One of Eight Remaining Buildings is Slated for Demolition

ATTENTION is drawn once again to the old mid-century modern Googie style BIG TOP convenience stores, of which 16 were built across the Denver area during the 1950s and ’60s. A classic example of roadside “roofitecture,” the unique and satisfying catenary style roof of these buildings evoke a pagoda or yes, a circus tent - although it’s important to note that the name Big Top came AFTER the design of the building.

Designed by daring architect Bill Sayre with a program of an “ultra modern design featuring widespread use of glass,” half of the buildings are still standing after all of these years - with one slated to go down in Burns-Brentwood on the outskirts of Harvey Park to make way for a new housing project.

A little creativity could have gone a long way in figuring out a way to fit this building into the new project, but alas, creativity is in short supply these days . . . no wonder AI is aiming to take our livelihoods.

With only 7 left to protect, these buildings are on Historic Denver’s “50 Actions for 50 Places” list. Currently, (including the doomed Brentwood location) there are four of these buildings left in Denver, and one each in the suburbs of Arvada, Aurora, Applewood, and Lakewood - all of them currently serving some kind of purpose, from a church, to a tiny strip mall, to convenience stores, a Snarf's Sandwiches shop on 38th Avenue and Brockmeyer's Coffee Tavern on Mississippi Avenue in Lakewood (both of which were featured in this video)! Support these businesses for their choice of great architecture!

My photos of 8 of the remaining buildings shown here were shot TODAY - you get can get a sense of what their current status is. Update: I learned that there is a 9th Big Top still standing on Leetsdale in Denver. No photo of that one yet!