Rare Old Map of Golden, Colorado by USGS, 1944 – Clear Creek & Lookout Mountain
My maps are rare, museum-grade, restored old maps sourced from libraries, auction houses and private collections across the globe. Full description
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Choose two eligible works and receive 20% off both. Choose three and the lowest-priced one is complimentary, a maximum saving of 33%.
Mix and match eligible standard maps and fine-art prints. No code is required; the offer is applied automatically at checkout.
Standard made-to-order configurations are included. Bespoke sizes, personalised designs and commissioned work are excluded.
Need delivery to different addresses? Contact us before ordering.The Collector’s Offer
Choose two eligible works and receive 20% off both. Choose three and the lowest-priced one is complimentary, a maximum saving of 33%.
Mix and match eligible standard maps and fine-art prints. No code is required; the offer is applied automatically at checkout.
Standard made-to-order configurations are included. Bespoke sizes, personalised designs and commissioned work are excluded.
Need delivery to different addresses? Contact us before ordering.
Restored in London • Printed and framed in the EU
My maps are rare, museum-grade, restored old maps sourced from libraries, auction houses and private collections across the globe. Full description
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Gift message & custom finish
If you want to add a gift message, or a finish (jigsaw, aluminium board, etc.) that is not available here, please request it in the "order note" when you check out.
Every order is custom made, so if you need the size adjusted slightly, or printed on an unusual material, just let us know. We've done thousands of custom orders over the years, so there's (almost) nothing we can't manage.
You can also contact us before you order, if you prefer!
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Titled “Golden” and published by the United States Geological Survey in 1944, this 1:31,680 topographical map captures the dramatic meeting point of...
Continue readingTitled “Golden” and published by the United States Geological Survey in 1944, this 1:31,680 topographical map captures the dramatic meeting point of Colorado’s Front Range and the plains just west of Denver. Golden appears not merely as a town, but as a landscape shaped by geology: Clear Creek cuts through the foothills, roads and trails thread into the surrounding heights, and the nearby mesas rise with unmistakable presence. Created during an era when precise mapping served resource management, infrastructure planning, and wartime preparedness, the map reflects the USGS at its most exacting. Its contours, hachures, and carefully keyed symbols offer a finely measured portrait of a region poised between mining heritage, mountain travel, and expanding twentieth-century development.
The map’s most striking natural forms are North Table Mountain and South Table Mountain, the great flat-topped volcanic mesas that frame Golden’s eastern horizon. Their steep flanks and broad summits are elegantly expressed through dense contouring, making the topography immediately legible and visually compelling. These formations are remnants of ancient lava flows, and their prominence on the map speaks to the geological richness that has long defined the area. Between and around them, the terrain softens into rolling hills, gullies, and creek corridors. The USGS style gives this landscape a restrained beauty: earth-toned relief, crisp linework, and systematic labeling combine to produce a map that is both scientific document and quietly dramatic composition.
Clear Creek anchors the map both geographically and historically. Flowing eastward from the mountains through Golden, it was central to the Colorado Gold Rush and to the development of milling, transport, and settlement in the region. On this 1944 sheet, the creek’s course ties together canyons, lowlands, roads, and the town itself, revealing how water shaped movement and habitation along the Front Range. Nearby lakes, small water bodies, and tributary creeks add further texture to the landscape, while the careful depiction of drainage patterns reflects the USGS’s hydrological expertise. The map invites close reading: every bend, elevation change, and valley floor suggests the long negotiation between human settlement and Colorado’s rugged natural systems.
West and southwest of Golden, the map rises toward Lookout Mountain and the foothill terrain associated with Apex Park and the surrounding trail country. Here the contour lines tighten, signaling sharper slopes and a more mountainous character than the open land to the east. Roads and trails appear as delicate yet purposeful lines, tracing routes through gulches, ridges, and elevated ground. Lookout Mountain, long associated with panoramic views and the approach into the Rockies, gives the map a sense of ascent and anticipation. In the context of 1944, these mapped routes would have been essential for navigation, land management, and planning, recording a landscape before many later suburban and recreational transformations.
