Fort Collins, Colorado —
Only two towns in America can claim to be the inspiration for that exemplar of 1900s small town nostalgia: Disneyland’s Main Street USA. This is one of them.
Fort Collins-born Harper Goff, the Disney art director who worked on the California theme park’s iconic “town,” patterned the amusement park land’s boulevard, and some of the buildings, on his hometown.
You can still get a sense of what inspired Goff by walking through pedestrian-only Old Town Square, now dotted with murals, children-designed sidewalk pavers and whimsical sculptures. On a spring evening a couple on horseback strolled under the square’s strung-up lights, kids enjoyed mini-play areas, and a steady parade of locals and visitors ducked in and out of the bookstore, ice cream shop, bars and boutiques.
“Everything is just a little shinier, a little cleaner, a little safer, a little slower, in a good way,” said Alex Morgan, owner of Totally ‘80s Pizza.
