bob
 
Hey all, thanks.

Harry, I think it is... "Travel broadens the mind and TV broadens the butt".
nod.gif
I also like what a rider responded with when he had passed 250,000 miles on his bike. Asked what he was thinking while collecting all those miles he said, "Well, I kinda see it as collecting memories, not miles."
nod.gif


Anyway, the old images can cause a reflection or two. In a way, the individuals seen are on the stage of life, an act or two before us. Now we're on the stage. May we say our lines well! A couple more...

The Hartsel hotel...
hartselthen.jpg


I pulled over here unplanned, remembering I had seen a photo of this location, but didn't have the old pic with me. Had to guess. What isn't seen/known, is the temps were 10f when I paused for this single pic, freezing the digits when the gloves off! Came pretty close. I learned the '07 R12GSADV's temp gauge stops displaying at 14f, then springs back to life when temps climb above 14f...
hartselnow.jpg


Back when inmates were sentenced to "hard labor", nearby inmates in Canon City constructed this amusement park like road called Skyline Drive.
skylinethen.jpg


If ever in the Canon City area, ride this thing. The one way road with its blind rises will leave you with your stomach in your throat if you gas it a bit. :laugh
skylinenow.jpg
 
I can't get over how interesting it is to see these pictures. I suppose a lot of the work is finding the old pictures. For those of us interested in trying to post similar pictures, what resources do you recommend? I am thinking the local library and historical society.
 
Those photos are fantastic. I love the history of a place and the old buildings.
I rode a few of those roads in September last year. And plan to go back this year. The roads in the photos will definitely be on my agenda.
dc
 
I can't get over how interesting it is to see these pictures. I suppose a lot of the work is finding the old pictures. For those of us interested in trying to post similar pictures, what resources do you recommend? I am thinking the local library and historical society.

Thanks David.

bluehole... Certainly see if the library or historical society has some old images.

Another option... I just tried it. Go to Google, Bing, etc. and type in something like "historical photos blacksburg virginia". Look at the link I found... http://imagebase.lib.vt.edu/browse.php?folio_ID=/lh/blacksburg

If having a hint of an interest in history, along with the adventure of hunting for the location and where the photographer stood a long time ago, framing the same scene, this can a special and fun riding objective.

Downtown Steamboat Springs 1945...
steamboatthen.jpg


Now if I could have climbed to the second floor of the store behind me I could have come a bit closer...
steamboatnow.jpg
 
In the late 1800's the townsite of Tarryall, on the magical Tarryall Road (County 77 - Park County) sprang to life with nearby gold and silver deposits... but it wasn't a long "sprang". The town also went by the unflattering name of "graball". Guess the merchants, tradesmen, middlemen, etc. charged or took whatever they could from the miners. The nearby county seat was named "Fairplay" because we "play fair" with the miners. The "garden spot" of Tarryall in the 1880's...
tarryallthen.jpg


A riding friend and I wandered all over the place trying to find the location of the above!
tarryallnow.jpg
 
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