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READER, WELCOME TO LONGMONT.
We know its ascent is no secret, but still, don’t say we didn’t tell you so. Last year, our annual edition covered the ins-and-outs of Boulder County’s still-burgeoning city in the north. This year, it feels as though Longmont has fully arrived.
That’s why, for the first story of this year’s Longmont Insider, we’re asking the very valid question: Is Longmont better than Boulder?
09 LONGMONT V. BOULDER
Which of BoCo’s biggest towns is the superior city?
12 DINERS + DIVES
A gritty, greasy guide to great food and drink spots
14 CULTURAL CROSSROAD
Longmont’s arts scene dreams big but wrestles with growing pains
18 A LEGACY OF LOVE
The Tower of Compassion is one family’s enduring gift of gratitude
20 EXCITING PROSPECTS
This Longmont ’hood has breakfast, lunch, dinner and plenty of places to chill
22 WHAT’S HAPPENING
All the concerts and community events you need to pack your calendar
Perhaps nowhere balances old and new better than this former farm town, from the historic Johnson’s Gas — where proto-hipster Jack Kerouac spent his first night in Colorado in On the Road — to new urbanist neighborhood Prospect. The Tower of Compassion in Kanemoto Park spans decades of history and stands as an eternal symbol of the power of kindness and decency.
Turkeys may not be roaming Main Street as they did in the days of the Butterball factory, but there’s still plenty of characters to be found in the many divey food and drink spots throughout town.
Suffice to say, Longmont isn’t slowing down, so grab on and experience it like a true insider.
Cheers, from your friends at Boulder Weekly
SMALL TOWN, BIG CITY
Boulder gets the attention, but is Longmont a better place to live?
BY SHAY CASTLE
There is a town in Boulder County, population roughly 100,000. But it’s growing, adding jobs and homes seemingly every day. The city is home to an institute of higher learning and a respected, innovative public school district. Olympic athletes and beloved celebrities have lived there, and its residents are among the happiest in the country.
Most Coloradans would probably guess Boulder. But there’s another place in the county that fits the profile: Longmont. The fast-growing city is poised to overtake its better-known neighbor as the biggest in Boulder County, if current trends continue. And despite being overshadowed by The People’s Republic in acclaim and influence, Longmont has been able to accomplish things many Boulderites only dream of.
Longmont owns its own electric utility, something Boulder spent 10 years and
$33 million trying to achieve. Longmont’s municipally owned internet is among the fastest and best in the world; Boulder is still working to build out its fiber network, and will likely need to partner with the private sector to provide service. Longmont even has free buses, thanks to a partnership with RTD and the county. Boulder’s restaurant week is now kaput; Longmont’s is just getting off the ground.
Given all this — plus the far-more affordable housing and more down-home, welcoming vibes — we had to ask: Is Longmont better than Boulder?
DEATH AND HOT DOGS
There’s always been a bit of rivalry between Boulder County’s two biggest cities — sometimes friendly, sometimes distinctly less so.
LONGMONT
CELEBRITIES: Kristen Schaal (Bob’s Burgers)
MASCOT: Monty the Longmonster
WORLD-RECORD BREAKER: Saul the sticker ball
IN POP CULTURE: Prolific prank caller
Longmont Potion Castle
IN LITERATURE: “It was beautiful in Longmont.” – Jack Kerouac, On the Road
Outsiders have referred to Longmont as Longtucky for its agricultural roots. A turkey processing plant was located downtown on Main Street. Lifelong resident Kindra Baxter remembers the sight of plucked birds hanging from hooks and the smell that filled the town on slaughter days: Writer and artist Jenny Miyasaki described it as “death and not-right hot dogs.”
Live birds would sometimes escape and cause traffic jams, said Jonathan Singer. “That might have earned Longmont the Longtucky moniker.”
Singer, who represented Longmont in the Colorado House from 2012 to 2021, said state reps in Longmont and Boulder engaged in “fun light-hearted ribbing.” A more “bitter” rivalry still exists in the minds of some older residents, he thinks, but for the most part, “the competition between the two cities has become friendly” in recent years.
Longtucky Spirits, a downtown distillery, reclaimed the one-time pejorative.
BOULDER
CELEBRITIES: Coach Prime, Robert Redford, Trey Parker and Matt Stone (South Park)
FAMOUS FICTIONAL RESIDENTS: Michael Scott (The Office), Abbi Jacobson (Broad City) PROGNOSTICATING RODENTS: Flatiron Freddy
IN LITERATURE: The Stand and The Shining by Stephen King IN POP CULTURE: “Pull the sheets right off the corner of the mattress that you stole / From your roommate back in Boulder.” – “Closer” by the Chainsmokers
A full moon over Longs Peak, as seen from Longmont. Credit: Gerardo Brucker
The 300 block of Main Street in Longmont, looking south, pictured sometime between 1918 and 1926. Courtesy: Longmont Museum
From left: Anne Jackson, Melissa Duncan, Anjanet Shafer, Jenny Stapleton and Dina Huber visit the turkey farm at Longmont Foods in October 1982. Courtesy: Longmont Museum Saul, the world’s largest sticker ball.
For a few years, residents played off of the world-famous Bolder Boulder 10K in hosting the 11K Longer Longmont, using it as a fundraising opportunity for local causes.
Some folks take pride in being not like Boulder. As Singer recalled, when Longmont was shopping for new slogans, “Someone wrote into the Times-Call, ‘Longmont: We’re not Boulder, but we’re not Greeley either.’”
