Drop City was a community
that formed in the hills of southern Colorado in the late 1960's,
which bloomed and disintegrated by the early 70's. Though in
many ways unique, it is perhaps representative of many of the
communes and "intentional communities" of the time.
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The triple-dome community center at
Drop City, called The Complex. The Theater dome is in
the background.
Photo from Shelter and Society,
ed. by Paul Oliver
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In 1965, the four original settlers of Drop City,
art students and writers from the Universities of Kansas and
Colorado, moved to a hillside near Trinidad, in the south eastern
corner of Colorado. They had no intention of founding a large
community, they just wanted to live cheaply and and have time
to pursue their art.
People came to stay and work to build the community,
and the construction projects kept the community focused. Inspired
by the architectural principles of Buckminister Fuller, they
constructed domes to house themselves, using a system of triangular
panels made from the sheet metal of automobile roofs. In 1967
the group, now consisting of 10 core people, won the $1,000
Cymaxion award for their constructions.
Soon the community grew in reputation and size,
accelerated by media attention, including news reports on national
television networks. With the complex of seven domes constructed,
and the community inundated with strangers, things began to
fall apart. "The hardest time in a commune, particularly
Drop City, is the time after the building gets done", says
ex-Drop City resident Peter Rabbit, in his book Drop City. "Drop
City became a decompression chamber for city freaks".
The very ideals that founded the community --the
collective principles of freedom and aversion to organization--
became its downfall. The original occupants of the community,
displeased by the transformation, moved out. Some moved in to
towns, and some went on to new communities, and to build on
their experiences at Drop City.
By 1970, Southern Colorado and Northern New Mexico
were littered with intentional communities, some which sprang
up on their own, and some which were inspired by Drop City.
Libre, north of Gardner, Colorado and founded by ex-"Droppers",
was among the more well known, and many continue to exist in
some form today.
At Drop City, debris and building remnants from
the original settlement remain at the site today, though it
is not inhabited. The property is used as a pig farm.
Read a response
to this article from one of the founders of Drop City, Gene
Bernofsky.
