Then and Now Images

[sfarson]

FWIW, something different.  A ride report over many years.  Then and now.  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...


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


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...


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


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


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...


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


Two rails then, two wheels today...


The pastoral Dedisse Ranch above Evergreen...


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...


The Bradford Junction community in the late 1800's would gather at this ranch for all things social... dances, celebrations, etc.  Perhaps this was a July 4th gathering.  Bring your best attire was often the unstated rule...


Today, busy U.S. 285 passes by the same place near the town of Conifer.  Had the elevated highway not been present, could have relocated for a better comparison...


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


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...


A thrilling road just for owners of new fangled cars was built above Golden around 1920...


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...


Marshall Pass about 70 years ago...


And today...


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...


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!


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


Today's famed Million Dollar Highway...


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...


Today about 400 call Victor home.  Most downtown structures are empty...


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


Well, someone has surely came along since then with some seeds or seedlings!

[stromgal]

I remember you doing this some years ago, Steve; good to see more!  Do you bring along prints of the photos, or a laptop, in order to get the alignment correct?

[bluepoof]

These are fantastic!   Absolutely awesome.  Thank you!

[Stargzrgrl]

What a neat thread!  I love seeing these before and after photos.  

Makes me want to bring along a laptop for reference now.  

[Justin]

Weren't we just talking about this a month or so ago?

Amazing. I really love before and after shots, and you are the master.


And I was just on the street you posted in Victor a few weekends back - https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-GNckodfSsoo/Txxuu_RNMaI/AAAAAAAABMU/96oScFwqy2w/s800/IMG_20120113_171957.jpg

[DkKnight]

Awesome shots - glad to see your great photo work continuing  

DK

[jimmy]

Hey, that was super cool!!

[Mrs. DantesDame]

Very interesting! Thank you for taking the time to research the original shots (no need to thank you for going to get the "now" shots, as I'm sure it wasn't that much of an ordeal for you  


The only request would be the addition of a state in the description. Unless, of course, they're all in Colorado  

[Justin]

Unless, of course, they're all in Colorado  

Yes

[Mr.Black]

Wow. Fantastic!

[DNA]

Super nice - I love old Colo ghost towns.

Takes me back a lonnnng time.

Thanks

[Rincewind]

Awesome job, sfarson.  

[st2sam]

Thanks Steve.  

Seems like most of the now pics the roads were still dirt?
 What bike did you decide to ride for those pics?

[nevinfs327]

Very cool - thanks for posting  

[sfarson]

I remember you doing this some years ago, Steve; good to see more!  Do you bring along prints of the photos, or a laptop, in order to get the alignment correct?

Good to hear from you!  You know, sometimes I found the old pic after taking the new pic, but most of the time I saved then printed the found pic, bringing it with me as I enjoyed a kinda treasure hunt to find where the photographer stood long ago.

[sfarson]

Weren't we just talking about this a month or so ago?

Amazing. I really love before and after shots, and you are the master.


And I was just on the street you posted in Victor a few weekends back - https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-GNckodfSsoo/Txxuu_RNMaI/AAAAAAAABMU/96oScFwqy2w/s800/IMG_20120113_171957.jpg

Justin, My fading memory is trying to remember if we had this chat, but I'm going to defer to your steel trap recollections!  You're gonna have to tell me about that chilly looking bonus point in Victor you collected!

[sfarson]

Kindest of thoughts all.

In a way it is a ride report developed over many years (in more ways than one), and will probably continue to unfold as I use the great two wheeled thang to deliver other kinds of memories and adventures. Reflections do have their way with me, especially when I see people from the past, as if then was their time on the great stage of life, and now we're up on the stage before our act closes. May we say our lines well and with gusto.

A few more...

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...


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


Back when inmates were sentenced to "hard labor", the nearby residents at the Canon City Territorial Prison constructed this amusement park like road called Skyline Drive.


I found the photo above after taking the photo below.  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!


Downtown Steamboat Springs 1945...


Now if I could have climbed to the second floor of the store behind me I could have come a bit closer!...


Berthoud Pass almost 100 years ago, 1915...


It is a gorgeous riding pass, in more ways than one...

[FJR-UK]

I don't know if it's the first coffee of the day or the photos, but I actually got a thrill reading this thread!

Thanks for that.

