West Again... But a Few Hundred Miles More

 If you guessed we're going to Colorado again, you'd be right! It's kind of a quick visit this time, I didn't cover much new ground but still got enough to get a full post from... most of which you can thank a Safeway and Park Meadows Mall for.

Safeway, Frisco, CO

This location opened its doors in 1977. It was expanded sometime in the 90's, then heavily remodeled in 2006 to the Lifestyle décor. Honestly I thought this was a new building up until I researched for this post, they did a great job remodeling it.

There's a prepared food alcove around the entryway, directing customers away from the checkout counters on the other side.

Here's the bakery department. This end of the store was in the 90's addition. After the Albertsons merger, all the spotlights here were disconnected and replaced with fluorescent strips. It makes this part of the store a lot brighter, but is a huge downgrade aesthetically. 

I don't exactly remember what path I walked around the store, but if the order of photos is any indication I bounced back and forth quite a bit. Here, we're in the corner opposite from the bakery.

Furtive shot of the meat & seafood counter. I must have seen an employee looking at me.

The Pharmacy department. I really like all the wood trim Lifestyle stores have around this department. I would say I like this décor as a whole, but it does bother me that practically every department sign looks the same.

The rear actionway of the store. Not sure if the ceiling is higher back here intentionally or if this was the result of an expansion at some point.

Back over by the entrance, floral is tucked into the non-bakery corner of the produce department.

I like when stores tell you when they opened. It saves me a bit of researching.

The store had some unusual fruits for sale. I definitely bought one of these spiky things but couldn't tell you how it tasted. It was... different? Like sweet but kinda bitter?

Produce also had a real pretty pepper display. Nothing unique about the peppers themselves; I just liked how they were set up.

They had reusable Colorado bags at the checkout. Obviously I bought one.

Main Street Mall, Breckenridge, CO

"Mall" is a deceptive term, this place would better fit the Mini-Mall label. It opened sometime in the 1970's as the town was beginning to grow attraction as a ski resort. It doesn't appear to have ever had a full remodel, but the exterior was fixed up a bit in the mid-2010's.

This is just about all there is to see of the interior. Still looks pretty 70's inside!

The Dredge/Ollie's, Breckenridge, CO

This restaurant is actually a boat out in the middle of a pond, and holds the distinction of being the country's highest floating restaurant. It opened around 1990 and was modeled off of an old gold mining dredge. They were around for a while, but judging by the reviews the service got pretty bad towards the end. The Dredge closed in 2017 and was quickly replaced by a sports bar called Ollie's.

Town Square Mall, Breckenridge, CO

Once again, Mall is a misleading name. This complex is slightly bigger than the last one but is completely outdoors. Like a lot of places in town, it was developed in the 80's and was given a design that blended the traditional mining town architecture with the contemporary look. 

Four Seasons Plaza, Breckenridge, CO

Further down the road is another center with a very similar design. I'd hazard a guess and say these were both developed by Vail Resorts. While Breckenridge is an actual town with plenty of individually-owned properties, Vail Resorts (who operates the ski resort in town) built a large portion of it and basically runs the place.

Another Center, Breckenridge, CO

Aaaand here's a third one! This place doesn't seem to have an official name, but like the other two was built in the 80's, most likely by Vail, and has an interesting combination of architectural styles.

Beaver Run Resort, Breckenridge, CO

One of the few non-Vail resorts in town, Beaver Run is by far the cheapest option- not saying it's cheap, but compared to the others it's better. It's also kinda stuck in the 80's, but in a good way.

The pool room there was one of my favorite parts, from the aesthetics standpoint and just as a concept. The water is heated, and actually goes through the wall to the outside.

Marshall Field's Box

I forget what exactly we were doing with this, but I noticed the name in the lid and snapped a picture. It's likely from a Milwaukee-area store from the 90's.

Natural Grocers, Frisco, CO

This store opened up in 2016 on a previously undeveloped plot of land. In keeping with the ski bum stereotype, this store draws a pretty large crowd.

Country Kitchen, Frisco, CO

This location opened in the early 80's. It shares a property with the independent Summit Inn, which I am going to assume began life as sister chain Country Inn. This location closed in the mid-2000's, and has remained vacant ever since.

Old Mine, Evergreen, CO

Several old gold mines line this stretch of highway. Some of them are museums now, but most sit abandoned. The dry climate here prevents rot, so despite most of them being unused for over 50 years, the structures remain in great shape.

Old Hotel, Parker, CO

I think I've posted a picture of this place from every single Colorado trip I've gone on. It was just a neat relic of the old west. Unfortunately, the last time I was in town I learned that the developers had succeeded in their quest to overturn the building's historical designation and that it had been torn down. A housing development will likely be taking its place before long. 

Toys R Us/Total Wine, Lone Tree, CO

Toys R Us opened here in the mid-90's, and at some point more recently had a Babies R Us retrofitted into it. It closed with the chain in 2018, and was replaced with a Total Wine the following year. [insert insightful metaphor for growing up here]

Park Meadows Mall, Lone Tree, CO

Park Meadows was one of the last malls developed by the Hahn Company. It opened in 1996 as the largest mall in the state, a title it still holds today. It was sold to Rouse in 1999, to GGP in 2004, and again to Brookfield a few years after that. The original anchor lineup included Dillard's, Nordstrom, Joslin's, Foley's, JCPenney, and United Artists. Dillard's bought Joslin's in 1999. Since they already had a store in the mall, it was divested to Lord & Taylor, who closed it in 2004. That space was demolished for an outdoor promenade in 2006, featuring a Borders (now Forever 21). Foley's became Macy's in 2006. United Artists closed their theater in 2000; that space became a Galyan's, which Dick's bought in 2006. JCPenney here survived their bankruptcy, and overall this mall looks like it's in pretty good shape.

The Penney's here is a little smaller than the other anchors. It comes out just as far from the mall, but only measures half as wide.

It was a busy day here; a lot of stores were having post-Christmas sales. That's good for the mall but bad for taking pictures.

The mall's architecture really played off of the rustic Colorado mountain style- lots of wood and sandstone. It's a pretty timeless look, which is why this mall still looks so good after going nearly 25 years without a remodel.

There were some naturey displays set up in the courts. I can't decide if they were tacky, cool, or some combination of the two.

The mall itself is two levels, though most of the anchors feature three.

The Foley's/Macy's, slightly obscured by their Christmas decorations.

We've got a clearer view of the Nordstrom. This was their first store to open in the state- granted, they only have two full-line locations here and 7 Nordstrom Racks. Coincidentally, that's the same number of both as Pennsylvania has.

LL Bean has a store in the mall building, but only opens out to the parking lot. It opened somewhat recently (ballpark estimate 2015) in what was formerly a Grand Lux Cafe.

County Line Station, Lone Tree, CO

This light rail station is here primarily to serve the mall. It opened in 2006, and was expanded via a footbridge to the mall's parking lot a few years later.

CVS, Exton, PA

Just so you guys can leave knowing I made it home safe (and definitely not because I forgot to include it in the last post), let's check in on the Exton CVS construction. At this point, it looks like the building itself is complete. It just needs some signage!

Today's song is going out in memory of Charley Pride, one of my favorite singers who we lost last week.