STEAK AND POTATOES (AND TACOS)
The turkey plant closed in 2011. Today, the 26-acre site is mostly apartments. Downtown is full of shops, restaurants and public art.
But Longmont’s agrarian past is still present, from the farmers market to the county fair (the state’s oldest, dating back to 1869; it was originally held in Boulder). So, too, is the small-town feel — a remarkable feat given that the population is nearing 100,000.
“I feel like I know everybody,” said Baxter, who was born and raised in Longmont and has raised three daughters there. “It has that smalltown welcome.”
That’s what drew Devin Edgely there 10 years ago from Denton, Texas.
A 1965 brochure from the Longmont Chamber of Commerce touts its proximity to Rocky Mountain National Park. Courtesy: Longmont
Leonard Strear (right) and Foreman Art May stand in front of Longmont Turkey Processors’ eviscerating line in March 1974. Courtesy: Longmont Museum
“Longmont is to Boulder how Denton is to Dallas,” Edgley said. “I like living next to a big city but necessarily living in a big city.”
Singer credits the city’s “down-to-earth” feel to its rural history and affordability, at least relative to Boulder. The farmers, the factory workers — they’re still here, adding to the community’s flavor. Baxter agrees.
“We are modernizing in Longmont,” she said, “but the demographic and population is still steak, potatoes and beer. And tacos; of course, tacos.”
AUTHENTIC, QUIRKY AND UNPRETENTIOUS
All these folks — Singer, Baxter and Edgely — may live in Longmont, but they work in Boulder, still the economic powerhouse of the county. It boasts the University of Colorado, 17 federal labs and some 120,000 jobs.
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“There’s more opportunities for employment and workforce development,” Edgely said. “There are different sectors of work that grab people of all interests.”
If Boulder powers the economy, Longmont houses the workers who man the station. Or at least a good bit of them.
While homes cost $1 million or more, on average, in Boulder, the median sales price in Longmont is $625,000. That can hardly be considered affordable, but it’s certainly more attainable for working professionals.
“If I could afford to live there,” Singer admits of Boulder, “I would.”
Neither he nor Baxter nor Edgley could be drawn into a definitive declaration of which town is better. Even Sarah Leonard, executive director of Visit Longmont, couldn’t be induced to express an opinion — although her elevator pitch for Longmont hints at the contrast between the two towns.
“We have the best mountain views, without bumper-to-bumper traffic,” she said. “Longmont has that authentic character; Longmont still retains its quirkiness. It’s unpretentious.”
But Longmont benefits from Boulder, Leonard said, a sentiment shared by Edgley.
“We’re close enough that some of the stuff that’s amazing about Boulder rubs off on Longmont,” Edgley said. “It would be great if some of the great things about Longmont would rub off on Boulder as well.”
Today, downtown Longmont is filled with shops and public art. Courtesy: Visit Longmont
The Boulder County Fair is Colorado’s oldest, started in 1869. It’s held in Longmont — but it started in Boulder. Courtesy: Boulder County Fair
NEWS TRUE GRIT
Your guide to diners and dives in Longmont
BY BOULDER WEEKLY STAFF
As Boulder Weekly strove to round up a few of Boulder and Longmont’s dingiest bars and greasiest diners, we were stuck on the central question: What, exactly, defines a dive?
Is it that quality of being stuck in time — or, some would argue, timeless — from the hodge-podge hanging on the walls to the weather-beaten regulars? The aroma of stale beer or the sound of a shoe coming unstuck from the floor?
Perhaps it is other unknown qualities that, while you may be not able to name them, add a certain grit to an establishment.
Whatever other criteria you might have, one definitive characteristic is the people such places serve: locals. In towns increasingly filled with transplants and tourists, a neighborhood bar or restaurant is a must.
BOOTSTRAP BREWING
142 Pratt St.
3-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday, noon to 9 p.m. Friday-Saturday, noon to 6 p.m. Sunday
with the things and people you love, and your tribe will find you.
That’s been true since Bootstrap started as a neighborhood pole barn brewery in Niwot, where the couple lives. And it’s kept them growing even as the industry as a whole contracts; they recently began distributing beer in Europe.
Bootstrap.) Next to these internationally recognized brands, it would be easy for outsiders to overlook Bootstrap. But locals know what’s up.
Bootstrappers are a loyal group. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they kept the brewery alive with to-go orders and socially distanced drinking in the parking lot, presided over by longtime open mic host Danny Driscoll.
“Kazoo break!” someone yells out from the main stage. As one, the crowd at Bootstrap Brewing silences their ukulele strings and begin to hum a harmonious, if slightly comical, tune on the wind instruments.
It’s the LoCo ukulele jam, held every Sunday from 2-4 p.m. for the past seven years. Every space in the parking lot car and bike — is full, as is every seat in the bar.
“We started out with maybe eight people on the first Sunday,” says Leslie Kaczeus, who owns the brewery with her husband, Steve. “It just grew so fast.” Longmont is home to two of the area’s most iconic breweries, Oskar Blues and Left Hand (Oskar Blues’ founder Dale Katechis was an early investor at
“It was like a drive-in,” Leslie says. “People brought us cookies and were like, ‘Thank you for being open.’”
Customers not only populate the taproom and test beers before they go to market, they also weigh in on who works there.
“We’ve got a core group of our Mug Club members,” Leslie says. “When we bring someone on to do a trial shift, I know immediately if I should hire that person because 15 of them will call me and say, ‘Hire them!’”
