A LOOK BACK

• Timeline Slide Show

• Reminiscing about Boulder 1
• Reminiscing about Boulder 2
• Reminiscing about Boulder 3

• Boulder Comes of Age

• Pearl Street Celebrates 25 Years as a Pedestrain Mall

• Local Musicians Make Music and History

by Tom Brock, Boulder Magazine publisher

It’s OK, every 25 years or so, to look back and reminisce. We’ve dedicated a part of this issue to just that, with a great collection of photos, memories and stories that reflect at least some of the fun and experiences we’ve shared since starting Boulder Magazine. We hope you enjoy them as much as we enjoyed compiling them.

A little personal history: I helped start the Boulder Summerguide in 1978 with my partner Bob Wells. We both had publishing experience and decided to create a “summer guide for locals.” Our mission was also to help support Boulder’s many new locally owned businesses. Pearl Street Mall had just opened and Boulder was a happening place full of energetic, slowly maturing baby-boomers. Bob did much of the first issue, and we followed with the 1979 Summerguide and then the first Boulder Winter Guide. Bob moved on to a real job in spring of 1980 and Brock & Wells became Brock Publishing. To make a long story short, this issue celebrates our 25th year of publishing this magazine.

The question I’m most often asked is how has Boulder and the county changed in 25 years? Well, both are much bigger, more populated and a lot noisier, and traffic often sucks! But where in the world isn’t that true? What hasn’t changed is the friendliness and incredible energy of the people who live here, and the natural beauty that we’ve wisely tried to save. If there’s a better place to live, move there!

I’m one of the lucky ones because I’ve lived here long enough to experience most of what you’ll encounter on the ensuing pages. Trust me, it’s been a lot of fun! There have also been defining moments for our community that weren’t fun and we’ve included them, too. For me, I was most moved when I saw an old photo of Pearl Street before the mall, with cars, metal storefronts, the whole deal. For some reason, my gut tightened and I thought, “Now there’s the little western town I moved to.”

We hope you’ll find something in these pages that moves you, too.