When I first started this website, I found a map of the city limits so I'd know what exactly counted as north of Prospect in Fort Collins and what was outside of the official city boundaries. I was amazed to find out that parts of town that I'd just assumed were Fort Collins (albiet with a slightly more rustic feel to them) were actually outside of town.

So then I got this (not so) brilliant idea that I'd drive (or bike, if I was feeling particularly up to it) around the edge of town taking photographs to document the fringes of the city. I don't know what I was thinking. Talk about some of the most boring photos I've ever snapped.

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The southwestish most corner of Fort Collins - north of Prospect.	.	CSU's Foothills Campus (out of city) - The fence isn't quite the border of town. There's plans to continue the Ponds housing development a bit past this point.

I wanted to walk my dog, but this whole "hugging the border" thing just wasn't working for me. So I finally turned down LaPorte and hit some of the "edgier" streets I found there. By edgy, I mostly mean that they're just outside the edge of town, but you could probably take that in the fashion sense as well. I walked Sunset and Hollywood Streets and both embody the eclecticism of the north side of Fort Collins. Some of the houses were older and were probably originally farm houses. (A quick and uncomprehensive search through the Larimer records reveal at least one house built in 1900, one built in 1910, and scads built in the 1920's and 30s. There are also several remodels and more recent builds as well.)

As I walked up and down the street, enjoying the variety of styles of houses as well as the interesting decorations on the houses and in the yard, a verse from the Bible came to mind, "...every man did that which was right in his own eyes." (Judges 17:6) Though that's a bad thing in the Bible, here on these streets it can be taken more as a paean to the creativity and diversity of mankind. (Then again, there was the occasional rather questionable decision. A skinny, 3-story addition on the back of an old Craftsman house? Really?)

These mailboxes give a sense of the eclecticism of the area.

Though Sunset and Hollywood are only one street apart from each other, I was impressed by the very distinctive "feel" of each street. Sunset struck me as being an "on the edge of town" kind of road, with signs posted letting you know that strangers aren't particularly welcomed there. There was still a feel of being near town, though, as several buses passed me on the street as I walked. They had all just deposited their charges at Irish Elementary (which is in Fort Collins proper). And it looked like there was some new housing developments in the area (such as along Sunrise Lane, one street over) which felt more like being in town as opposed to out of it.

Dolphin sculpture on North Sunset

These folks like their privacy.

Hollywood Street, on the other hand, felt more like a little mountain town to me. There weren't many indications that I was anywhere near Fort Collins (even though I was just one street over from Sunset) and along South Hollywood, there was even a boarded up building and much more overgrowth. The street seemed less eclectic and more welcoming than Sunset had. Mind you, I found both streets to be utterly charming and a wonderful representation of what makes the area north of Prospect so interesting. But if I were to move out this way, I think I'd aim for Hollywood Street.

Tractors at the corner of Hollywood and LaPorte