Like a lot of people with bright ideas, George Turner was ahead of his time.
And, he might not have been thinking big enough.
Turner started building Tiny Town 100 years ago. And, it still remains in southern Jefferson County, just off Highway 285 near Turkey Creek. The site originally served as station on the Denver-Leadville stage coach line.
When the little village opened to the public in 1925 it had 125 houses and other replica buildings two to three feet high. In other words, it was a city of doll houses. He began the project to amuse his young daughter, but it just grew and grew.
Miraculously, after some rebuilding by two subsequent owners, Tiny Town survived a couple of floods in Turkey Creek and today remains a semi-famous tourist attraction. Thousands of parents and their offspring visit it each year. A few of Turner’s original houses have been preserved.
Tiny Town comes to mind because of the current boomlet in tiny houses — ones large enough that people actually can live in — barely. This is also called “micro housing.”
These mini dwellings, usually 200- to 500- square-feet, are half the size of a guest bedroom in one of Donald Trump’s mansions. They have become popular for several reasons.
To some, they represent a kind of “counterculture,” meaning tiny house inhabitants can live with a “smaller footprint.” As one home-ette resident explained it: “When there is no clutter, your mind becomes clear and it’s very easy to think.” Here’s to easier thinking.
But there is financial practicality, too. Obviously, mini-abodes require only tiny, or no, mortgages, since they are priced in the $30,000 to $60,000 range. Utility, property tax and insurance bills are also much tinier.
And, as mentioned, so is the collection of expensive personal goods. Getting a 6-foot-long plasma TV into a tiny house isn’t very practical. After all, if the tiny house occupant owns even a mini-Cooper, the garage might be bigger than the house.
No doubt there are drawbacks, too. The homeowner might need to become a “?” if the ceiling height is a problem.
When this newspaper recently published a poll asking readers if they could live in a tiny house, two-thirds say no. But one-third said yes, which is surprising.
Demographics are changing. The average size of new houses constructed has doubled over the years since the 1950s. But costs have risen even faster. Thus, today more adult kids are living in their parents’ basements — or more parents are living in their kids’ guestrooms.
But here’s the biggest problem with mini-housing: Where do you locate them?
There are no 21st century tiny towns. Most cities have minimum size requirements for new houses and tiny houses don’t measure up, so to speak.
Understandably, if you live in a 4,000-square foot tri-level in Shady Oaks Estates, you don’t want to see the lot next door subdivided into a half-dozen spaces for tiny houses. Not good for property values.
What is needed is someone to pioneer tiny subdivisions in outlying, unincorporated areas.
We need another George Turner — only one who thinks on a slightly larger scale.
Dick Hilker of Arvada (dhilker529@aol.com), a retired suburban newspaper editor and columnist, writes a column twice a month for The Post.
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