This Used to Be Denver

As a Denver native, I've noticed that as soon as something changes, I might forget what was there before. This blog takes a second to mark what used to be. Submit your own photo submissions to [email protected], and I will add them here.

[thisusedtobedenver]

This Used To Be ... Gabor’s (Part 2)

Here’s an update to our original lament/ode/obituary to our favorite Cap Hill bar:

Is now: Re-opened, four years after the closure of Gabor’s. Presumably the new place is still being called Marion Street Tavern, as was announced in 2012. But the only indication of the name is this stencil in the window. There is no other exterior signage yet. The bar is owned by Sam Roots, who also owns the Providence Tavern in Edgewater. It was hard to see Gabor’s shutter after 30 years. There were rumors that it would be turned into a sports bar, which never happened because, well -- nothing happened. Until now. Let the drinking - and the judging - begin.

[thisusedtobedenver]

This Used to Be ... The Rocky Flats Lounge

11229 CO-93, on the road from Golden to Boulder

This Used to Be: The most unlikely of places for Green Bay Packers fans to gather and drink beer, eat cheese and cheer their team - a true dive bar on an isolated stretch of Highway 93 that managed to outlast the nuclear weapons  across the street ... but not a devastating fire in July.

Rocky Flats stopped making bombs in 1989, in part because of criminal violations of environmental law, as well as unusually high incidences of employees dying of cancer (including the father of my best high-school friend). But the bar lived on. Witty Westword editor Patricia Calhoun said the highly charged watering hole “has long given a whole new meaning to ‘getting lit.’ ” She went on to praise the lounge’s cheap and powerful drinks; its fish fry Friday nights; and the view of the wildlife refuge that replaced Rocky Flats and managed somehow not to produce eight-headed cows.

“In short,” Calhoun wrote, “this is just the place to get bombed.”

(Hey, when you can’t do better that that, just quote someone who did.)

The fire in July started in the kitchen and caused damage significant enough that, three months later, the bar remains boarded up, a shell of its storied past.

It’s a blow to Denver nostalgists. But for fans looking for a sign of how things might go in the Packers-Broncos game on Sunday night ...

[thisusedtobedenver]

This Used To Be ... The El Jebel Shrine

4625 W. 50th Avenue at Utica Street

The elegant El Jebel Shrine, home to Colorado’s most magnificent (remaining) dance hall, has been sold for redevelopment into a residential condominium property with surrounding homes next to Willis Case Golf Course.

The signature Moorish property, owned by the El Jebel Shriners since 1929, has been purchased by a group of developers, architects and financial investors who, according to the North Denver Tribune, have created a new company called the Shrine Preservation Partners, They are comprised of Native Denverites “who have a sensitivity and love for the existing property and its tasteful restoration and preservation.”

How they will manage to restore the existing Shriner building while surrounding it with family, duplex and multi-unit sites is anyone’s guess. There is no plan to add commercial businesses of any sort into the development.

In all there will be 83 units for sale, 53 surrounding the Shrine and approximately 30 units within the Shrine itself. A swimming pool will be built  adjacent to the Shrine building.

The El Jebel Shrine organization held its final dance event last night (Aug. 14) with no balloons or speeches … just dancing. El Jebel Shrine is hoping to secure another property near Kennedy Golf Course.  

The Shriners are an international fraternity based on fun, fellowship and the Masonic principles of brotherly love, relief and truth. There are approximately 340,000 members from 193 chapters in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, the Philippines, Puerto Rico and the Republic of Panama.

[thisusedtobedenver]

This Used to Be ... Elitch Lanes

3825 Tennyson St.

This Used to Be: Home to 63 years of striking, sparing, gutterballing, Frenching and motorboating as the closest romantic getaway of choice for generations of horny, less-than-minumum-wage summer workers at the original Elitch Gardens. The world famous amusement park has long since moved downtown, leaving only three pieces of its former soul in northwest Denver: The Elitch Theatre, the Carousel bandshell and, across the street, Elitch Lanes. Now priced out of one of the hottest retail blocks in Denver, the holdout owners have now given up the ghost and are moving into the former Western Bowl in, yes,  Western Arvada at 10000 Ralston Road. (That deal is simply about Western Bowl taking on the more iconic Elitch Lanes name.)