[Orson]

The Million Dollar Highway photos add a new perspective to its construction  

Thanks for the efforts in hunting all the places to stand for the new photos  

[Papa Lazarou]

Very cool. Well done for keeping the photos from your first trip.  

[ABADV]

These are some amazing pictures! Thanks for sharing.

[stromgal]

 Reflections do have their way with me, especially when I see people from the past, as if then was their time on the great stage of life, and now we're up on the stage before our act closes. May we say our lines well and with gusto.

"Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more."
-Wm. Shakespeare

       

[Joey Stalin]

Cool thread! Wish I knew where the places were. What's your resource for finding the original pictures? Local library? Or just internet?

[shawn and gwyn]

fantastic.. and even better since gwyn and i have been to quite a few of those places.  and have always wondered what things looked like way back when..  very cool.  

thanks
shawn

[919]

Very cool, thanks for posting.  I have also been to a few of these places on a 2 wheeled excursion, hoping to get out there again but it's a little harder with a young child.  Maybe that's why I hang out in the RR section so much.......

[sfarson]

Kind thoughts everyone.  As always.  For a few more strolls through past...

A festive 1901 Labor Day in the thriving, mining community of Eldora...


Well, with the mines less thriving, so is the now sem-ghost town of Eldora. What a contrast...


Boy, when roads were created for autos around 1910-1920, there was a craze to go on group "drives".  We can relate with our two wheeled things eh?  This is Bear Creek Canyon west of Denver.  How would you like to be going the opposite direction?


At the mouth of Bear Creek Canyon then...


Bear Creek Canyon now...


When fires swept through communities back then, seriously, little could be done.  Many towns saw flames pass through more than once.  The Cripple Creek fire of 1896.  Dang...


Hey, let's start building more often with brick.  Four years later in 1900...


And 110 years later.  I should actually be a few feet forward...


About 60 years ago, the D&SP station house in Como was in a state of decay after the tracks over nearby Boreas Pass were pulled up.


Things are coming around a bit, but things are also still a little slow and sleepy in Como (named by Italian miners who thought the area reminded them of home)...


Nevadaville, about a mile SW above Central City, boasted in 1865 a population of 4,000... one of the most populous towns in the state at the time.  The first big gold strike was nearby...


The population today now hovers between 5 and 10...

[sfarson]

"Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more."
-Wm. Shakespeare

      

Wow. Great find.  I wish Bill had asked me for permission.

[JimWilliamson]

Wonderful - thank you!

[Justin]

Not a lot has changed on Bear Creek Canyon over the years - except the pavement. Still a Mecca for group drives and rides. And still has people in the wrong lane and pulling into turnoffs across the road on blind turns  

[bljakkl]

Excellent.  I love seeing how the passage of time has affected some places so drastically while leaving others almost untouched.  Thouroughly enjoyed the pictures, thanks.

[R Doug]

This is absolutely incredible.  I appreciate the research and work that must go into getting your photos.  You have done pretty good as to the point of reference is nearly spot on in every "now" photo.

Thank you for sharing.    

[naustin]

This is by far the coolest thing I've seen in a good long while!  More trees everywhere - and different species too...  I may have to start digging for old pictures - this looks like tons of fun!  Thank you!

[sprk_sprd]

Very nice!  Thank you!  

[olderigetfasteriam]

Subscribed, assuming you will post more. Awesome!

[Kootenanny]

Really enjoying the pics!

[Meemuh]

What a cool idea...should turn it into a coffee table book.

[viffergyrl]

Wonderful... and thought provoking. Thanks much.  

[black hills]

 

[sfarson]

Good thoughts all.  Oh let's see...

The well attended Boulder Falls in Boulder Canyon with well attended to men sitting still for the cam...


The Falls were closed to stabilize the rocks and hillside behind me, so I looked left and right and snuck in for a pic with no one present...


Platoro was a flare and fade mining community in deep southern Colorado...


Today, it mostly sees residents in the summer.  If you have a DS bike, while not observable in this pic, the South San Juan Wilderness abounds in all directions.  Forest Road 250 winds through it all, and it is a truly magical place that will put you in a I-have-no-words-to-say trance.


Russell Gulch is another boom and bust town.  During boom times over a thousand lived here...


Today during bust times it is hardly populated with people, but it is populated with old and empty and small miners cabins...