The Kaczeus’ approach to hiring is the same philosophy that infuses everything from taproom decor — Carribean themed: Leslie jokes, “We were either going to open a brewery or move to an island.” — to the beer they brew: Surround yourself
“We always wanted to be the neighborhood brewery,” Steve says. “When we came over here” — a former Longmont Times-Call distribution center near the historic downtown ”we just naturally carried that atmosphere, that ambiance over.
“Community was always important to us.”
So, too, is giving back. Bootstrap supports local nonprofits with quarterly tribute nights featuring live music; the house ukulele band always kicks things off. The Kaczeus helped organize a festival for new breweries; now that they’ve aged out, they attend as fans. They give upstart musicians a break, too, devoting Thursday night live music to duos, trios and other smaller acts “that don’t work on a Friday or Saturday night,” Leslie says.
Music is a part of the brewing process, too, Steve says: “We have music on all the time in the back, and it makes the yeast happy. Happy yeast makes great beer.”
Joy pervades Bootstrap. Bartenders laugh and joke with customers. Steve and Leslie didn’t stop smiling or laughing during our interview, and I couldn’t keep the grin off my face watching uke jam attendees sing and strum along to popular songs. (I challenge anyone to maintain a stoic expression while listening to a room full of kazoos.)
Perhaps that is the mark of a neighborhood dive: a place where everything is intentional, but not contrived, where the authenticity of the owners and staff invite others in and make them feel comfortable enough to be themselves and to keep coming back.
“Not everybody knows why they like it here,” Steve says. “They just know they like it.” — Shay Castle
GOODFELLAS DINER / AUNT ALICE’S KITCHEN
623 Ken Pratt Blvd., 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week 1805 Main St., 5:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week
This one is a two-fer. These establishments share an owner. Their menus are similar and both have that classic kitsch essential to an American diner, a throwback to a time when you could get a cup of coffee and a full meal for less than $5. Oh, how we pine for cheap, greasy fare. These days, it seems everyone and everything has an online presence. So
Bootstrap Brewing owners Leslie and Steve Kaczeus show off the medals they won at Great American Beer Fest. Courtesy: Leslie Kaczeus
A tuna melt and strawberry shake from Goodfella’s Diner in Longmont. Credit: Boulder Weekly staff
should be a mark of a great, underrated eatery.
That’s certainly the case for Goodfellas. Even though it’s been open for over a decade, the restaurant’s website still has a blank “about” section.
Aunt Alice’s doesn’t say much more: “Aunt Alice’s is a family owned and run restaurant since 1987. Home of the ‘Big Daddy’ Breakfast Burrito Challenge. Where friends gather!”
You can, however, find the menus online. In addition to all-day breakfast, both diners have staples like liver and onions, chicken fried steak and patty and tuna melts. The classic chrome stool seating is on offer, as are comfy padded booths.
At Goodfellas on a Friday afternoon, my tuna melt — a “Fellas favorite,” according to the menu — arrives within minutes: crispy, golden, melty and delicious. The strawberry shake, served in an old-fashioned glass, is piled high with whipped cream and topped with the requisite cherry. A bevy of friendly waitresses check in on me throughout my meal.
The shopping center that surrounds Goodfellas is stacked with goodies: Mexican bakery La Panda, Rosarios Peruvian. Aunt Alice’s is a locally owned island in a sea of chains, but it is close to Lake McIntosh and a packed Goodwill for a post-breakfast stroll or shop. Shay Castle
MARCO’S
1647 Kimbark St.
10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday-Saturday
If you’ve got that dog in you, Marco’s is the place to be. This unassuming hot dog and taco joint on Kimbark Street has been serving hungry Longmonsters for more than a quarter century. Drop by for either of the longrunning family restaurant’s disparate street food staples (or better yet, both) and it’s not hard to see why.
The two-line setup at this oftenpacked favorite can be a little intimidating to the newcomer — but you’re an insider now, baby. Make a left at the entrance and belly up to the hot dog bar, or hang a right for tacos. Either way, Marco’s sweet and speedy staff will make your off-the-map dining
dreams come true and send you on your merry way to check out with a friendly cashier parked between the two serving stations.
Glizzy enthusiasts will find lots to love in the walk-up restaurant’s signature bacon-wrapped dog smothered with pinto beans, onion, tomato and a condiment cage match of ketchup, mustard, mayo and cheese. Feeling completely fucking insane? Get it with fried shrimp, or “burro” style wrapped in a humongous tortilla. Either way, you’ll want a fresh blistered jalapeno on the side for a fire-breathing palette cleanser and a bright, fruity agua fresca to cool things off.
Marco’s taco program is elegant in its simplicity, as it should be. You know the drill: asada, adobada, barbacoa and the gang served on a corn tortilla (single or double-wrapped) blissfully seasoned with a wedge of lime and piles of cilantro and chopped onion. What more do you people want? — Jezy J. Gray
3’S BAR
333 Main St. Noon to 2 a.m., seven days a week
It’s been an uphill battle in the PR department for 3’s Bar in recent years. Scan a
handful of online reviews and you’ll find plenty to scare you off. (“Wanna get into a fight?” one TripAdvisor user asks. “Come to 3’s!”) Pair that with a high-profile 2018 kidnapping and murder case linked to the parking lot, and this downtown dive is likely not high on your list of Longmont getaways.
Violence did not feel imminent when I strolled into the no-frills community watering hole with my spouse on a sunny Saturday afternoon in early August.
Bachman Turner Overdrive’s “Taking Care of Business” rattled the jukebox as we took our high-top seats at the bar and ordered a pair of $3 Coors Banquet bottles. A loose smattering of older-skewing regulars shot pool (free on weekends) and yapped jovially with longtime bartender Jordan, who poured shots and popped tops with the nonchalance of a casual pro.
