When Walt Disney was designing his famous theme park Disneyland, one of the designers working with him was Harper Goff, a native of Fort Collins. Mr. Goff based the design of several buildings located on "Main Street, USA" on buildings here in Fort Collins. This photo mystery cache will help you discover some of the inspiration that Disneyland was based on.
Some of the buildings in Old Town are still there; others have been demolished. As you hunt, you will notice that several of the buildings are close replicas, while others show some design elements that have been borrowed and used in different ways.
Many people acknowledge Marceline, MO, where Walt Disney grew up, as the birthplace of Disneyland’s main street, but Fort Collins is very much one of the parents as well. Marceline may have the street, but Fort Collins is where much of the architecture comes from.
If you are interested in further details, read Main Street Revisited by Richard V. Francaviglia; it's a great resource and where much of the information here was gathered.
The boundaries for your hunt are:
Jefferson Street - both sides.
College Avenue - both sides.
Mountain Avenue - both sides.
Within this area your goal will be to locate the specific site each photo was taken from. When you find a site, try to stand in approximately the position the photo was taken. Using your GPS receiver, record the required digit for each photo as indicated below:
N 40.35.X76 X+2=A
W 105.04.5X5 X+5=B
W 105.04.5X4 X+2= C
N 40.35.X67 X+1=D
W 105.04.5X6 X-4= E
N 40.35.3X6 X-3= F
Final Location = N 40.35.ABC W 105.04.DEF
Checksum A+B+C+D+E+F= 25
The final location is nearby and easily accessible. It is large enough for travelers and other trade items.