Elitch Lanes was known for its corn dogs, cheap beer and terrible music - and those of us who menially toiled at the park across the street day after day loved it. We were there in the days (and nights) when quarters and humping were about the only creative outlets available to us. So, a few years ago, when the movie “Adventureland” came out, a couple dozen of use who once worked in the famed Games Department (I renamed it “The Fun and Games Pleasure Department” to obscure the reality that we spent all day pretty much bending over and picking up balls off the ground) reunited to see the movie. We then reconvened afterward at Elitch Lanes for another bounce of the quarter.

But owner Cal Eichinger has never owned the land under Elitch Lanes, and, surprise, surprise, he’s been priced out of the neighborhood. The space will next turn into a Natural Grocers, which is such a relief given that the nearest natural grocery store in the neighborhood at present is located all the way ... oh, yeah, across the street. 

Is now: Lined with chain link, prepping for its new life as a Natural Grocers.

- John Moore

[thisusedtobedenver]

This Used to be ... Jugz Sports Tavern

4343 Sheridan Boulevard

Used to Be: The bar with the perkiest ... sign ... in Mountain View: A winking, well-endowed cheerleader sporting two mugs of beer under the moniker "Jugz" just south of Lakeside on Sheridan Boulevard. You know, a stone's throw from the Arby's drive-through. I blame myself for the bar's closing. After all, I lived so close to this local institution and never once had the guts to go inside. But when you are young, you think you have so much time, don't you? Sigh. Jugz's fate was pretty much sealed in December 2012 when a police officer of dubious character and a customer of dubious character were both shot inside the bar. Apparently some Einstein stole a car in Thornton and took it to Jugz to celebrate. (That's what I would have done.) It didn't take long for the cops to catch up, though. The moron drew a handgun and shot the Mountain View police officer in the leg before turning the gun on himself (he survived). CBS4 reporter Brian Maass later uncovered that the shot cop was a former Arvada police officer who had himself been charged with three previous misdemeanors: failure in duty to report use of force by a peace officer, official misconduct and false reporting. Hard to believe the business went downhill after that.

Is now: Awaiting its second life. The Jugz sign has been whitewashed, but its spirit lives on in northwest Denver memories. The Jugz are calling out to its new owner. It could be you!

- Written by John Moore. Send your suggestions to [email protected].

[thisusedtobedenver]

This Used to be ... The Hill-top Bar

  4907 Lowell Boulevard

Used to Be:  For 60 years: The Hill-top Bar. To many of us who attended the old Regis High School, the Hill-top was the first bar we ever attended, as it could be counted upon to serve booze to we wee Jesuit minors. It's located just north of I-70 near and just south of what is now only Regis University. (There is no truth to the rumor that the Regis High School fled to the Aurora suburbs just to escape the evil influence of our beloved old Hill-Top on minors).

Is now: The Rocky Top Tavern. It's a less divey Hill-top. The new owners say, "We've restored the 90-year old hardwoods, built a new bar, added a kitchen and remodeled the bathrooms." And if you ever used those old bathrooms, that statement can be translated as, "We made them so you won't fear for your cramped  life - or have to plug your nose - to use them!" They have added nine 55-inch TVs and one 70-incher, making it pretty much just another sports bar. There are still two pool tables and video games. And the drinks remain cheap. ... But I'm guessing now they card.

- Written by John Moore. Send your suggestions to [email protected].

[thisusedtobedenver]

This Used to Be ... a 7-Eleven

801 Lincoln St.

Used to Be:  A 7-Eleven. This would not be remarkable to me if there weren't 51,000 other 7-Elevens still out there. I honestly thought that number would be higher. I thought there were at least that many on 38th Avenue alone.

Is now: A closed 7-Eleven. Not shedding tears over this one. 

- Written by John Moore. Send your suggestions to [email protected].

[thisusedtobedenver]

This Used to Be ... Where Bob Dylan Lived

1736 E. 17th Ave.

Used to Be: It has been written that folk legend Bob Dylan once lived in what used to be a house between Gilpin and Williams streets. According to Phil Goodstein's book, "The Ghosts of Capitol Hill," an unknown Dylan stayed at this address for a short time in the early 1960s. "This would have been at the time when he played the Satire Lounge on East Colfax," Goodstein wrote. "I would assume Dylan was loosely acquainted with local performer Judy Collins, who hit fame concurrently. On one occasion, roughly 1989, if I recall, Dylan returned to Capitol Hill after doing a local concert. He walked straight into Wax Trax Records at 13th and Washington as a customer. Dylan has been seen around these parts in relatively low profile on other occasions."

