Welcome back to my conversation with Chandler Romeo and Reed Weimer. In addition to their recent project with the Wonder Tower in Genoa, Colorado, they have been longtime participants and supporters of Denver's local art scene beginning back when there kind of wasn't one yet, in the 1980s.

We discuss their meet cute as students at Colorado State University and the fact that Reed's photography and Chandler's ceramics both evoke themes of place. After college, they helped to secure the location for the legendary Pirate Art Gallery by purchasing some of the old buildings on a stretch of Navajo Street in North Denver, establishing that spot as the Navajo Arts District, and for a time the center of Denver local arts scene.

Back then, the exchange of real estate was a bit more affordable, as well as organic. This couple forged relationships in North Denver, which transformed into positive collaborations. Listen, as we reflect on the history of those buildings from a time when local neighborhood businesses thrived and the line between commercial and residential real estate were a bit more blurred.

We talk about the how those gritty art co-ops on Navajo became a formidable influence on contemporary local art in Denver. Its presence filtered out into other parts of the city, helping the local arts scene to grow and thrive. Then the eventual and unbelievable exodus of the arts district out to Lakewood when the city of Denver chose not to support it.

We reminisce a bit about a smaller Denver, but that it can often be recaptured through art and through interacting with those who care about Denver's history and that our lives themselves can often become works of art.

Please enjoy getting to know this unique couple.

Chandler Romeo and Reed Weimer have been affectionately labeled as the Beatnik Barbie and Ken of Denver's Art Scene. Indeed they helped elevate local arts in Denver during a time when there were far less opportunities for creatives. They have taken this legacy to new heights, literally!

Collaborating with other long-time Denverites, they purchased the quirky 100 year old World's Wonder View Tower out on the eastern plains of Colorado. If you have lived here most of your life, you've probably been there or at least driven by it, wondering what it was!

In Chandler and Reed's words, as artists. This isolated structure resembles something like an art installation; a combination of human scale folk art, and immersive experience.

Chandler speaks to her kids being both appalled and amazed on their visit. Well, in addition to a 65 foot viewing tower, the property's interior was a macabre exhibit of oddities from a two-headed calf preserved in a jar to actual mammoth bones and arrowheads, and rusty, but sharp looking farm implements hanging from the stone ceiling. It was a strange and weird encounter.

In an age where experiences are cultivated and revered, this site is a must do visit for anyone living in Colorado. Join me as Chandler and Reed discuss the history of this legendary anomaly and how they are bringing it back to life.

Then stay tuned for part two of my interview with this industrious couple, as we discuss their progression as artists and how their real estate savvy helped to elevate the work of local Denver artists.

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This is a treat! All of the best wisdom from the collection of the 2025 Colorado Soul Stories interviews. Whether you have listened to all the episodes or not, this is a wonderful summary of all the positive insights provided by the entrepreneurs, musicians, innovators and community builders that are proudly Colorado based!

Hear how legendary Denver coffee house Muddy's provided much needed culture and refuge for folks in the 1970s, leaving a well-loved legacy of acceptance. Learn how a head injury brought a young Amish artist to do his good works in Colorado. The CEO of Historic Denver shares how good architecture is good for our health! And how some well-loved musicians and writers spread joy and community building through their art.

In this moment of the challenging news cycle, tune into the positivity of the people continuing to channel and spread positivity in their daily lives.