If you hopped off the train in St. Elmo in 1878, this is how you might have been greeted...


If you rode in today...


And after walking through town and looking back...


And doing the same today...

[Justin]

This is by far becoming one of my favorite forum posts ever.

[BentAero]

Absolutely the best thread ever on a motorcycle forum!

[darkstarmoto]

^^Agreed...really very cool and the effort to find and replicate the pics is truly appreciated.  

[sfarson]

Related, thought this would be appreciated.  Placed some of the then/now images at a UK site I'm a member of.  Someone responded with these words and two pics...

A troop of American soldiers stood next to a WWI Memorial in 1944 on the day they liberated the town of St. Marie du Mont, Normandy, France.


Simon and Richard's homage to them last year...

[squeezer]

These are fantastic!   Absolutely awesome.  Thank you!

Completely agree. Please keep them coming.  

[Hell's Bella]

What a great thread! Interesting photos and the history is fascinating. Keep 'em coming please!

[sfarson]

A well known curve on the Million Dollar Highway in the San Juan Mountains, 1924...


86 years later.  Not quite the same direction as back then, but serviceable...

[sammyseaman]

Best thread ever!    

[HPTuner]

Awesome work! We appreciate your efforts!

[coho]

Very cool, indeed.

Carry on.

[JimWilliamson]

Great pix - cool to check out... Thanks!

I posted this thread at a Colorado 4x4 site and a few other interesting links came up over there.  The links might be nice to check out as well:

Colorado Ghost Towns
http://www.rockymountainprofiles.com/Colorado%20Ghost%20towns.htm

Maps & Books...
http://www.rockymountainprofiles.com/loyal_visitors_to_the_site.htm

Kenneth Jessen - coffee table books
http://kennethjessen.com/

[kyzrex]

Really cool and motivating.  My wife and I just bought a house in an historical town in Tenn late last summer.  This thread gives me the motivation to get out and do some of the same type of things in the Tenn./Ky area.

Thanks!

[jsp]

A well known curve on the Million Dollar Highway in the San Juan Mountains, 1924...


86 years later.  Not quite the same direction as back then, but serviceable...

Same turn, different angle and time of year.
john

[Orson]

In a similar vein...

Horseshoe Pass, North Wales. then and now

[RenegadeVT]

This thread is awesome.  I am going to have to start doing this around VT.  Great excuse for rises.  Keep em coming.

[Papa Lazarou]

This thread is awesome.  I am going to have to start doing this around VT.  Great excuse for rises.  Keep em coming.

me too. but only when i grow and get a motorcycle.

[Andrew]

WOW this is FANTASTIC


Think I need to look not some old photos as well

Keep them coming

[Greyhound]

This is wonderful.  What a great project.

[X1Glider]

What an amazing thread. I really appreciate the time and effort you took to dig up old pics and take new ones at the same angle.  I wish I had the patience to do the same.

[sfarson]

Thanks all.  A few more.  Paused at the motorcycle destination spot of Deckers today.  Great riding in every direction.  Gold medal fishing abounds in the Middle Fork of the South Platte here.  Saw some rainbow whoppers snacking on natural flies as I strolled along the river finding where the photographer stood long ago.  There's a fly shop (Flies & Lies) here.  The river and dirt roads of 100 years ago have been rerouted.  Most of the structures are gone as well.  Oh but those hills remain unrerouted...

Facing north, the river and road crossings of Deckers back then...


Climbed the hill overlooking Deckers in the motorcycle gear.  Could have scrambled a little higher to the rock the individual is sitting on, but would have been amidst a dense stand of trees...


It actually was quite the idyllic place back then.  Good fishin', good game in the forests, etc...


And you know, the fishin' and the huntin' remain good, as does the ridin'.  A guard rail and a seriously big tree nearby prevented me from a slightly better perspective...


And one could even refresh in a lithia bath back then...


Today...


The old Deckers post office and store was to the north of today's structures.  Can see it in the first old image above, across from the large dark building...


Just an empty and small grassy field, with a hillside more populated with trees (very typical nowadays)...


The Morrison school in the late 1800's...


I think it is a residence now...


Bear Creek would rampage through Morrison periodically after heavy rains would soak the canyons above town.  The dam at Evergreen ten miles to the west put a
halt to the unruliness of the water, but not before this flood 80 years ago, with mud the photographed aftermath...