The moves here will be familiar to any dive bar connoisseur: cheap domestic drafts, plastic-cup mixed drinks and gobs of hole-in-the-wall grit. If you’re looking for a place to cool your heels, throw some darts and get hammered without the muss and fuss of overpriced cocktails or a laundry list of milkshake IPAs and fruited sour beers, 3’s is the place.
Well drinks are $4 until 5 p.m. on weekdays with low-key food options on Sunday — think sloppy joes and Frito chili pie — served on what can only be described as the saddest-looking folding table I’ve seen in my life. You may scoff now, but you’ll need some sustenance after housing your fourth round of Michelob Ultras while fine tuning your ass-whooping skills on the punching bag machine in the back.
Will you need that left hook if things get rowdy later in the night? Who’s to say. But considering the fact that violence is woven into the fabric of American life, and 90% of violent crime is committed by someone the victim knows, it seems silly to let a seedy reputation stop you from enjoying the last of a dying breed in buttoned-up Boulder County.
After all, as one Longmont resident told Boulder Weekly, it’s got a leg up on the competition.
“It’s the least stabby of the shitholes right now,” he said. “My friend Dan got stabbed with a screwdriver at McCarthy’s. He only got beat up at 3’s.” – Jezy J. Gray
Another round? Flip to the Boulder side for more dives
The popular uke jam at Bootstrap Brewing is held every Sunday. Courtesy: Leslie Kaczeus
Bootstrap’s taproom staff have some fun on 80s night. Courtesy: Leslie Kaczeus
CULTURAL CROSSROAD
Longmont’s arts scene dreams big but wrestles with growing pains
BY TONI TRESCA
Longmont’s performing arts community is a balancing act of ambition and reality, a place where dreams are big but resources are scarce.
It’s “innovative and scrappy,” says Assistant City Manager Sandi Seader. This much is evident in Longmont’s cultural landscape — a mix of long-standing institutions, new ventures and communitydriven initiatives. As the town seeks to expand its cultural offerings, particularly live performances, it faces a number of challenges, including limited funding and mixed support from locals.
Longmont’s aspiration to become a cultural hub has been a driving force behind several recent initiatives, most notably a proposed arts and entertainment center. The vision was grand: a $45 million facility in a converted sugar factory that would not only provide a home for local performing arts groups but also draw in regional and national acts.
That dream hit a major roadblock last November when voters decisively reject-
ed the ballot measure to fund the project as well as two other measures for new city facilities: a library branch and a rec center.
Seader believes the council’s approach of presenting three different proposals for voters to select which initiative to fund was too complicated.
“The council’s perspective was that they were allowing residents to choose what they wanted,” she says. “But I am afraid that having all three on the ballot made it appear as if the council was asking for everything, which it wasn’t. I thought the plan for the performing arts complex at the abandoned sugar factory was very original and intriguing. A lot of other people thought so too, but it just was too much bundled with all the other facilities.”
Longmont city council member Marcia Martin offers a far more candid appraisal. “The ballot initiatives failed because property taxes had gone up after the Gallagher Amendment had been repealed, and
everybody was just mad about being taxed,” Martin says. “We are disappointed with how the campaign for the performing arts center turned out, but I believe it was the wrong year. Even if everything had gone perfectly, I doubt it would have been a winning issue in 2023.”
The proposed facility was seen as a much-needed upgrade to Longmont’s existing cultural infrastructure, which is beginning to show its limitations as the community grows. Scott Moore, owner of Jesters Dinner Theatre, offers a sentiment shared by many in the community about why people might have voted against these city-supported initiatives.
“I never think it’s the responsibility of the government or anything like that to keep us or any other business going,” says Moore, who is in the process of selling the theater’s Main Street property with plans to close in the next couple years. “I just would love to see the economy get to where people feel more comfortable spending money. I don’t blame folks for
not showing up — it’s tough right now, so I just hope for a turnaround economically.”
‘NO MONEY FOR FRIVOLITIES’
As Longmont heads into 2025, the city is bracing for a tight budget year. The lingering effects of post-pandemic inflation, coupled with the need to address core infrastructure needs, have left little room for “bells and whistles” in the budget, as Martin puts it.
“Even though we have a really good, conservative chief financial officer working in the city who plans for costs to go up, the period of post-pandemic 9% inflation that we experienced blew all that stuff out of the water,” Martin says. “City workers need raises to match inflation… police and fire are unionized, so they’re negotiating and getting huge raises. It’s something like an 8% raise, which the public will be able to see when the budget is presented, but the city has to manage all of those expenses, and that means there’s just no money for frivolities.”
An aerial dancer performs in Because the Sky Is Blue at Stewart Auditorium. Courtesy: Longmont Museum
Rather than providing grants, Longmont is continuing its long-standing practice of directly hiring arts groups for services, such as contracting local arts groups to perform at city-sponsored events like the Fourth of July celebration or as carolers during the winter holiday season.
“The city doesn’t make grants to things that are far from core human needs,” Martin says. “We give human services grants to homeless shelters and activities that try to unify the community by providing services to marginalized segments of the community, rather than performing arts.”
Other city-sponsored artist programs include the Longmont Creative District, which is supported by Colorado Creative Industries (CCI) and the Colorado Legislature, and the Longmont Public Media Center, which provides resources for local digital creators. Local arts organizations can apply for grants from regional organizations such as CCI and the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD).
