Friday, January 29, 2016

East Tincup on West Colfax Avenue in Golden

Pete Smythe
Pete Smythe was a well-known Denver radio and TV personality in the 1950s and 60s, and a better-than-average piano player. His show -- "Pete Smythe's General Store" -- was a kind of Prairie Home Companion of its day, set in the fictitious town of East Tincup, Colorado, and broadcasting over the "bobwire" network. 

Entrance to East Tincup, Colorado, on West Colfax Avenue
 East Tincup was a mythical creation patterned after an old Colorado mining town, and used as the setting for Smythe’s show. The site of the town was 12 miles west of Denver, and one-half mile east of the multi-million dollar Magic Mountain, which was under construction at that time. 

The "town" of East Tincup, Colorado
An entire town of 1880 vintage was set up on the site and admission was charged. The town included Centennial Village, a Colorado Centennial Celebration attraction formerly located in Denver’s Civic Center Park, now relocated to the East Tincup site, and a three-story recreation of the city’s famed, old-time Windsor Hotel. The upper floors of the hotel were made into a museum.

You could pan for gold, there was a miniature mechanized farm layout with small figures with a man shopping wood, etc, and a room where the water ran uphill!



The site of the old East Tincup theme park today is the

Dakota Ridge RV Park

17800 West Colfax Avenue
Golden, CO 80401
(303) 279-1625
www.dakotaridgerv.com
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6 comments:

  1. AnonymousDecember 8, 2016 at 5:11 PM

    just would like to say the legend will live on with the opening of the New East TIN CUP MINI MARKET which is in the heart of "East Tin Cup".....on West Colfax Ave in Golden Co. ...good luck Easy and Big MONEY!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousJanuary 30, 2017 at 11:39 AM

    I remember the theme song was based on Pete Seeger's song Little Boxes about ticky tacky houses.

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  3. Daniel RamseyMay 20, 2017 at 8:18 PM

    Did his jingle song say
    Put the key in the door
    Oen up the store
    Now were ready for business

    ReplyDelete
  4. JBJuly 28, 2017 at 12:45 PM

    Does anyone remember the place in East Tin Cup with all the miniature wood carvings like a dentist pulling a tooth in the old days, and there was a life size outhouse that when you pulled the door open a lady said something and us kids would jump back scared yet laughing. Where is this museum now? Someone thought it was somewhere near the Black Hills.

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  5. Chips BeeJanuary 8, 2019 at 8:42 AM

    Chris Beebe, I worked in the Theme Park, thought is was a terrific experience. We had set up robberies when the tourists were perfectly gathered and placed, rode through on a real stage coach and acted the part. Mayor Pete was an inspiration for everyone.

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  6. UnknownFebruary 14, 2019 at 9:25 PM

    When I was 5 years old my parents contracted to open the western wear store in East Tin Cup. They later branched out and operated the candle shop. Eventually my mom took over Pete Smythe's General Store and the post office. My sister and I used to spend many hours running around East Tin Cup and I have many memories and stories of the place. The small wood carving exhibit JB refers to was Dr. Niblack's House of Carvings. Following the closing of East Tincup it was moved to South Dakota and billed as the National Museum of Wood Carving. I understand that the museum recently closed so I am not sure as to the location of the collection now.

    ReplyDelete

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