Colorado’s Tiny Town

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Tiny TownA couple of days ago I shared one of my favorite giant Denver attractions, The Big Blue Bear. But today we’re going the other extreme, Tiny Town.

I’ll admit I’m kind of a fanatic about dollhouses, that’s why I love (number one) having a girl and (number two) going to Tiny Town every time I visit Denver. Actually, the town is not really in Denver, it is located west of the city in the foothills between the towns of Morrison and Conifer.

Tiny Town’s history stems back to 1915 when George Turner began building one-sixth-sized dollhouses for his daughter (talk about a young girl’s dream). In 1920 the town was opened to the public and became an extremely popular attraction. The town is more than dollhouses. Many of the structures are replicas of actual Colorado buildings, restaurants, mines, lighthouses and more. By 1939 the Tiny Town Railway was running and giving visitors rides. The train whisks passengers away on a ride through the outskirts of the town and alongside a stream, passing a birdhouse collection, dinosaurs and a hill filled with more mini replicas.

Some of the houses and structures allow the kids to climb in, such as a windmill and jail. Others are filled with Barbie dolls and other typical doll house accessories. The newest house is a replica of the Addams Family home – the “family” is even peeking through the windows. A playground sits at the end of the park where families can bring picnics and the kids can burn off energy.

libraryThe town has had its ups and downs and openings and closings but today it looks like it’s here to stay. What makes this attraction special for me is that my mother visited Tiny Town as a child during a family road trip from Omaha. A few weeks ago my mother had the opportunity to make memories with my kids at this classic attraction – and Tiny Town is already a treasured memory, but not a small one.

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August 29, 2008 | Filed Under Budget Travel, Family Travel, Romantic Getaways, The Cookie Jar 

Comments

11 Responses to “Colorado’s Tiny Town”

  1. Colorado’s Tiny Town : Dtv 2009 says:
    August 29, 2008 at

    [...] Original post by DesertMama [...]

  2. Colorado’s Tiny Town | autocarsinsurance says:
    August 29, 2008 at

    [...] Original post by DesertMama [...]

  3. soultravelers3 says:
    August 29, 2008 at

    I love unique places like that for the kids. How nice to be able to share it in a 3 generations way!

    It reminded me a little of Mini Europe in Brussels…
    http://www.soultravelers3.com/2006/09/brussels-mini-e.html#more

    We did it very early on our world tour and it was a great way to familiarize a young child with the sights she would be soon seeing in person.

  4. Amy @ The Q Family says:
    August 29, 2008 at

    This is really neat! Especially how your mom can share it with her grandchildren. What a tresure!

  5. Keith says:
    August 29, 2008 at

    We could do a round-up of these:

    There’s the miniature village at Bourton on the Water (England), Bekonscot (England) and Madurodam (Holland) … and there must be many more

  6. MountainMama says:
    August 29, 2008 at

    Storyland in Glen, N.H., is no tiny town, but an amusement park. ‘Cept back when I went as a kid 30 years ago, it was all about nursery rhymes — 3 little pigs, literally in a pen, and a little old woman sitting outside a giant shoe. Now it’s got flume rides, coaster, etc. But last summer we snapped a pic of my kids next to the giant Humpty Dumpty (sp?), identical to the one of me when I was about 6 years old. Precious!

  7. DesertMama says:
    August 29, 2008 at

    How fun! I had no idea there were so many out there. I must go on a world tour myself, visiting miniature towns and villages.

  8. soultravelers3 says:
    August 30, 2008 at

    The additions in the comments made me think of another similar one that I know about.

    http://www.fairyland.org/index.htm

  9. Asianmommy says:
    August 30, 2008 at

    Awww..this town is the cutest thing!

  10. Cedric says:
    March 1, 2009 at

    Come to sunny South Africa – there is a mini town in Durban. Been going for around 40 years now – much smaller models though – around 1:12 I guess.

  11. 8100 Mountainside Bar & Grill at Park Hyatt Beaver Creek Resort & Spa says:
    June 10, 2009 at

    [...] past seven years I’ve spent the night by myself at the swanky Park Hyatt Beaver Creek in the Colorado Rockies (just an hour from my mountain home). I think of it as my sophisticated respite away from [...]

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