The tamed stream is behind me in this "now" pic...

[tthompsr]

Very Very nice! Keep up the good work!

[Justin]

Missed the last batch Steve, just saw them now. As always, bravo  .

[bdhszy1]

Best thread ever. What a great reason to sport-tour. Thanks

[bomber]

please let me add my thanks to everyone else's . . . . outstanding work!

[sfarson]

Missed the last batch Steve, just saw them now. As always, bravo  .

Hey Justin, Good to hear from you.  Nice thoughts all.  If up for a few more, had a great ride looking for an old ghost town the other day.  West Creek flared to life in 1896 with claims of gold in the area.  Fortune seekers swept in, erected a scattered town along the namesake creek, and within six months 2,000 people were there.  By late 1897 it was recognized there wasn't "gold in them thar hills", and the fade began.

Here's an excellent eight minute video from Douglas County on the history of what is now known as Westcreek (single word)... Landmark Series - All That Glitters, West Creek Colorado on Vimeo

West Creek around 1896-1897...


In two months (June 2002) will be the ten year anniversary of the massive Hayman wildfire, which consumed 138,000 acres and numerous scattered homes in the Westcreek area.  Today, it is a quiet place, but what a diff versus 1896-1897...


1896-1897...


Today, with a delightful power pole. There was a home behind me preventing a more elevated and precise "where the photographer stood then"...


So the Uly brings me about a mile south along West Creek where a few structures of West Creek "suburbia" were placed...


Guess it is fitting to have horses of the day stand in tribute to the past.  Could have hopped the fence and joined them for a slightly better "now" perspective...

[UHOH]

   nice

[k0guz]

         
         I took a train trip on the Rio Grande Railroad's daily milk train,  the Yampa Valley from Denver to Craig, Colorado during spring break in high school.  I wanted very much to ride this, since it was about to be discontinued.  This was the imposing depot then:



We took a moto trip to Craig a couple of weeks ago.  On the way up, I realized that this trip was taken 50 years almost to the day, from the time that picture was taken.   I'd like to think I have aged more gracefully than the depot:





Ride report if you're interested...

[cubby]

Thanks for sharing. Historical photos are my favorites.

[sfarson]

Hey all, hope you're having a fantastic summer of riding.  Been months since updating this thread.  Here's some more...

Montezuma, Colorado is a semi-ghost town about five miles west of the Keystone ski resort.  It sprung to life in the 1860's after silver was discovered in the area of nearby Argentine Pass.  By 1890 the population was up to 1,000 coinciding with the Colorado Silver Boom.  Well, the population of Montezuma also coincided with the Colorado Silver Bust three years later in 1893, and since then the decline of the population and structure kind has continued. Five fires over the years have not helped with "historic preservation", but nevertheless some old buildings remain and can be viewed on a ride to this high 10,200ft. elev. place.

Here's a look east down Montezuma's main street in the late 1800's...


And today with a population around 40-50.  Note the similar snow patterns on the peak 120+ years later!


Ride the horse through town and turn around looking west back then...


And today...


I did come across this 1940's image of one of the old hotels still standing...


But it is no longer is standing today...


Shawnee, Colorado was a place for tourists to stay a spell.  The train noted in the preceding post would drop off Denver paying passengers at the Shawnee train stop for some relaxin', hikin', fishin', etc. About 100 years ago, looking east from Shawnee, this was the view.  The tracks are unseen here, down and to the left alongside the North Fork of the South Platte River.  But the wagon road is visible...


The dirt wagon road is today's paved U.S. 285...


Now, 100 years ago from the same location as above, if one turned 90 degrees to the right in the wintertime, and looked up, here is where some of the visitors would stay...


It is one of the oldest remaining structures in Shawnee today...


From a distance, one can see how Shawnee looked back then.  Can see the above Grand View Hotel to the left of the access road.  The really big lodge to the right burned down in 1929.  Many of the lodges along the train route burned down mysteriously in the 1920's and 1930's as train traffic gave way to auto traffic.  Travelers by auto could come and go from Denver without staying the night or weekend.  The probable reason for these lodges turned to ashes?  Insurance money.


Well, I hiked up a hill through a garden of cow pies as far as I could go, but elevation gain was no more with a serious barbed wire fence hoping I would make its day.  Turned around for Shawnee today...


