A Publication of Historic Georgetown, Inc.
Volume XXXV, No. 4    Winter 2005

Visitor Center could host millionth guest by summer

By Ron Neely

We opened the doors of the new Gateway Visitor Center at 1:30 p.m. on December 31, 2003, and we have been on the go ever since. Indeed, it has been an interesting year!

In our first year, we hosted 229,286 visitors - at least that's how many we counted. Our busiest day was July 5th, with over 3,200 visitors; our slowest day was January 7th, with but 74 visitors. The busiest month was July with 41,758 visitors and the slowest was February at 6,319.
HGI began operating a visitor center at the old service station at the site of the new Center in August, 1996, and we have not missed a day since then. The annual numbers of visitors are as follows:

1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004

Total

 26,757 (five months)
 47,932
 54,415
 69,842
 64,145
 93,794
144,905
119,042 (9 months in temporary site)
229,286

849,588

Some time during the late summer of 2005, we should receive our 1,000,000th visitor. That should probably call for some sort of celebration or recognition. Any ideas?
We also keep a more casual record of the number and type of visitor inquiries. During the year we responded to 36,826 documented inquiries. The top ten topics of inquiry are as follows:

Georgetown Loop Railroad
Directions (Out of Town)
Wildlife Viewing
What to see in Town
Directions (In Town)
State Maps
Food/Restaurants in Town
Guanella Pass
Walking Tours
Shops in Town

7,058 (19%)
3,834 (10%)
3,285 (9%)
2,851 (8%)
2,771 (8%)
2,715 (7%)
2,560 (7%)
2,269 (6%)
1,662 (5%)
1,337 (4%)

As this writer has learned through the daily challenges of constructing a new building, the real difficulty with a project like this is not necessarily building the new structure, but finishing the darn thing! That is to say, although the building has been fully operational since January 1, 2004, numerous projects are still un-done. For example, the parking lot won't be paved until this summer. Likewise, the interpretive displays won't be completed until March of this year. These displays consist of large contemporary photographs of Georgetown and Silver Plume that will be mounted in the Visitor Center hallway. The purpose of these is to create a sense of curiosity about visiting various sites in the Historic Landmark District.

Similarly, small contemporary photographs are to be mounted under the historic photographs in the main room of the Center. We are also having a mountain lion (donated by the Colorado Division of Wildlife) mounted for display in the tower room. Display cases are being constructed for use by individual Georgetown businesses to help attract visitors downtown. These cases should also be available in March.

A thirty-minute video (dvd and vhs), to complement our now-showing five-minute video, should be completed in April. We will occasionally play the longer version in the video room of the Center, but our primary purpose is to make it available to potential group-tour customers, school groups, etc.

 


Top: Volunteer Elaine McWain of Georgetown provides a friendly greeting and helpful information to motorists who stop at the Visitor Center. Below: The arched window in the clock tower room frames the view to the north.

In late 2005 or early 2006, visitors will be able to view traffic cameras of the Colorado Department of Transportation in color and live motion at two locations in the Center. The fiber-optic line is now being installed, and the computer hook-ups and monitors are to follow. These monitors will enable our visitors to view traffic and road conditions primarily between Floyd Hill and Vail Pass, although we will have access to any CDOT camera in Colorado.

Our administrative staff, Susan Edge and Jan Shirlaw, has performed wonderfully during this first year of operation. Likewise, the following staff members have proved invaluable, especially during the busy summer months: Susan Bollig, Mary and Pat Bower, Katie Cook, Sherry and Jim Coyne, Elaine and Ernie Dunn, Mike Hicks, Erin James, Sue Lathrop, Mary Moss, Jennifer VanVoorst, Bill Wilson, and Pauline Wolf.

But our volunteers are our most treasured resource. A very special thanks to the following volunteers who generously contributed about 1,400 hours in 2004 to help keep the Visitor Center open: Linda Anderson, Christine Bradley, Mary Riddle Clark, Jim and Sherry Coyne, Karen Dean, Elaine and Ernie Dunn, Bob Gibbs, Lana Hackney, Jack Heruska, Barb Jackson, Ann Jedele, Elaine McWain, Colleen Nyland, Nancy Phillips, Connie and Bob Primus, Hal Wahlborg, Cathy Watson, Kathie and Bill Wilson, and Pauline Wolf. If you would like to become a volunteer, please contact the Visitor Center and ask for Elaine McWain, our "volunteer coordinator of volunteers."

Mother Nature provided an extra element of excitement in December. A swirling wind gust hit 15th and Argentine streets and damaged the roof of the Center. Close inspection revealed an installation error, and the contractor is now at work replacing approximately 130 damaged tile shingles. Yes, it was quite a year!


Pinpoint Your Place

As noted in the Summer 2004 issue of this Newsletter, visitors are encouraged to insert pins in one of three wall maps - the World, USA, and Colorado. Each pin indicates the place where a visitor, a family, or group of visitors traveling together live. Each month a count is made of the number of pins in each country, state, and Colorado county; then the pins are pulled and the process begins again.

During the year, visitors emplaced 18,410 pins. Although this total represents only a small percentage of the total number of visitors, the geographic distribution is probably a good indication of where our visitors come from. Based on the pin count, about 12 percent are international visitors, 69 percent are from the USA (excluding Colorado), and 19 percent are from Colorado.

All 50 states and all 63 Colorado counties are represented, and 169 countries and other international political entities are included.

The top five entries of each category are as follows:

Countries Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, and Mexico
States: California, Texas, Illinois, Florida, and Michigan
Counties: Denver Metro area, Boulder, Douglas, El Paso, and Larimer

The next time you stop at the Visitor Center, join the crowd and put a pin in the place where you live!



Articles inside this issue:

Abrahamson provides CC County voice on Scenic & Historic Byways Commission
Historic Georgetown, Inc., Annual Meeting
Endangered Places listing sought in response to I-70 expansion plans
Centennial Mill rehabilitation marred by tragedy
Meet the staff: Ann Izard
Membership Information
Down Memory Lane: Buff's "Wild West" show a hit in the forties
About This Publication



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