This is the last place you can see a whole beet in Great Western Sugar Co.'s mill at Brighton, Colo. From here the beets travel on an endless belt for washing and scrubbing. Worker keeps sharp lookout for tops and other debris which he quickly removes, on October 24, 1957.
BRIGHTON — An explosive charge went off, and the smokestack, still straight as a pencil, tilted from its base. Then it broke near its middle as it fell to the ground Sunday.
“It was cool to see,” said Steve Brown, 36, who videotaped the demolition of the stack from the Shell Station Food Mart, where he was working when it came down. “I heard the explosion, and the next thing I know it went down.”
The brick stack that sat beside U.S 85 and North Main Street was a reminder of the Great Western Sugar Factory, a sugar beet factory, and local landmark that began operation in 1917.
Robin Kring, a local historian, who worked to save the smokestack, watched it come down. “I watched it from a historical perspective, but it was a little bit more emotional than I expected. Other people thought it was the end of an era,” she said.
Kring was involved in an effort to save what is left of the Great Western facility when she sat on the Brighton Historic Preservation Commission.
Bob Tonsing, The Denver Post Archive
About 8,000 tons of sugar beets are piled on the ground at Great Western's Brighton Factory, on October 23, 1958.
Last year she and her group succeeded in getting the property listed on Colorado Preservation Inc.’s list of the state’s most endangered places.
But Amalgamated Sugar Co., the property’s present owner, had scheduled its demolition, deeming the structure, which drew people who partied there at night, a hazard, Kring said.
“Amalgamated Sugar was wonderful with us, they opened up a dialog, but they had environmental concerns and were concerned about the safety of neighbors,” Kring said.
The facility was a boon to the area, and many residents either worked there, or had connections to the sugar beet industry through farming or other agricultural jobs, Kring said.
“Sugar beet factories were vital to Colorado’s agricultural-based economic development and provided an essential way of life to communities throughout the state,” according to Colorado Preservation Inc.’s website.
Amalgamated bought the property in 1985 and continues to use silos, and several other buildings that remain. “Amalgamated is the best steward for preservation of that site,” Kring said. “They do have storage and a terminal, silos and several other buildings.
The smokestack imploded about 8 a.m. After the explosion, Brown said, “a lot of people came in and said they felt their houses shake.”
Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post
People gather to watch the 100 year old Great Western Sugar Factory smokestack fall to the ground as it is demolished on the old factory site on February 12, 2017 in Brighton, Colorado. The Great Western Sugar Factory was built in 1917 and helped refine sugar from the sugar beets that were cultivated in Colorado as early as 1869. In the day sugar beet factories were vital to Colorado's agricultural-based community. Few of these sugar beet complexes remain. The company closed it's Brighton plant in 1977 and Amalgamated Sugar Company purchased the complex in 1985. The smokestack was demolished due to safety concerns and hazardous materials. Colorado Preservation, Inc. (through the Endangered Places Program) and the Brighton Historic Preservation Commission will be working with Snake River Sugar Company to consider redevelopment options for the site and/or documentation. The glass windowed building and silos close to the smokestack are used for storage.
Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post
People gather to watch the 100 year old Great Western Sugar Factory smokestack fall to the ground as it is demolished on the old factory site on February 12, 2017 in Brighton, Colorado. The Great Western Sugar Factory was built in 1917 and helped refine sugar from the sugar beets that were cultivated in Colorado as early as 1869. In the day sugar beet factories were vital to Colorado's agricultural-based community. Few of these sugar beet complexes remain. The company closed it's Brighton plant in 1977 and Amalgamated Sugar Company purchased the complex in 1985. The smokestack was demolished due to safety concerns and hazardous materials. Colorado Preservation, Inc. (through the Endangered Places Program) and the Brighton Historic Preservation Commission will be working with Snake River Sugar Company to consider redevelopment options for the site and/or documentation. The glass windowed building and silos close to the smokestack are used for storage.
Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post
People gather to watch the 100 year old Great Western Sugar Factory smokestack fall to the ground as it is demolished on the old factory site on February 12, 2017 in Brighton, Colorado. The Great Western Sugar Factory was built in 1917 and helped refine sugar from the sugar beets that were cultivated in Colorado as early as 1869. In the day sugar beet factories were vital to Colorado's agricultural-based community. Few of these sugar beet complexes remain. The company closed it's Brighton plant in 1977 and Amalgamated Sugar Company purchased the complex in 1985. The smokestack was demolished due to safety concerns and hazardous materials. Colorado Preservation, Inc. (through the Endangered Places Program) and the Brighton Historic Preservation Commission will be working with Snake River Sugar Company to consider redevelopment options for the site and/or documentation. The glass windowed building and silos close to the smokestack are used for storage.
Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post
People gather to watch the 100 year old Great Western Sugar Factory smokestack fall to the ground as it is demolished on the old factory site on February 12, 2017 in Brighton, Colorado. The Great Western Sugar Factory was built in 1917 and helped refine sugar from the sugar beets that were cultivated in Colorado as early as 1869. In the day sugar beet factories were vital to Colorado's agricultural-based community. Few of these sugar beet complexes remain. The company closed it's Brighton plant in 1977 and Amalgamated Sugar Company purchased the complex in 1985. The smokestack was demolished due to safety concerns and hazardous materials. Colorado Preservation, Inc. (through the Endangered Places Program) and the Brighton Historic Preservation Commission will be working with Snake River Sugar Company to consider redevelopment options for the site and/or documentation. The glass windowed building and silos close to the smokestack are used for storage.
Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post
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People gather to watch the 100 year old Great Western Sugar Factory smokestack fall to the ground as it is demolished on the old factory site on February 12, 2017 in Brighton, Colorado. The Great Western Sugar Factory was built in 1917 and helped refine sugar from the sugar beets that were cultivated in Colorado as early as 1869. In the day sugar beet factories were vital to Colorado's agricultural-based community. Few of these sugar beet complexes remain. The company closed it's Brighton plant in 1977 and Amalgamated Sugar Company purchased the complex in 1985. The smokestack was demolished due to safety concerns and hazardous materials. Colorado Preservation, Inc. (through the Endangered Places Program) and the Brighton Historic Preservation Commission will be working with Snake River Sugar Company to consider redevelopment options for the site and/or documentation. The glass windowed building and silos close to the smokestack are used for storage.