‘HUNGER AND THIRST’ FOR ARTS
The SCFD heavily supports the city’s only rentable auditorium, Stewart Auditorium at the Longmont Museum.
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Since opening in 2015, the venue has quickly become the beating heart of Longmont’s performing arts scene, hosting events ranging from classical music concerts to film screenings and dance performances. Justin Veach, Stewart’s curator of public programs and manager since 2018, says he has observed a consistent uptick in the number of events since taking over the post.
“This space has an awful lot of potential, but we are limited in terms of staffing,” Veach says. “I’m the only full-time staff member here. If we had more personnel, we would increase the number of programs we offer. We’re doing great things considering resources, but there are a lot of possibilities here. I think the arts in Longmont in general are maturing in a lot of ways. There seems to be a hunger and a thirst for programming.”
Veach reports that a dozen renters used the auditorium for performing arts programs in 2023, hosting a total of 60 events. But he says the facility is limited by its design as a classical music venue and the finite dates available for organizations to book.
“Stewart Auditorium is great, but it only holds about 250 people — that’s not very many,” Martin says, reflecting a broader sentiment that the city of almost 100,000 needs a larger space to meet
Conceptual rendering of the Longmont “Sugar Shed” performing arts center that was rejected by voters last November. Courtesy: Longmont Center for Arts and Entertainment
the growing demand for cultural programming. Even with the newly renovated Stewart Family Courtyard at the museum, the space provides 700 seats for outdoor events.
That means the city’s largest performance space has a maximum capacity of 950 people — and that’s only when the weather is good. In comparison to its neighbors just 15 miles west, Boulder has two large city-owned and leased spaces with indoor seating: Chautauqua Auditorium and the Dairy Arts Center.
IDENTICAL COUSINS
The challenges faced by Longmont’s arts scene are not unique. Boulder also grapples with a lack of available performance spaces. The Dairy Arts Center, the city’s primary rentable venue, is often fully booked, leaving local arts organizations scrambling for stage time.
While Boulder has several theater companies, including BETC, Local Theater Company and The Catamounts, Longmont only has two: the Longmont Theatre Company (LTC) and the Jesters Dinner Theatre. LTC, the oldest of the two, was founded in 1957. Like the soon-to-close Jesters, it owns a historic 300-seat theater on Main Street, a rare asset in a region where many arts organizations rent space.
But ownership hasn’t shielded LTC from its own problems. The company is currently embroiled in a legal dispute in
the Boulder County District Court over allegations that its board “failed to abide by” organizational bylaws. According to the eight-page court filing, Board Chair Faye Lamb led a campaign to deprive volunteer board members of their voting rights to consolidate power.
An email to Boulder Weekly from LTC staff on July 27 stated they were unable to comment because they “have taken the summer to vacation, and also [to] do some theatre maintenance.”
Long-time supporters’ dissatisfaction with the company’s alleged actions and subsequent silence have cast doubt on LTC’s future. “We wish the best for everybody in that particular situation,” Seader says. “LTC’s been there a long time, so I hope they’re able to resolve something, but the city isn’t currently involved in that dispute.”
The Longmont Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is one of the city’s most successful cultural organizations, but still subject to the limitations of local infrastructure. The popularity of the LSO under conductor Elliot Moore has grown to the point where its traditional venues are no longer adequate.
To accommodate its growing audience, the orchestra has partnered with Skyline High School, part of the St. Vrain Valley School District, to use the 1,350-seat Vance Brand Civic Auditorium that LSO frequently sells out. The orchestra’s reliance on a high
Conductor Elliot Moore of the Longmont Symphony Orchestra says the organization has grown to the point where its traditional venues are no longer adequate. Courtesy: Visit Longmont
school auditorium, albeit a wellequipped one, underscores the need for a dedicated, professional performance space that can serve not only the LSO but the entire community.
‘BIG SOLUTIONS’
A feasibility study conducted by Johnson Consulting in March 2021 supports the push for a new performing arts center. According to the study, 85% of respondents cited a lack of events in Longmont as the reason they left the city for entertainment. Nearly half pointed to the absence of suitable venues as a significant factor. It argued that constructing a 1,000-1,500-seat center for performing arts and other events would be a significant economic boost.
In response to the failed ballot measure that would have funded such a space, the St. Vrain Valley Alliance for Arts and Entertainment, originally focused on and named after Longmont, has shifted to a more regional approach.
Recognizing that Longmont alone may not be able to sustain a large-scale arts center, the alliance has broadened its scope to include 13 surrounding communities, aiming to create a regional arts and event center that serves both performance and educational purposes. The goal is to create a facility that serves the entire St. Vrain Valley and attracts events that would otherwise force residents to travel to Boulder or Denver.
“The exterior community is the key here,” says Stevan Kukic, alliance president. “The previous initiative was only for Longmont citizens to vote on, but if this evolves into a public-private partnership, we would like to include the entire region served by the school district. Thirty percent of people in Longmont voted for a performing arts center even in the year when anything that had the word ‘tax’ in it was voted down, right? I think that while that endeavor didn’t succeed, we did succeed at getting this idea on the radar for a lot of people in this area.”
By tapping into the broader St. Vrain Valley community, the alliance hopes to build the necessary support and funding to make this vision a reality. The group hopes an arts festival next summer will bring organizations together from across the region, providing an opportunity to listen to what people are interested in and helping them figure out where to put it.
“We know our plan is ambitious, but I don’t know of very many small ideas that have resulted in really big solutions,” Kukic says. “We don’t view this as something that’s going to happen in the summer of 2025. We view this as something that’s going to build momentum. We’re not asking the question of whether this should happen; we’re asking a question of how it should happen and when it will happen — this is something our area needs.”
