Old Town Square

Long before Old Town Square became the lively heart of Downtown Fort Collins, the site was the 100 block of Linden Street. Platted in the mid-1880s, Linden Street, Pine Street, and Lincoln Avenue were laid out to intersect the Cache La Poudre River, forming what locals call the Old Town Triangle. This distinctive layout created diagonal streets and flatiron-style buildings that still define the district’s unique character. The remainder of the city grid, with its traditional north-south, east-west orientation, was established a few decades later, completing the footprint of what we now know as Old Town Fort Collins.

For most of the 20th century, Linden Street was a bustling thoroughfare serving horse-drawn wagons, early automobiles, and streetcars, and lined with thriving brick-and-wooden storefronts. But by the late 1960s and 1970s, downtown suffered economic decline as suburban indoor malls and strip developments drew shoppers southward in Fort Collins. Vacant, boarded-up, and even condemned buildings became common sights on Linden Street and throughout downtown.

During this period of economic decline, a proposed highway project by the Colorado Department of Transportation and the City government threatened Old Town’s architectural heritage. The plan to extend Remington Street to run parallel with College Avenue as a north-bound one-way couplet of U.S. 287 would have required demolition of treasured landmark buildings like the Hohnstein Block (currently CooperSmith’s Old Town Brew Pub), F. Miller Block (currently Bondi Beach Bar and Grill and Explorado Market), and the Linden Hotel (currently Nature’s Own). The community rallied to protect these buildings, successfully securing National Register Historic District status for the Old Town Triangle. Soon after, local property and business owners voted in 1981 to establish the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) to lead downtown’s revitalization.

That effort culminated in the creation of Old Town Square in 1985. Developer Gene Mitchell, city leaders, and the DDA partnered to transform the 100 block of Linden Street into a pedestrian plaza. The City vacated the right-of-way while Mitchell renovated historic buildings and constructed new infill structures. His private investment generated tax increment revenue, enabling the DDA to fund more than $5 million in public improvements—financing the plaza itself and the Old Town Parking Structure, which provided much-needed downtown parking. That investment went a long way in the 1980s, and the DDA has been the owner and community steward of Old Town Square plaza ever since!

At the time, hundreds of U.S. cities were experimenting with closing streets to create pedestrian plazas, but few combined that concept with a new parking structure as Fort Collins did, preserving accessibility for shoppers and maintaining adequate on-street space for deliveries to stores located in the plaza. By the early 2000s, most of these pedestrian plazas were removed in cities across the country, yet Old Town Square in Downtown Fort Collins thrived as one of the rare success stories.

From 1985 to 2014, Old Town Square was the city’s central gathering place, hosting Bohemian Nights at NewWestFest, the Colorado Brewers Festival, First Night Fort Collins, concerts, rallies, and public vigils. Over its first three decades, millions visited Old Town Square as Fort Collins’ and the region’s population and energy surged beyond the capacity of its 1980s design.

In 2014, the DDA launched a community-driven process to re-envision Old Town Square for a growing city and region. Feedback shaped a renovation plan that preserved beloved features while adding flexibility for larger events. Simultaneously, on behalf of the City of Fort Collins, the DDA designed the concept for Linden Hybrid Street, a convertible street that serves everyday traffic but can close seamlessly to expand Old Town Square for festivals and events.

Completed in 2015, the renovation of Old Town Square introduced a large new performance stage, splash pad, refreshed fountain, expanded event space, modern pavers, upgraded lighting, irrigation, and a fireplace. Together, these improvements ensured Old Town Square remained the vibrant, welcoming heart of Fort Collins—celebrating its heritage while embracing the future.

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