Have passed through this canyon (back then a train bed, today a chip seal on the old bed) casually the past year or so trying to spot the location of this 100 year old image. No luck. Until a few days ago. "Poised Rock" is that round rock at the top of the sloping rock face. See that dot of a tree in front of it?


The North Fork of the South Platte, about 30 miles SW of Denver.  Some things change, some things do not...


Here's the wagon access road to the canyon 110 years ago...


Today's Foxton Road...


Now how about this.  Granby almost 90 years ago...


The Granby/Grand Lake area is the gateway to the western sides of Rocky Mountain National Park.  Several quick dashes into the traffic, and this image came closest to what is above...

[sfarson]

A few then/now of Jefferson, a small ranching community in the high meadows of South Park, Colorado. This is from just after the train tracks were pulled up in 1937 and a dirt road placed down.  That's the train depot on the left...


And it is still the "historic" train depot on the left, along with a caboose like structure to the right offering summertime fare like BBQ, burgers, etc.  The size of the community hasn't changed much over the years, usually hovering around 50...


In the color image above, see the home with the white window trim?  Here it is in the late 1800's...


A few decades later, some new surrounding structures, and some new area residents...


And 90 years later, some new aspen.  Well not so new, but doing well.  Angle of the sun is almost the same...


Looking down this residential street back with the same home on the right...


Maybe I'll return with a chainsaw for a better now perspective ...


Paused at Barker Reservoir above Boulder, Colorado.  It was built just over 100 years ago by the city of Boulder as a storage and flood control project.

Looking east as construction continued and water started to fill the meadows... and cattle saw shrinking pasture land...


The dam has been rebuilt since then...


Looking west before there was a Barker Reservoir...


Ehhh, a bit of a change....


OK, the image above shows the historic mining town of Nederland in the distance, with the ski runs of Eldora up higher.  Nederland was a consolidating kind of town, providing central services for the productive mines and now ghost towns up higher.  Men from the Netherlands named it Nederland for the town was located on a somewhat small, but nevertheless flat piece of land reminding them of their European home.  And how about this, a color "then" image from ~60 years ago...


I had lunchtime chow down the street, and after some nice consumption strolled up the hill, turned around, strolled some more, framed things...


Rosita, Colorado was once the Custer County seat, boasting a population of over a thousand in the 1870's, along with hundreds of structures.  The discovery of silver nearby brought the people.  Soon, larger lodes of silver bearing ores were discovered elsewhere in the vicinity, like in nearby Silver Cliff in the 1880's.  Goodbye Rosita as many of the transient residents moved north 7 - 8 miles.  I guess back then, commuting that kind of distance was a BIG deal.  The county seat was relocated to Silver Cliff and by the 1890's Rosita was in a state of decline...





Ehhh, a bit of a change.  This was taken after flames consumed some of the town's structures...




Silver Plume, a flair and fade mining town that was hitched to the fortunes of silver prices, is just off I-70 on the eastern climb to the Eisenhower Tunnel.  It's just one exit west of Georgetown.

72 years ago this is how it appeared...


Today, at almost the same time of day and season given the shadows.  It has not been prettied up like some other historic towns in Colorado, but I kinda like that it hasn't...


At the very least, if there is hint of weakness or affection for freshly baked bread, then absolutely exit for Silver Plume, ride the dirt 100 yards to and through the setting above, and then stop at the Sopp & Truscott Bakery at the east end.  If it isn't open there will be a metal chest at the door with wrapped loaves of soft and freshly baked bread of sundry kinds.  The honor system has a small chest inside for your $4 - $5.  If you turn around from the images above, here it is...


Georgetown, a community that thrived from the late 1800's silver boom, and continues to fare well today.  It is located on I-70 where the eastern climbing grade to Loveland Pass and the Eisenhower Tunnel increases notably.  Interesting how starting ten miles east of Georgetown the fever came ores of gold, but not here, nor Silver Plume on the other side of the interstate.  Georgetown is also at the northern base of the Guanella Pass Scenic Byway, and the north side was re-engineered and repaved last year.

Here's the Alps like Guanella Pass Road...


The last switchback before the summit is attained...


But anyway, this is a then/now thread, and here is Georgetown over 100 years ago...


I-70 comes up this Creek Creek drained valley and hugs the slopes on the left, though one can hardly tell from this treed image from the same location on the Guanella Pass Road (which was constructed as a wagon road for the silver mines up above)...


