The Center for Land Use Interpretation

Drop City: A Model Hippie Commune

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.

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

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.