Real Estate on The Front Range

Geese have been very common over the skies of Boulder County this winter.  The snow hasn't been very deep so they have been feeding in the fields by day and congregating in the resevoir near Xcel's power generating plant by night.  Most of the water is frozen over but that particular resevoir does not freeze because the water is circulated into the power plant t.

I took this shot on a frigid January morning.  This sculpture is located at the Southwest corner of the 29th Street Mall in Boulder. I like this shot for a number of reasons.  I like the morning moon framed by the blades of the windmill.  I like the steam pouring forth from the University of Colorado poweer plant.  I like the sunshine halfway up the pole.  I like the frozen flatirons in the background.  I had to take the photo quickly becuause the thermometer on my car read -1.

Notice the sledders under the star.  For a more traditional view of the star which shines each holiday season on Flagstaff Mountain above Boulder Colorado see below.  I have pasted the history of the star as written by Sylvia Pettem our preeminent Boulder local historian. 

By Silvia Pettem - (Boulder history books make great gifts, available here: http://www.silviapettem.com/)

The lighted star on Flagstaff is a familiar symbol in Boulder. First turned on as a Christmas decoration in December 1947, the star survived several controversies to become what it is today—part of the area’s history and culture.

In April 1948, the Boulder Chamber of Commerce converted the star into an Easter cross. Then, for two decades, the long string of lights alternated between the two symbols.

Pranksters also saw uses for the bulbs and wires. In 1951, students from Colorado A & M (now Colorado State University) reconfigured the display into the shape of an “A.” In 1958, Colorado School of Mines students strung the lights into an “M.”

In 1955, 1956, and 1960, someone, or some group, painted the bulbs red, speculated to have been part of a Communist conspiracy. In 1969, the star/cross was changed again—this time into a gigantic peace sign.

Finally, some Boulder residents had had enough. They filed a complaint with the Boulder Human Relations Commission on the grounds that the star and the cross (both considered Christian symbols and located on city park property) violated the U.S. Constitution in its separation of church and state. Although the lights had sparked a controversy, they stayed on.

The debate resurfaced a year later. In 1970, the same group brought to the Boulder City Council a resolution banning all lighted displays on Flagstaff Mountain.

Of the Flagstaff star a Boulder City attorney stated, “It is our job to guarantee rights of free speech, but that does not mean that one is guaranteed a platform which gives him a captive community audience.”

The termination of the cross was something people could accept, but the possibility that the star might have to come down caused an uproar among the majority of Boulder citizens. Eventually, the council determined that the cross had to go, but the star represented “a sense of community.”

In 1980, the star served yet another purpose. It was left on month after month as a reminder of the Americans held hostage in Iran. This ongoing use of electricity, however, upset environmentalists who removed the bulbs, chopped down the wires, and publicly announced that the man-made object disturbed wildlife and wasted energy.

Even so, the majority of Boulder’s residents still wanted their star, and, once again, they rallied to its defense. It has survived the test of time and appears to be here to stay.
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To support the continuation of this content, please consider buying a great book by Boulder historian Silvia Pettem here: http://www.silviapettem.com/books.html