Parades were big events back then, communities large and small often had them for Memorial Day, 4th of July, and Labor Day.  Three images a photographer captured from the same spot as the parade made a turn...






Today.  Thankfully those mountains in the background helped find the location, for the buildings hardly do...


At the rear end of the parade.  Dressing up was a common practice for events like a parade, but seemingly it was the thing to do whenever out in public...


Today.  More trees and some structural changes...

[Mrs. DantesDame]

Thank you, again.  

[Justin]

Thank you, again.  

ditto

I have to remember to carry cash next time I go by the bread shop  

[HPTuner]

Awesome thread! I LOVE this stuff! Thanks for taking the time!

[sammyseaman]

 

[sfarson]

ditto

I have to remember to carry cash next time I go by the bread shop  

You will be glad you have that $5 bill with you.

[Orson]

Good stuff  

how long does it take to locate and line up each matching picture?

[Mrs. DantesDame]

Good stuff  

how long does it take to locate and line up each matching picture?

Orson, you should do this on your rides around Europe  

[Orson]

Orson, you should do this on your rides around Europe  

I'm guessing each picture takes at least three hours of work  

This is the closest I've come

"Wheat Field With Crows"  

[Mrs. DantesDame]

"Wheat Field With Crows"  

 

[esqualey]

These are just great!  I would bet the Colorado Historical society would be VERY interested in this project.  Maybe make a book!  

Pauley

[miles]

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...

Sorry to burst your bubble, but that's not accurate.  The mines in the Cripple Creek/Victor area produced 22.4 million ounces of gold, but the California gold rush produced 12 million in the first five years, then another 11 million in the following ten years as methods changed.  The next couple of decades produced another 20 million ounces by dredging the rivers that flowed down from the initial gold rush areas.

[sfarson]

Sorry to burst your bubble, but that's not accurate.  The mines in the Cripple Creek/Victor area produced 22.4 million ounces of gold, but the California gold rush produced 12 million in the first five years, then another 11 million in the following ten years as methods changed.  The next couple of decades produced another 20 million ounces by dredging the rivers that flowed down from the initial gold rush areas.

Perhaps the definition is "gold rush", but not the total mined amount over many years.... http://www.coloradodot.info/travel/scenic-byways/south-central/gold-belt/GoldBeltTourCMP.pdf

[sfarson]

Good stuff  

how long does it take to locate and line up each matching picture?

Oh, it can vary.  It sure helps having those unchanging hill like things in the background.    Been dinkin around with another approach...

The Fairplay Hotel...


Neighbors gathering around a new vehicle in front of a Jefferson home...


The old wagon road passing through Shawnee is now U.S. 285 passing through Shawnee...


The ghost town of Rosita...


Downtown Central City...

[miles]

Perhaps the definition is "gold rush", but not the total mined amount over many years.... http://www.coloradodot.info/travel/scenic-byways/south-central/gold-belt/GoldBeltTourCMP.pdf

I suspect you're right- it's a definition to suit a purpose.

[Mrs. DantesDame]

Been dinkin around with another approach...

Interesting idea and well executed!

I confess that I prefer the original images to compare, so please don't discontinue them!  

[CLAY]

I just found this ride report thread.  Well done sir!  What fun it has been to look through these.  

[k0guz]

Interesting experiment.  You should try one in which both the old and new picture are black and white.

[JimWilliamson]

I dig the new approach but would also wish to see "original" old/new pix in the line-up too.

Thanks for the photos!

[retro]

I love this thread. Thank you for sharing the pictures!  

[sammyseaman]

I dig the new approach but would also wish to see "original" old/new pix in the line-up too.

Thanks for the photos!

 

[naustin]

I like both "approaches".  The wagon road one with the "new approach" made me say "wow, Dude!" out loud in an otherwise unoccupied room...

[sfarson]

Interesting idea and well executed!

I confess that I prefer the original images to compare, so please don't discontinue them!  

Yeah, I think the comparison is better side by side, but perhaps once in awhile try to place the old in the new, or the new in the old.

[sfarson]

Interesting experiment.  You should try one in which both the old and new picture are black and white.

k0... FWIW, have tried that on occasion.

75 years ago the Denver, South Park and Pacific made its last runs.  We're on the north side of Kenosha Pass here, just on the other side of South Park.  Photos were taken of the final rides...