Is now: A torn-down vacant lot next to the Bocaza on 17th and Williams. I'm not entirely sure all of this is true, but I'm tending to believe it because of this little pic I found on the web. This looks like the house that used to stand there - and the tree matches the photo I took there today. And the addresses between the empty lot are 1732 and 1740.

- Written by John Moore. Send your suggestions to [email protected].

[thisusedtobedenver]

This Used to Be ... The Red Lion Tavern

Red Lion Tavern, 9502 W. 58th Ave., Arvada

Used to Be: This one hurts. This beloved dive bar in the Arvada Plaza Shopping Center just east of Independence Street and south of Ralston Road closed Sunday, leaving 50 years of dried blood and beer in its carpets. The Red Lion was owned for many of those years by my Uncle Bob, and many, many, Moore celebrations and horror stories played out inside its dankened, darkened corridor. We celebrated birthdays, lost regulars like Charlie Guarino and Little League championships until the illegally wee hours. But not until you were 21. As the youngest, I remember stealing away to my orange Volkswagen Bug in the parking lot, where I would slam whatever 3.2 swill I could get my hands on, before rejoining the darts or shuffleboard or whatever else was going on inside. Somehow that just seemed so much more legally justifiable. Years later, my friends and family threw me a farewell party at the Red Lion when I moved to New York. ... And, woah, I just had a synapse fire back to the bachelor party I hosted there for my friend Andy Flynn, who suffered through unwanted performances by my guests of honor, Cinnamon and Beatrice Butterball (surprisingly, not their real names.) One idiot friend of mine burned a cigarette hole in Beatrice's vest, and that idiot was never a friend of mine again. Uncle Bob sold the bar a decade or so ago, and the new owners expanded into the storefront next door, adding more games and pool tables. Like thousands of indistinct little bars that dot every corner of the American landscape, The Red Lion was the kind of bar that  means nothing to anyone except for those it meant everything to.

Will Be: Ugh. Another Wal-Mart. Because apparently what Arvada really, really needs is another Wal-mart. Because apparently the K-Mart Superstore about 500 years to the west is just not Super enough. And the Wal-Marts at Lakeside, and at 72nd and Sheridan, are just not close enough. Only this one will be responsible for the bulldozing of the entire Arvada Plaza Shopping Center. Yes, it's a decaying fossil of a retail square, with barely an operating liquor store and restaurant left. But indulge me: For anyone who grew up in Arvada, the Arvada Plaza was home to Sportline ... the horrible Urban Cowgirl dance hall ... the long-gone Arvada Plaza movie theater, where I took my parents to see a "Rocky" and "Star Wars" double-feature for their 25th wedding anniversary present. Then again, they got divorced two months later. Shoulda seen it coming. Some might say, "Good riddance." But about 50 storefronts, all holding irreplaceable memories for thousands of Arvadans, are about to get scraped.

Written by John Moore. Send your suggestions to [email protected]

[thisusedtobedenver]

This Used to be Common Grounds Coffee Shop

3484 W. 32nd Ave., just east of Lowell Boulevard

This Used To Be: The 1992 opening of the Common Grounds Coffee Shop by the blue-collar mother-daughter team of Mary and Lisa Rogers  sowed the seeds for 32nd and Lowell to burgeon into a modest, funky, arts/retail corner. But history has proven time and again that -- if you succeed -- that kind of homegrown entrepreneurship will come back to bite you every time. It bit hard on Mary (once a beloved lunch lady at my high school) and Lisa (my high-school theater pal) when  uber-controversial landlord Ken Wolf mandated upgrades to the building -- on top of a 40 percent bump in rent. Skyrocketing neighboring home values, directly attributable to the risk the Rogers family and others took on 20 years earlier -- sent them packing like Tevye and his wayward daughters. Common Grounds closed, along with the original Heidi's Deli, which will become a Seattle-based Tex-Mex chain restaurant called Matador. It will be interesting to see if these fragile few blocks will remain economically sustainable as the national money keeps moving in. (The separately owned Venue Bistro remains closed down the block.) The Rogers have since moved Common Grounds into a roastery building they own at 2139 W. 44th Ave. That's at Vallejo Street in the Sunnyside neighborhood. (The LoDo location remains open.) The Rogerses cleared a major hurdle in May when Denver Zoning responded to a citizen petition by allowing Common Grounds to open at its new location while also letting Lisa Rogers' urban farm organization and market, Feed Denver, to continue its work there at the same  location.

