Coney Island Colorado (commonly The Coney Island) in Bailey,

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

is a 1950s diner shaped like a giant

hot dog A hot dog (uncommonly spelled hotdog) is a food consisting of a grilled or steamed sausage served in the slit of a partially sliced bun. The term hot dog can refer to the sausage itself. The sausage used is a wiener ( Vienna sausage) or a f ...

, with toppings. The building has been called "the best example of roadside architecture in the state". The diner has indoor seating, courtyard seating and riverside picnic table seating. The bun is long, and the hot dog ; the entire building weighs . It was originally built in 1966 on Colfax Ave. in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, named The Boardwalk at Coney Island. The first owner, Marcus Shannon had intended to start a chain of eateries around the concept, and obtained a patent for the design, but the eatery closed in 1969. In 1970, under new ownership, the stand was moved to the

Rocky Mountain The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

town of Aspen Park, along U.S. 285. Initially called Coney Island Dairy Land, it later dropped the last part of the name. Despite initial opposition, when it was put up for sale in 1999, a local campaign began to designate it a landmark and save it from destruction. The present owner purchased it for about $150,000 and added a state-of-the-art water purification system, a new secondary kitchen area and a complete restoration of the interior kitchen. The popularity of the stand was such that its last day open in Aspen Park, "the waiting line extended literally for miles". On March 18, 2006, to make way for a bank, the stand was moved again, 17 miles down U.S. Highway 285 to its present location in Bailey, close to

Pike National Forest The Pike National Forest is located in the Front Range of Colorado, United States, west of Colorado Springs including Pikes Peak. The forest encompasses 1,106,604 acres (4,478 km2) within Clear Creek, Teller, Park, Jefferson, Douglas and ...

Appearances in media

The restaurant made an appearance on one of Dana Atchley's "Digital Postcards" titled "World's Largest". "World's Largest" and 6 more of Dana Atchley's "Digital Postcards" were later included as viewable clips on "Kid Pix Studio's" "Wacky TV" feature. During the intro of The Unaired Pilot from the television series '' South Park'', a parody of the restaurant can be seen in the background. The episode, made in 1996, was an uncut version of Cartman Gets an Anal Probe, and was released on DVD in 2003 with The Complete Second Season. The stand would return to the show in the season 25 episode City People, where Cartman is forced to move in after his mom Liane loses her job. It appeared in the 1999 television documentary ''A Hot Dog Program'' and on the 2004 television program ''Hot Dog Heavens''. On September 22, 2003 it was featured in the nationally syndicated newspaper comic

Zippy the Pinhead Zippy the Pinhead is a fictional character who is the protagonist of ''Zippy'', an American comic strip created by Bill Griffith. Zippy's most famous quotation, "Are we having fun yet?", appears in ''Bartlett's Familiar Quotations'' and became a ...

. There is a 1/6 scale model of the Coney Island stand at Tiny Town, in

Morrison, Colorado The Town of Morrison is a home rule municipality in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. The population was 428 at the 2010 census. Red Rocks Amphitheatre is located nearby. History This small foothills settlement is named after George ...

References

External links

Bailey Colorado - Hot Dog Diner
entry at Roadside America

photos from the ''Park County Bulletin'', March 18, 2006.
Coney Island Hot Dog Run
photos of the move by Rick Gonzales.

Craig's Picture of the Day, April 30, 2003. Hot dog restaurants in the United States Novelty buildings in Colorado Buildings and structures in Park County, Colorado Restaurants in Colorado Roadside attractions in Colorado Tourist attractions in Park County, Colorado Restaurants established in 1966 1966 establishments in Colorado

Appearances in media

See also

References

Further reading

External links