Two rails were taken up.  Two wheels pay homage.  We're on the now Hall Valley/Webster Pass Road...

[viffergyrl]

The juxtaposition is all cases is stunning.

[CLAY]

The juxtaposition is all cases is stunning.

+1.  One of the best projects ever.  

[jdgretz]

Have you seen Ben Heine's work?  Especially his pencil drawings superimposed over photos?

jdg

[DNA]

Wow- best thread ever continues to deliver.

[coho]

Wow- best thread ever continues to deliver.

[Kneescrubber]

Have you seen Ben Heine's work?  Especially his pencil drawings superimposed over photos?

jdg

Thanks John.  

[JimWilliamson]

`was on some jeep trails Sat (Kingston Peak area, north of Idaho Springs CO). Poking about with Google Earth I saw this web site listed on an uploaded photo.

Just tossing it out / FWIW:

www.ColoradoPast.com

[sfarson]

Jim... Interesting fine.  Thanks much.

[sfarson]

Well OK, a few more!


From a recent ride while passing through the town of Walden in northern Colorado.  Walden is in the middle of North Park, a large valley, kinda u-shaped, with the Medicine Bow Range on the east, the Park Range on the west, and the Rabbit Ears Range anchoring the south. Walden with a population around 800 is the county seat of Jackson.  Ranching is a key commercial activity.  North Park is the home of the Arapaho Wildlife Refuge, and Walden declares itself the moose capital of Colorado.  

Well anyway, with that as background, little remains of old Walden.  Don't know if it was flames, or the trials of time and weather, but here it is early last century...


And here it is early this century...


And trying the selective merge thing...


So, see that building on the left?  It is the only comparison structure I could somewhat easily (if not only) find... physically and in old print.  The C.E. Mosman General Merchandise Store...


If you ask me, it was a bit more attractive back then.  Eh?


Selective merged.  Still have a ways to go.  The rotation has to line up too!


If ever making the U.S. 40 transit over Berthoud Pass from the south, you will pass through the small town of Empire.  Like most communities in this long Clear Creek drainage that nearby I-70 courses through, Empire can trace its roots to ores found under the slopes of nearby hills.  More on Empire's history here.

One of the earlier mountain "then" images I've come across.  Empire as a mining camp in 1880...


Now, one would think it would be a cinch finding the above location and direction, but daaang, I passed through, turned around, retraced, with old image in hand, several separate times while riding through Empire to no avail.  Well, I was making the assumption the above wagon trail through Empire is today's U.S. 40.  One day, I looked south down one of the few side streets...


From exploring the historic townsite of Nighthawk on the banks of the Middle Fork of the South Platte...

About a 100 years ago with a lack of productive nearby mining contributing to the lack of a vibrant town...


Today...


Merged...


Despite the Handyman's Special on the left, Nighthawk didn't convince many to settle there 100 years ago...


Would say the place is still kinda "allure challenged" today...


Merged...

[jdgretz]

I'm really enjoying your work.  Masking and painting through the mask continues to baffle me.  One of these days I'll find someone to spend some one-on-one time with and get it figured out.  In the mean time, I'll just enjoy your stuff.

Thanks for your work,

jdg

[ripdaddy]

    Thanks for this post.  I love this stuff.  You did a great job!

[DogBoy]

Great thread. I spent a chunk of every summer in Colorado when I was a growing up. Great to see the old vs. new for so many of the places I visited.

Last time I was in Cripple Creek, I was bummed that the town has become a gambling destination and lost all the hokey tourist-hippy charm of the '70s (thats 1970's you smartasses).

[Mrs. DantesDame]

You made it to the big time - reddit found your ADV link  

[mjauto]

Thanks for a trip down memory lane. I used to live in Colorado when I was younger and starting out in life, too bad my only bike was a mid 80's yz. Now I cannot wait for a return trip out west with my Connie!

Matt

[Nodaclu]

Can't believe I didn't see this thread before now. I'm just floored by the work and effort that I know must have gone into this. Like everyone else I'm sure, I hope to see more down the line.

I'd love to try this here with the CA gold country nearby, but the pressure of re-shaping the land to support 40 million people leads me to believe that it will be impossible in many cases to shoot pictures from identical locations for 60-100 years prior.