‘SYMBOL OF GRATITUDE’
Longmont’s Tower of Compassion honors friendship, support and unity
BY COURTNEY JOHNSON
Have you ever driven through a city and wondered about the significance of a landmark?
Constructed in 1973, the Tower of Compassion at Kanemoto Park was one of those landmarks for me when I first took my daughter to the pool there in 2015.
The tower was donated to the city by the Kanemoto family, members of whom have lived and worked in the area since 1919 and played a significant role in the formation of modern-day Longmont.
“Our parents gave the Tower of Compassion to the community as an expression of gratitude for their unwavering friendship, support and opportunities shown our families even during World War II,” Ken Kanemoto wrote in an email to Boulder Weekly
Goroku Kanemoto immigrated from Hiroshima, Japan, to the United States
through Mexico in 1908, beginning as a worker on the railroad. He came to Colorado via train in 1910 and settled in Longmont in 1919 with his wife, Setsuno Nakasaki, and their three children: Jimmie, George and Faith.
The family rented an 80-acre farm to grow vegetables and beets. Eventually, they earned enough money to build a family farm where the park now stands.
When their father Goroku died in an automobile accident in 1935, eldest son Jimmie and youngest child George took over the family business. They expanded, eventually purchasing 340 acres in south Longmont and selling produce at the Freshway Market. They also began more entrepreneurial endeavors including the building of Southmoor Park, a 700-home subdivision annexed into the city in 1961, and the Kane Manufacturing and Supply Company.
LIFE DURING WARTIME
Between 1942 and 1945, the United States government incarcerated more than 10,000 Japanese Americans at a camp in southeastern Colorado, one of 10 internment sites in the U.S. Discrimination and violence against Japanese Americans was common.
The Kanemotos were not detained, but Jimmie was reclassified from an American citizen to an enemy alien, according to reporting from the Longmont Daily TimesCall. Japanese-American Longmont residents “were forced to register with the sheriff, surrender their guns and cameras and lose their insurance,” a 1998 article states.
Despite this, Jimmie Kanemoto spoke of the kindness he and his family felt from the city and its inhabitants, during and
after the war, and of Colorado’s governor, Ralph Carr. Carr opposed the detention of Japanese Americans and welcomed them to the state.
“People were very grateful to Colorado and then-Gov. Ralph Carr, who stood by the words of the Constitution,” Kanemoto was quoted as saying in the Times-Call “While it was a very difficult time, we are appreciative of the people of Longmont and the comfort they shared with the Japanese-American families.”
In 1966, the Kanemoto family donated land for a seven-acre city park within the Southmoor neighborhood they had built, to be named for their father. An additional 10 acres was gifted to Longmont by the Kanemoto family, including property for a Buddhist temple, fire station, St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Burlington
The Kanemoto family donated land to Longmont that became Kanemoto Park, where the Tower of Compassion is located. Courtesy: Colorado Tourism Office
Gov. John Vanderhoof with Jimmie and George Kanemoto at the dedication ceremony. Courtesy: Kanemoto family
Elementary School and the St. Vrain Greenway.
The Tower of Compassion was commissioned in 1972 by Jimmie and George. A five-story pagoda in the style of a traditional Japanese temple, each level stands for a branch of compassion — love, empathy, understanding, gratitude and selfless giving.
“It is heartwarming to see residents, visitors and organizations still gathering around the Tower of Compassion and learning the meaning behind each level,” Ed wrote in an email. “Our parents origi-
nally built the Tower as a symbol of our gratitude to the citizens of Longmont for how kindly we were treated during WWII, but they would be very pleased to know that the lessons of love, empathy, understanding, gratitude and selfless giving are represented by the Tower are still being shared with so many people.”
Completed in 1973, the tower celebrated its 50th anniversary last year. On July 20, 2024, it became a locally designated landmark. (Buildings must be 50 years old to receive this distinction, along with possessing architectural, historical and geographical importance.)
“Recognizing an important building or structure is one way we can preserve and highlight important events in the history of our community,”
Longmont Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) chairman Steve Lane wrote in an email to Boulder Weekly
Besides adding a layer of protection, the historic designation unlocks funding from grants through History Colorado and other organizations to help with repairs and maintenance for years to come. The tower is managed by the city’s parks, open space and trails division; any changes must be approved by the preservation commission.
“It means so much for us to know that the Tower will be protected and preserved in the future,” Ed Kanemoto, son of Jimmie Kanemoto and Chiyo Miyasaki, wrote in an email to Boulder Weekly
TIMELESS LESSONS
All three Kanemoto children have passed on: Jimmie in 2006, Faith in 2007 and George in 2009. But their children still live in Longmont and visit the tower frequently to remember their loved ones.
“To us, the Tower is a reminder of our amazing parents and grandparents,” wrote Ed Kanemoto. “They started with nothing, but their hard work, honesty and involvement in the community brought them success that has been passed down to their children and grandchildren.
Kanemoto Park looks different from when it was first built. Playground equipment, benches and the pool have been installed and remodeled. Groves of trees surround the tower today along with a torii gate leading to the Kanemoto Memorial Cherry Tree Grove.
The brief blooming season of the cherry blossom symbolizes the impermanence of life and beauty of the present moment. While the aesthetic around the tower has changed, its message remains the same.
“In this time of heightened division,” wrote HPC chairman Lane, “the Tower of Compassion is a tangible symbol of a time that despite pressure to be alienating, people from very different backgrounds made deliberate choices to be supportive of one another.”
