The other day I drove out to the Lakewood Heritage Center, a history museum and collection of historic buildings in Lakewood, just to the west of Denver. It is located on a large parcel of open space along a lake, at the site of Denver socialite May Bonfils hobby farm and mansion, which was donated to the city after her death. Both Bonfils and fellow socialites Molly Brown and husband J.J. had country homes here. They wanted a place away from the city - a spot where absolutely nothing was happening, which still kind of describes Lakewood today. The last time I was here was when I took my mother Mary to an art fair that took place on the grounds. As I recall, it was filled with people perusing the booths, and was quite enjoyable. I checked the internet, and it seems that that art fair no longer exists - it probably violated the city's anti-fun ordinance.
The museum and visitors center is actually quite nice, but what I liked most were all the historic buildings from Lakewood's past that have been moved to the grounds. They have buildings from Colfax Avenue, including a motel from 1949, a variety store and beauty parlor from the 1950s, a diner, and a gas station from the 1940s. On another part of the grounds are a country school from the 1860s, a house from the 1880s, a pump house and water tower (not the most exciting structures I have ever seen), and a 1930s farmhouse. There are also buildings remaining from May Bonfils hobby farm and mansion, including the farm office, calving barn, and caretakers cottage. The 1940s era gas station is a recent edition to the site, and restoration is still in the planning stages, as is obvious from the photograph on the right. All in all, visiting the Lakewood Heritage Center made for an enjoyable afternoon, although I have to stay that staying in Lakewood for much longer is probably a mistake, and I mean that with all due respect.
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