As a historical document, this map preserves Golden at a moment of transition. By 1944, the United States was intensively mapping its territory with new urgency, and the USGS brought together geology, hydrology, transportation, and settlement in a disciplined visual language. Golden’s later growth, the expansion of roads, parks, and metropolitan Denver’s western edge, make this sheet especially evocative: it shows familiar landmarks before decades of postwar change. The combination of scientific precision and regional character gives the map lasting appeal. It is a portrait of Colorado’s foothills rendered through contour and symbol, where mesa, creek, mountain, and town are held in balance with exceptional cartographic clarity.
Cities, towns and places on this map
- Golden, Colorado
- Clear Creek
- North Table Mountain
- South Table Mountain
- Apex Park
- Lookout Mountain
- Parker Lake
- Nearby lakes and creeks
- Labeled roads and trails surrounding the area
Historical context & cartographic details
- Published by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) in 1944.
- Historical topographical map at a scale of 1:31,680.
- Shows Golden, Colorado and the surrounding landscape during the World War II era.
- Reflects a period when the United States was actively mapping geographic features for military, resource management, and planning purposes.
- Uses contour lines to show elevation changes across rolling hills, valleys, and mountainous terrain.
- Employs earth-tone colors to depict topographic relief.
- Includes a legend explaining symbols and hatching used for natural features.
- Provides a record of Golden and its surrounding infrastructure before later urban and infrastructural changes.
Looking for a particular place? Review the detailed images to confirm that the town, landmark or feature you have in mind appears on the map. If you are unsure, ask our workshop to check before you order.
Detailed maps are especially rewarding at larger sizes, where names, boundaries and decorative features have more room to be appreciated. Use the close-up preview and size guide to choose the right scale for your wall.
This map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 50in (125cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please get in touch.
The model in the listing images is holding the 16x20in (40x50cm) version of this map.
Where personalisation is available, you can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. See personalised map examples.
Every piece is printed to museum-grade archival standards using fade-resistant pigment inks on acid-free matte paper. Choose an unframed map print, framed map or canvas using the finish options above. Framed maps use crystal-clear optical acrylic and arrive ready to hang.
With its rich detail and strong sense of place, this map makes a considered gift for a new home, anniversary, retirement or anyone with a personal connection to the area shown. Still deciding? Explore our collection of rare old and vintage maps to discover another place, period or style.
This map is also available as a float framed canvas, sometimes known as a shadow gap framed canvas or canvas floater. The map is printed on artist's cotton canvas and then stretched over a handmade box frame. We then "float" the canvas inside a wooden frame, which is available in a range of colours (black, dark brown, oak, antique gold and white). This is a wonderful way to present a map without glazing in front. See some examples of float framed canvas maps and explore the differences between my different finishes.
For something truly unique, this map is also available in "Unique 3D", our trademarked process that dramatically transforms the map so that it has a wonderful sense of depth. We combine the original map with detailed topography and elevation data, so that mountains and the terrain really "pop". For more info and examples of 3D maps, check my Unique 3D page.
Titled “Golden” and published by the United States Geological Survey in 1944, this 1:31,680 topographical map captures the dramatic meeting point of Colorado’s Front Range and the plains just west of Denver. Golden appears not merely as a town, but as a landscape shaped by geology: Clear Creek cuts through the foothills, roads and trails thread into the surrounding heights, and the nearby mesas rise with unmistakable presence. Created during an era when precise mapping served resource management, infrastructure planning, and wartime preparedness, the map reflects the USGS at its most exacting. Its contours, hachures, and carefully keyed symbols offer a finely measured portrait of a region poised between mining heritage, mountain travel, and expanding twentieth-century development.
The map’s most striking natural forms are North Table Mountain and South Table Mountain, the great flat-topped volcanic mesas that frame Golden’s eastern horizon. Their steep flanks and broad summits are elegantly expressed through dense contouring, making the topography immediately legible and visually compelling. These formations are remnants of ancient lava flows, and their prominence on the map speaks to the geological richness that has long defined the area. Between and around them, the terrain softens into rolling hills, gullies, and creek corridors. The USGS style gives this landscape a restrained beauty: earth-toned relief, crisp linework, and systematic labeling combine to produce a map that is both scientific document and quietly dramatic composition.
