An Origin Story
First things first, I didn’t grow up in a historic home or in a historic neighborhood. In fact, I grew up in a 1950’s style ranch home in the NE heights of Albuquerque, NM. Albuquerque is probably better know for being the setting (and I’d argue a primary character) in the acclaimed series Breaking Bad, the location of the largest balloon festival in the world, or a high desert metropolis filled with adobe buidings. Lets just say that it was not a hotspot of historic homes on tree lined streets where walking a neighborhood is a joy in and of itself.
My hometown. Probably better known for adobe homes than victorian homes
However, it was tradition in my family to travel every summer to other locations, and one of those most frequent locations we went to was central Missouri. Again, I don’t necessarily associate central Missouri as a plethora of old homes, but between visiting family in St. Louis with its brick buildings and unique architecture, and a small town of Arrow Rock, MO nestled right off of the Missouri river, I became exposed to architecture that just spoke to me.
Summers spent in Arrow Rock were especially great as the town of 90 people (or at least that is what it always felt like) as you could almost imagine yourself as Tom Sawyer or Huck Finn exploring a river town in their heyday.
In fact, my aunt and grandma ran and still run the Borgmans Bed and Breakfast in Arrow Rock, and it was always a great time to explore their home and the neighborhoods around town. I have to believe that there was something deeper down in me that began to appreciate older architecture, history, and walkability from those summers spent at the bed and breakfast.
Many years later, in between fire seasons, my then fiance and I rented a few different properties over 4 winters in the heart of Denver, CO. Our first place rented together was a cool little rowhouse right in the middle of Capitol Hill (or Capitol Thrill as we used to call it). That place was awesome! Exposed bricks throughout the interior, old wood floors, large rock pavers instead of concrete sidewalks that made it a pain in the ass to shovel! One of the best parts about living in that area was the ability to walk the neighborhoods and just daydream about homes that I passed.
Fast forward a few years and a transfer in both of our jobs to Fort Collins, and we quickly realized that Old Town Fort Collins was the place that we wanted to end up. Those moments living in the rental properties of Capitol Hill provided us with a taste of owning an older style property, and the convenience of everything being nearby just about settled it for us. So when it came time to buy a place, we didn’t hesitate on buying a smaller 2 bedroom home in the heart of Old Town. We have thoroughly enjoyed our time spent living in Old Town Fort Collins. We’ve made some changes over the years, added an addition, rebuilt the front porch, landscaped the backyard, attempted to landscape the front, all the while loving the ability to walk the neighborhood, enjoy the architecture, and generally feel like we are in the heart of it all.
I’m sure that we all have our reasons for ending up in the homes and neighborhoods that we are in, and I bit if you dig a little bit into your past, you will come up with your own origin story on what brought you to where you are. Maybe you are desperately trying to avoid something that brought you pain growing up? Maybe you have such fond memories of your childhood home you want to recreate that experience for your kids? I’d love to hear from others on why they ended up in Old Town Fort Collins and what makes it so special to you?
