Fort Collins, Colorado- Craft Beer, Bicycling, and Subaru Culture
03-17-15, 02:33 PM
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Fort Collins, Colorado- Craft Beer, Bicycling, and Subaru Culture
Hey guys
Sorry for the redundancy in posting, if any admins must delete one, please delete my previously similar thread. I added too many photos and it wouldn't allow it. I will try to break this into several posts.
I lived in Taiwan until I was about 5 before moving to a city known as Fort Collins, Colorado. from age 5 from 22, I've witnessed this city change and explode around me.
From a population of about 90,000 when I moved here, the quality of living recieved numerous acolades from the media. As a result, people, especially from California, have been flocking here. Now, although Fort Collins is no sprawling metropolis on the scale of NYC or even Denver, the population is closing in on Salt Lake City, at about 155,000. The city now has almost fully developed its 56 square miles of land. And since this is the maximum occupiable land we can own, only one solution remains: build up. In the last few years, every open field has been replaced with mid to high rise lofts or large office estates. Colorado State University has gone from a student population of 24,000 to about 32,000 students.
The city is often regarded as quite unique and different in culture. Known for having very healthy and fit residents, yet has more restaurants than any other city in the US per capita. Additionally, its called "The Craft Beer Capitol of America". Odell Brewing, New Belgium (Fat Tire), Fort Collins Brewery, Zwei Bruder, Black Bottle, Equinox, Funkwerks, Horse and Dragon, Snowbank, Pateros Creek, 1933, CB and Potts, Coopersmith's, and Anheuser Busch.
Besides outdoorsy people who love mountain biking and craft beer snobbery, Fort Collins is becoming known for something else: the High Tech industry. In the souteast edge of Town, Advanced Micro Devices, Hewlett Packard, Intel, and Avago all share the new "Harmony Technology Park."
But its not just the electronics
Where the University of Colorado at Boulder has made their name known in Astrophysics, particle physics, and aerospace engineering, they do not have much emphasis on automotive or alternative energy solutions.
As the other major state- funded university, this is where Colorado State comes in. In 1994, Dr. Bryan Wilson, now the head director of AarpaE in washington DC, got CSU to purchase an abandoned old power plant in north downtown. The University's mechanical engineering department converted the plant into the "Engines and Energy Conversion Lab". Now, the facility is expanded to 100,000 square feet. It is one of only a handfull of academic engines labs in the world. And it may be the largest and most extensive. As a result, 25 companies pay CSU to use the engines lab. And, Woodward corporation is building their world headquarters on an old golf course down the road.
If anyone is visiting the smithsonian institute, Fort Collins is and the CSU engines lab is being exhibited as a "place of innovation".
As far as the car culture, Fort Collins is also unique. Call the upper front range of Colorado Subaru country. But its not the "let's eat kale" kind of Subarus. Nope. These are die hard car enthusiasts. And I honestly don't think any other place has embraced performance Subarus to this degree. In colorado, Subaru Outbacks and Foresters are more common than Corollas and Camrys!
Enjoy! And feel free to come visit this fine town!
Sorry for the redundancy in posting, if any admins must delete one, please delete my previously similar thread. I added too many photos and it wouldn't allow it. I will try to break this into several posts.
I lived in Taiwan until I was about 5 before moving to a city known as Fort Collins, Colorado. from age 5 from 22, I've witnessed this city change and explode around me.
From a population of about 90,000 when I moved here, the quality of living recieved numerous acolades from the media. As a result, people, especially from California, have been flocking here. Now, although Fort Collins is no sprawling metropolis on the scale of NYC or even Denver, the population is closing in on Salt Lake City, at about 155,000. The city now has almost fully developed its 56 square miles of land. And since this is the maximum occupiable land we can own, only one solution remains: build up. In the last few years, every open field has been replaced with mid to high rise lofts or large office estates. Colorado State University has gone from a student population of 24,000 to about 32,000 students.
The city is often regarded as quite unique and different in culture. Known for having very healthy and fit residents, yet has more restaurants than any other city in the US per capita. Additionally, its called "The Craft Beer Capitol of America". Odell Brewing, New Belgium (Fat Tire), Fort Collins Brewery, Zwei Bruder, Black Bottle, Equinox, Funkwerks, Horse and Dragon, Snowbank, Pateros Creek, 1933, CB and Potts, Coopersmith's, and Anheuser Busch.
Besides outdoorsy people who love mountain biking and craft beer snobbery, Fort Collins is becoming known for something else: the High Tech industry. In the souteast edge of Town, Advanced Micro Devices, Hewlett Packard, Intel, and Avago all share the new "Harmony Technology Park."
But its not just the electronics
Where the University of Colorado at Boulder has made their name known in Astrophysics, particle physics, and aerospace engineering, they do not have much emphasis on automotive or alternative energy solutions.
As the other major state- funded university, this is where Colorado State comes in. In 1994, Dr. Bryan Wilson, now the head director of AarpaE in washington DC, got CSU to purchase an abandoned old power plant in north downtown. The University's mechanical engineering department converted the plant into the "Engines and Energy Conversion Lab". Now, the facility is expanded to 100,000 square feet. It is one of only a handfull of academic engines labs in the world. And it may be the largest and most extensive. As a result, 25 companies pay CSU to use the engines lab. And, Woodward corporation is building their world headquarters on an old golf course down the road.
If anyone is visiting the smithsonian institute, Fort Collins is and the CSU engines lab is being exhibited as a "place of innovation".
As far as the car culture, Fort Collins is also unique. Call the upper front range of Colorado Subaru country. But its not the "let's eat kale" kind of Subarus. Nope. These are die hard car enthusiasts. And I honestly don't think any other place has embraced performance Subarus to this degree. In colorado, Subaru Outbacks and Foresters are more common than Corollas and Camrys!
Enjoy! And feel free to come visit this fine town!
