If you are you a neon enthusiast, please my vintage neon sign blog! Click here.
This is an easy Wherigo and should take less than an hour. Try it on a Sunday afternoon/eve where there is likely quick stop-and-go parking. Highlights some cool vintage neon signs along E. Colfax.
Posted November 3, 2017: Vintage Neon East Colfax Ave (GC6V66J) I am sorry about the trouble with the cartridge. I am hoping to get it fixed soon, but since I am not a computer geek I cannot do it myself. I will get to it as soon as I can. I am giving you this paper “cartridge” so you can find the stations until I can redo the cartridge.
The final location of the container is listed at the bottom. You can just go to the final and log it as a find if you want, but I hope you choose instead to go to each of these totally cool neon signs.
Please note your favorite sign in your log. If there is any trouble with the final, please let me know. If you do all the steps but cannot find the final, as far as I’m concerned you can log it as a find, as to me the container is just icing on the cake. If you went to all the signs, you still “ate the cake.”
Have fun! Tammy
1. Start point: N 39 44.395 W 104 59.044
2. Newhouse Hotel N 39 44.395 W 104 59.025
• Hotel Hesse opened in 1911 at the corner of Colfax and Grant. Due to anti-German sentiment during WWI, the hotel was renamed the Newhouse.
• Running underneath much of Capitol Hill are tunnels which connect the Capitol Building with many of the surrounding businesses, and in the 1920's these tunnels were reportedly used to sneak politicians into the hotel for booze and affairs. The tunnels have long since been sealed.
• For over 100 years this historic hotel has operated in the Capitol Hill section of Denver. Reservations are not accepted, as guests will frequently check in and then decide to stay. Cash only.
3. Satire Lounge: N 39 44.393 w 104 57.848
• This one of those crispy old bars where the bartender knows your name and remembers it even until you slide off the bar stool to head home. At five o'clock in the afternoon, the bar is more lively than any other saloon around, and the people-watching is the best in the city.
• In the early sixties, before he became famous, Bob Dylan lived nearby at what is now an empty lot at Gilpin and Williams streets. According to Phil Goodstein’s book, The Ghosts of Capitol Hill, in roughly 1989, after doing a local concert, Dylan walked straight into Wax Trax Records at 13th and Washington as a customer.
4. Pete’s Kitchen N 29 44.394 W 104 57.823
• Also known as Petie Ts and owned by Pete Conto, Pete’s Kitchen is a Colfax institution and has the most character of any of the local dives. It is open 24/7, but it is best to get there by 1 a.m., because by 2 a.m. there will be a line stretching out the door and down the street.
• Although the restaurant serves Greek cuisine, try an order of chili-cheese fries with green or red chili, or with one of three flavors of their very own Pete’s Hot Sauce. The gyros and eggs are also a local favorite. The neon sign is a favorite of mine, with the flapjacks flipping above the frying pan! A work of art.
5. Trattoria Stella N 39 44.403 W 104 56.995
• Tom and Marna Sumners own both locations of the Trattoria, this one in the east and one on the west side of town. This hip Italian neighborhood bistro has an eclectic menu, and their pasta is home made.
6. Goosetown Tavern N 39. 44.403 W 104 56.968
• The Goosetown is named after a former bar of the same name in Golden, Colorado, where German immigrants once communed. They settled in the foothills around Golden and their fondness for waterfowl led them to create many ponds and lakes to encourage migrating geese to stay in Golden. The geese came and the district became known as Goosetown.
• A German immigrant, Julius Shultz, originally built the Goosetown Tavern in Golden in 1873. It was torn down in 1998 to create a parking lot. The original Goosetown Tavern was the oldest continually licensed tavern in Colorado.
• Upon demolition of the original bar, the owner salvaged the front and back bars and booths and placed them in their present location in the tavern on Colfax.
• The current owner, Chris Swank, also owns the Mezcal next door and has owned the Bluebird Theater for 20 years. The kitchen creates a dish that sounds odd but is a local favorite: Buffalo and bleu-cheese pierogis. The neon sign is as unique as the taverns name.
FINAL LOCATION: N 39 44.441 W 104 56.760
• The final location is a cammo pill bottle. Please see the cache’s web page for the hint.
Tammy // Jan 14, 2017: New cartridge uploaded after Ranger Fox fixed it. Should be good to go. If you have an old cartridge download, delete it and download this one to avoid glitches. If you are using an Oregon device, remember to scroll down below the photo on the questions pages. Report any issues please. Tammy
WINTER cachers; If the final cache is buried in snow, no need to dig it out. Just in your log list your completion code (or mention that you got one).
The listed coordinates are for the start point. Photos are welcome but please no spoilers. Please note your favorite sign/location in your log. This would be great to do at night, when the signs are lit up. (You will then need a flashlight for the final.) Take a buddy with you if you do this at night.
During the 1950's, Colfax Avenue was better known as Route 40. Travelers passing through on their way to the mountains were greeted by the a bright outdoor neon museum. These neon signs were each unique to their business, and made with great craftmanship and artistry. The decayed motels along Colfax were once bright, clean and popular tourist stops in the heyday of Colfax.
Then along came Interstate 70, which allowed travelers to completely bypass Colfax, the once-vibrant businesses along the street began their steady decline. Today, the neon signs that survive are a reminder of an important era in the history of Colfax.
The remaining neon signs are in danger of disappearing due to an influx of residents back into the neighborhoods along Colfax causing a demand for new development. The old restaurants, bars, and motels on Colfax as well as their signs are quickly becoming prime targets to be torn down and replaced with artless modern versions of buildings and signs.
New to Wherigos?
Wherigo FAQs Here is a play anywhere Wherigo tutorial. And Wherigo forums are the best place to find information about WIGs and your device.
Here are some quick tips:
Wherigos seem to work better on smart phones than on gps devices.
To play the Wherigo, you will need a Wherigo-enabled device. (For Andriod the app is called "WhereYouGo") info here First upload the Wherigo application to your device, then download the cartridge you want to play from the Wherigo web site, using the app. There is a link to this cartridge above.
As with all Wherigos, make sure you have uploaded the most recent version of the cartridge before you go. COs sometimes make changes to the cartridge and if you have the older version you will have glitches when you go to use it. So just upload it again just before you plan to go.
While using the cartridge, if you are at a zone and there is a glitch of some kind, step 30 feet away and try to enter the zone again. (Wherigo dictates the zones are only 10 feet around.) All zones/ locations are located on public property.
Save frequently during cartridge use.
Choose times of low traffic. Bring paper and pencil to jot down completion code (or take a screen shot) and to sign the log at the final.
Unique to Wherigos, there are two places to log them once found. Post a find on geocaching.com as usual. Groundspeak created another web site just for Wherigos: http://wherigo.com. Note there are no GC codes on this site; you have to do a search by area. To log the cache on Wherigo.com, go to the cache web page and click on the key icon and put in your completion code. The cartridge will give you this code after the very last stop of the cartridge. Have a pencil and paper ready, or take a screen shot. Be ready as it is only given once!
FTF Back Country Horsemen!
Thanks to Greasepot for agreeing to help with maintenance for this cache. Thanks to tugies for help with coordinates and hiding the final.
Thanks again to Ranger Fox for his easy-to-use Wherigo kit! RF WIG kit
References: Refs: http://www.westword.com/location/petes-kitchen-5162036, Facebook.com, the Westword, http://www.5280.com/restaurants/trattoria-stella-0