The five stories of the Tower of Compassion represent love, empathy, understanding, gratitude and selfless giving. Courtesy: Courtney Johson
Brothers Jimmie and George Kanemoto operated the Freshway Market, pictured here circa 1950-1960. Courtesy: Longmont Museum
Cherry blossoms bloom in the Kanemoto Memorial Cherry Tree Grove. Courtesy: Kanemoto family
NEWS TASTY PROSPECTS
Longmont’s ‘hidden’ neighborhood dishes everything from pad Thai to retro burgers and shakes
BY JOHN LEHNDORFF, PHOTOS BY SHAY CASTLE
Most folks accelerating on US-287 don’t give a second glance at the south Longmont neighborhood fronted by some standardlooking business buildings.
Once locals and visitors venture into the Prospect New Town neighborhood, they know they aren’t in suburbia any more — or at least not in most suburbs they’ve ever encountered.
Strolling down embowered, meandering avenues with names like Ionosphere Street, Tenacity Drive and 100 Year Party Court, the difference is refreshing and palpable. The home designs change from house to house and block to block. They also aren’t all painted beige. The houses have porches facing the street, not garages.
Prospect was opened in the mid-1990s following the New Urbanist philosophy intended to design liveable, walkable neighborhoods as an alternative to suburban sprawl.
Over the years, Prospect has also become an under-the-radar Longmont dining destination. Several new culinary attractions have opened recently, including the resurrection of a historic venue once visited by celebrated beat writer Jack Kerouac.
At 10 a.m. on a recent Wednesday, 5-year-old Cavegirl Coffeehouse is bustling. There’s a line for coffee drinks and gluten-free goodies while a work group in a living room-like corner engages in team building. Most tables are full.
According to Jacob Erdman, Cavegirl’s manager, community comes naturally here.
“Prospect is very quiet and neighborly,” he says. “You can live here and not drive. A lot of people stop in with bikes, strollers or with their dogs. They bring their laptops and use Cavegirl like an office.”
Cavegirl and most other neighborhood eateries provide ample outdoor dining options including streetlevel and rooftop patios.
“We open our garage doors on nice days so the whole place is like a patio,” Erdman says. “Some of our regulars grab something and eat on the lawn in the park next door.”
The coffee stop’s menu is designed to be inclusive. “We focus on organic coffee and gluten- and dairyfree baked goods and
‘I AM IN COLORADO!’
“Under a tremendous old tree was a bed of green lawn-grass belonging to a gas station. I asked the attendant if I could sleep there, and he said sure, so I stretched out a wool shirt, laid my face flat on it, with an elbow out, and one eye cocked at the snowy Rockies in the hot sun for a moment. I fell asleep for two delicious hours, the only discomfort being an occasional Colorado ant. ‘And here I am in Colorado!’ I kept thinking gleefully. Damn damn damn! I’m making it!”
make everything in-house,” he says. “When new customers taste our doughnuts, it changes their mindset about how gluten-free tastes.”
FROM PAD THAI TO SPAGHETTI CARBONARA
As the manager of Prospect’s longest operating eatery, Ben Chansingthong has seen many restaurants migrate in and out of the neighborhood. His family opened Urban Thai 12 years ago and took over a nearby spot in 2021 to launch Carciofi Pasta & Lounge.
“We have local regulars,” Chansingthong says, “but most of our Urban Thai customers come from Erie, Lafayette and from Longmont outside the neighborhood.”
Chansingthong does have a word of advice for diners who have watched too many episodes of the viral Hot Ones series: “Don’t order anything ‘Thai hot’ unless you really can handle it,” the grinning manager says. “I always get Thai hot, but I’m Thai.”
Sister eatery Carciofi has a more laidback, dimly lit vibe. “If you are on a date, you can sit at the bar and have wine and antipasti,” Chansingthong says. “Carciofi is lounge-y, but you can also sit down at a table for dinner. It can get a little loud later in the evening.”
GETTING SOCIAL
Longmont Social opened three months ago with a grand concept: “It is really a space for community with something for everyone,” says owner Josh Holder.
The space boasts areas for indoor cornhole, ax throwing, golf simulators and a virtual escape room. A taphouse serves Colorado craft beers, including some brewed at Holder’s Westminster Brewing Co., while a separate alcoholfree bar offers kava beverages and energy teas.
Longmont Social isn’t a co-working space, but “we welcome folks with laptops to work here,” Holder says. “They can get coffee drinks or bring their own in.”
The historic Johnson’s Gas was built in 1937 and visited by beat writer Jack Kerouac during his On the Road period. The gas station is being renovated and will reopen as a restaurant, bar and event venue.
Brightly colored, square buildings like the one that holds Cavegirl Coffeehouse are a signature of the Prospect neighborhood.
— From On The Road, Jack Kerouac’s celebrated 1957 novel
PROSPECT NEW TOWN FOOD & DRINK GUIDE
Babette’s Bakery
2030 Ionosphere St., Unit H
Longtime Prospect French-inspired bakery crafts artisan breads, pastries and pizza.
Big Daddy Bagels
1940 Ionosphere St., Unit D
Local bagel chain offers bagels, spreads, burritos, salads, baked goods, smoothies and coffee drinks.
Carciofi Pasta & Lounge
2020 Ionosphere St., Suite A
This recently opened evening lounge features antipasti, homemade pasta dishes and desserts plus a full bar.