Clear Creek anchors the map both geographically and historically. Flowing eastward from the mountains through Golden, it was central to the Colorado Gold Rush and to the development of milling, transport, and settlement in the region. On this 1944 sheet, the creek’s course ties together canyons, lowlands, roads, and the town itself, revealing how water shaped movement and habitation along the Front Range. Nearby lakes, small water bodies, and tributary creeks add further texture to the landscape, while the careful depiction of drainage patterns reflects the USGS’s hydrological expertise. The map invites close reading: every bend, elevation change, and valley floor suggests the long negotiation between human settlement and Colorado’s rugged natural systems.
West and southwest of Golden, the map rises toward Lookout Mountain and the foothill terrain associated with Apex Park and the surrounding trail country. Here the contour lines tighten, signaling sharper slopes and a more mountainous character than the open land to the east. Roads and trails appear as delicate yet purposeful lines, tracing routes through gulches, ridges, and elevated ground. Lookout Mountain, long associated with panoramic views and the approach into the Rockies, gives the map a sense of ascent and anticipation. In the context of 1944, these mapped routes would have been essential for navigation, land management, and planning, recording a landscape before many later suburban and recreational transformations.
As a historical document, this map preserves Golden at a moment of transition. By 1944, the United States was intensively mapping its territory with new urgency, and the USGS brought together geology, hydrology, transportation, and settlement in a disciplined visual language. Golden’s later growth, the expansion of roads, parks, and metropolitan Denver’s western edge, make this sheet especially evocative: it shows familiar landmarks before decades of postwar change. The combination of scientific precision and regional character gives the map lasting appeal. It is a portrait of Colorado’s foothills rendered through contour and symbol, where mesa, creek, mountain, and town are held in balance with exceptional cartographic clarity.
Cities, towns and places on this map
- Golden, Colorado
- Clear Creek
- North Table Mountain
- South Table Mountain
- Apex Park
- Lookout Mountain
- Parker Lake
- Nearby lakes and creeks
- Labeled roads and trails surrounding the area
Historical context & cartographic details
- Published by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) in 1944.
- Historical topographical map at a scale of 1:31,680.
- Shows Golden, Colorado and the surrounding landscape during the World War II era.
- Reflects a period when the United States was actively mapping geographic features for military, resource management, and planning purposes.
- Uses contour lines to show elevation changes across rolling hills, valleys, and mountainous terrain.
- Employs earth-tone colors to depict topographic relief.
- Includes a legend explaining symbols and hatching used for natural features.
- Provides a record of Golden and its surrounding infrastructure before later urban and infrastructural changes.
Looking for a particular place? Review the detailed images to confirm that the town, landmark or feature you have in mind appears on the map. If you are unsure, ask our workshop to check before you order.
Detailed maps are especially rewarding at larger sizes, where names, boundaries and decorative features have more room to be appreciated. Use the close-up preview and size guide to choose the right scale for your wall.
This map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 50in (125cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please get in touch.
The model in the listing images is holding the 16x20in (40x50cm) version of this map.
Where personalisation is available, you can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. See personalised map examples.
Every piece is printed to museum-grade archival standards using fade-resistant pigment inks on acid-free matte paper. Choose an unframed map print, framed map or canvas using the finish options above. Framed maps use crystal-clear optical acrylic and arrive ready to hang.
With its rich detail and strong sense of place, this map makes a considered gift for a new home, anniversary, retirement or anyone with a personal connection to the area shown. Still deciding? Explore our collection of rare old and vintage maps to discover another place, period or style.
This map is also available as a float framed canvas, sometimes known as a shadow gap framed canvas or canvas floater. The map is printed on artist's cotton canvas and then stretched over a handmade box frame. We then "float" the canvas inside a wooden frame, which is available in a range of colours (black, dark brown, oak, antique gold and white). This is a wonderful way to present a map without glazing in front. See some examples of float framed canvas maps and explore the differences between my different finishes.