Cavegirl Coffeehouse
720 100 Year Party Court, Suite 100 Cavegirl serves coffee and tea drinks, house-baked gluten-free treats, breakfast items from burritos to avocado toast, and lunch sandwiches and salads.
Historic Johnson’s Station
1111 Neon Forest Circle
Opening in September, the restored historic building with an airstream
trailer bar on the rooftop patio will serve craft beers and nostalgic burgers with fries, shakes, sandwiches, tacos and salads.
Laguna Mexican Restaurant
645 Tenacity Drive, Unit A
The colorful neighborhood eatery serves classics like fajitas, tacos and burritos, as well as regional specialties like shrimp ceviche, molcajete laguna (served in bubbling hot volcanic rock bowls) and stuffed poblano chile en nogada. Laguna also offers a large menu of margaritas and cocktails.
The Longmont Social
2025 Ionosphere St.
The community space with diverse game options offers Colorado craft beers, coffee drinks, a food truck serving barbecue, sandwiches and fresh baked pies, plus an alcohol-free bar
Urban Thai
2030 Ionosphere St., Suite B
This cozy Thai eatery serves appetizers from spring rolls to Thai fish cakes paired with beer, wine and cocktails. Dishes range from papaya salad to larb, drunken noodles to fried rice, and curries (like roast duck) and stirfry dishes served with jasmine rice.
Food is dished by the Gourmet Ghost truck parked behind the building’s spacious, dog-friendly patio. The menu includes wraps, charcuterie, Styria Bakery pretzels and, notably, barbecue.
“The one thing the neighbors wanted us to have was a good barbecue,” Holder says. “They missed the food that used to be served at The Rib House.”
Holder grew up in the town of Louisville and worked at The Huckleberry and Empire. “I loved the community feeling there,” he says. “Prospect gave me that same feeling, so I decided to open here.”
One added bonus: Customers who order local produce and food online through the Boulder County Farmers Market can retrieve it from the walk-in refrigerators at Longmont Social.
WHERE KEROUAC NAPPED
The newest culinary and cultural addition to Prospect is actually a historic Longmont institution transplanted from Main Street.
Not to be confused with Johnson’s Corner truck stop on I-25, Johnson’s Corner Gas was a Longmont roadside oasis from the era when US-287 — Main Street in Longmont — was the Front Range’s major North-South highway.
Designed by Colorado architect Eugene Groves, the art deco-style building opened in 1937. During the 1950s,
the station was one of the first stops novelist Jack Kerouac made in Colorado on a cross-country trip fictionalized in On the Road.
The building was saved from demolition when it was moved in 2003 to a Prospect New Town lot where it has sat unused and dusty for two decades.
After major renovations, the rechristened Johnson’s Station is set to open Sept. 13 as a restaurant, bar and event venue.
“We wanted to preserve as much of the building and its history as possible while bringing a lively indoor-outdoor gathering spot to Longmont, a place that seems to be growing rapidly,” says Giovanni Leone, a co-owner of Johnson’s Station.
The original gas station has been expanded with a ground-level patio and a cozy, second-floor seating area. A new rooftop patio will be served from bars built into Airstream trailers. Out front, a retro neon Johnson’s Gas sign has been installed, along with vintage gas pumps.
“For the food, we want to serve upgraded nostalgic items like burgers, fries and shakes … like a 1950s diner, along with salads, tacos and full beverage service,” Leone says.
With new eateries opening and Johnson’s Station finally coming back to life, New Prospect seems poised to finally be discovered … again.
Longmont Social has games, two bars (one serves non-alcoholic drinks), a co-working space and serves as a pick-up location for produce and food from the Boulder County Farmers Market. Babette’s has become a popular stop with cyclists looking to carbo load after a long ride.
LONGMONT HAPPENINGS LONGMONT HAPPENINGS
Fill your free time with these eclectic local events in and around Longmont
LIVE MUSIC AUGUST
POWER OF R. 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 29, Bricks on Main, 471 Main St., Longmont. Free
SUNDAY COMICS: COMEDY & BRUNCH. 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 15, Bricks on Main, 471 Main St., Longmont. $20+
GOAT YOGA 9 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 21, Parkway Food Hall, 700 Ken Pratt Blvd., Suite 200, Longmont. $25, $5 mat rental
ST. VRAIN FOR THE BRAIN 5K 9 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 21, Niwot High School, 8989 Niwot Road. $25
ANDERSON FARMS FALL FESTIVAL Sept. 25-Nov. 2, Anderson Farms, 6728 County Road 3-¼, Erie. $17+
DOWNTOWN LONGMONT WINE WALK 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26, throughout downtown Longmont, 320 Main St. $25
Courtesy: Left Hand Brewery
LEFT HAND OKTOBERFEST 4 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 27. Noon, Saturday, Sept. 28, Left Hand Brewing, 1265 Boston Ave., Longmont. $10 Friday, $20 Saturday
NIWOT ANTIQUE AUCTION. 11 a.m.
Sunday, Sept. 29, Boulder County Fairgrounds, 9595 Nelson Road, Longmont. Free
FIREHOUSE LISTENING ROOM 7 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 4, Firehouse Art Center,667 4th Ave., Longmont. Free
PAWS IN THE PARK 5K. 9 a.m.
Saturday, Oct. 5, Boulder County Fairgrounds, 9595 Nelson Road, Longmont. $39
BOOTS, BEERS AND BALES! VETERANS COMMUNITY PROJECT OF LONGMONT’S SIGNATURE ANNUAL FUNDRAISER. 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5, Left Hand Brewing, 1265 Boston Ave., Longmont. $40