For something truly unique, this map is also available in "Unique 3D", our trademarked process that dramatically transforms the map so that it has a wonderful sense of depth. We combine the original map with detailed topography and elevation data, so that mountains and the terrain really "pop". For more info and examples of 3D maps, check my Unique 3D page.
Many of our maps and art prints are chosen as thoughtful gifts for homes, offices, studies and meaningful places.
Choose a framed option for the easiest ready-to-hang gift, or choose an unframed print if the recipient may prefer to select their own frame.
We make orders locally in 23 countries around the world, so gifts can often be produced close to the recipient. This helps them arrive faster, travel more safely, and avoid customs or import duty surprises.
- We can deliver directly to the recipient
- Framed pieces arrive ready to hang
- Unframed prints are carefully packed in a strong protective tube
- Almost every order is made locally, for faster, safer gifting
- 90-day returns give the recipient time to decide
If you are not sure what to choose, please contact us. We can help you pick the right map, size, finish or delivery option.
Most orders are made locally and delivered in around 2–3 working days, depending on the product, size and destination.
We print and frame maps and artwork in 23 countries around the world, so your order is usually made close to you or your recipient. That means faster delivery, less time in transit, and no customs or import duty surprises.
Personalised and customised pieces usually take an extra 1–2 working days, because we prepare your design and send it to you for approval before printing.
Very large framed orders can take a little longer, as they need extra care in production and delivery.
Every order is carefully packaged: unframed prints are sent in a strong protective tube, while framed pieces are securely packed with protective materials around the frame.
If you need your order by a particular date, please contact us before ordering. We’ll check the best production route and delivery option for your location.
Express delivery is available at checkout for most countries. Next-day delivery is available in the UK, US, Singapore and the UAE.
Your order is covered by our 90-day returns policy and 10-year guarantee.
Our standard frame is a gallery-style black ash hardwood frame, with a simple, modern look. It is approximately 20mm (0.8in) wide. You can also view some lovely customer photos of framed maps and art.
We use super-clear acrylic glazing, also known as Perspex or Acrylite, instead of traditional glass. It is lighter, safer, and has lower reflectivity, giving the artwork a clearer, cleaner appearance.
Six standard frame colours are available at no extra cost: black, dark brown, dark grey, oak, white, and antique gold. Custom framing and mounting/matting is also available for customers looking for something more specific.
Most maps, art prints, and illustrations are also available as a framed canvas. We use matte cotton canvas, stretch it over a sustainably sourced wooden box frame, and then float the piece within a wooden outer frame. The finished result is beautifully presented, with no glazing between you and the artwork.
All frames are supplied ready to hang, with either string or brackets fitted to the back. Very large frames will include heavy-duty hanging plates and/or a mounting baton. If you have any questions, please get in touch.
We can also supply old maps and artwork on canvas, foam board, cotton rag, and other materials.
If you would prefer to frame your map or artwork yourself, please read our size guide before ordering.
Every Unique Maps piece begins with an authentic cartographic source or an original design from our London studio.
For our historic maps, we source rare originals from libraries, archives, auction houses and private collections around the world. We carefully restore each map for print—repairing age-related damage, balancing colour and improving clarity while preserving its original detail, texture and character.
Once restored, the map is prepared for your chosen size and finish. Your piece is then printed and, where selected, framed close to its delivery destination.
Our map prints use acid-free 200gsm archival matte paper and fade-resistant pigment inks, creating a rich, non-glossy finish designed to last. Framed maps use crystal-clear optical acrylic and arrive ready to hang.
Canvas, cotton-rag and other specialist presentations are also available. Learn more about our materials and finishes.
Personalising your map
You can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. For personalised designs, we send a proof before printing and you can request changes before approval.
For more complex bespoke commissions, contact our design team.
Original or Aged
Choose Original for true-to-source colour, or Aged for a warmer, richer antique character created with our specialist ageing process. See examples of our Aged maps.
We’ve been restoring and producing maps and art prints since 1984, and we stand behind every piece.
Every order is covered by our 10-year guarantee and damage-free delivery guarantee. If your piece arrives damaged, we’ll replace or remake it free of charge. If anything else isn’t right, contact our workshop team and we’ll put it right promptly.
See our returns and refund policy for full details.
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