Will Be: Out with the old, in with the Ink! The escalating Highlands rents can't possibly scare off former ski bum Keith "Herbie" Herbert, who opened Ink! Coffee as a cart in Snowmass in 1994 and has since managed to expanded Ink! into an eight-shop network in Aspen and Denver. Herbert, who opened his first cart with $2,000 in the bank while working as a club DJ, supports local businesses by serving Sweet Action and Little Man ice creams. He roasts his own coffee in the Roaring Fork Valley. The scheduled opening is Aug. 1. Written by John Moore. Send your suggestions to [email protected]

[thisusedtobedenver]

This Used to Be Valente's Italian Restaurant

Colorado Plus, 6995 W. 38th Ave., Wheat Ridge

Used to Be: A family staple that served reliable Italian food in a cool, old-school ambience at 38th and Reed from 1964 until patriarch Ray Valente retired 44 years later, at age 83. Ray, a member of the Colorado Restaurant Hall of Fame, was known for tooling down 38th in his El Camino, and for turning over his west wall to the students of West Middle School to draw a huge  landscape mural depicting the fertile fields of Tuscany. Valente's was known for serving handmade foods including breads from Gargaro’s Bakery and homemade sausage from Carbone’s Meats. In part because of its proximity to the historic Elitch Theatre, Valente's drew a wide variety of celebrity clientele. Mugs on the wall spanned everyone from Vincent Price to Perry Como, Robert Goulet, Joey Bishop, Bonnie Raitt, Stevie Nicks and sports stars Joe Torre, Tony LaRussa, Ozzie Smith, David Thompson, Doug Moe, Dan Issel, Kiki Vandeweghe and Alex English. I'll remember Valente's for countless family gatherings, including the night two dozen Moores managed to gather for my godson's 21st birthday dinner during one of the most harrowing snowstorms of my lifetime. And, sadly, for the onions in the alfredo sauce -- a tantalizing torture for those of us who are allergic.  Because Valente sons Don and Mark weren't interested in running the biz full-time, the property was brokered off in 2008.

Is Now: The welcome if terribly named Colorado Plus. We couldn't decide whether the name sounds more like a lamp store or a pot dispensary, but it's actually Wheat Ridge's very first brew pup, serving only Colorado-made craft beers -- in more than 65 varieties. It's located just east of Wadsworth in a little strip of Wheat Ridge that's turning back into a bit of a social district. Colorado Plus, helmed by head brewer Adam Draeger of Yak and Yeti, is one of three new bars, including a pizza pub and a sports bar, that have just sprouted up, oddly enough, about a block from two middle schools. Locals call the area "Sweet Ridge." And that's even with Marc's, a sort-of upscale seafood eatery (that at night turned into a cheesy bar hangout) remaining vacant just across the street.     

Written by John Moore. Send your tips to [email protected].

[thisusedtobedenver]

This Used to Be the King's Food Host

9600 W. 58th Avenue at Independence St., Arvada

Used to Be: King's  Food Host, home of the Cheese Frenchie, the favorite, all-time No. 1 food addiction of my youth. These were battered, crunchy, deep-fried cheese sandwiches you ordered by using a phone at your booth. And whenever my family of 10 had a night out at the place with the phone at the table, you knew it was a special occasion. King's was a franchise that started in Nebraska, but the Cheese Frenchie was named after the Croque Monsieur sandwich of France. Not that it was in any way fancy. Just an awesome ... heart attack on a plate. King's founder Larry Price grew his franchise to 135 stores (including Boulder). He would never let his sell stores sell cigarettes, and stuck to the credo that he would never allow patrons to tip, "lest servers compete with each other to the extent that they appear greedy." The franchise went bankrupt in 1974. 

Is Now: One of 6,550 Wendy's Hamburger fast-food outlets. ... The least you'd they could do is batter us up some cheese.

Written by John Moore. Send your tips to [email protected].

[thisusedtobedenver]

This Used to Be Where Cheeseburgers Were ... Trademarked

Where: The Humpty Dumpty Barrel Inn, 2776 Speer Blvd.

Used to Be: (Purportedly) home to the world's first cheeseburger in 1935, although competing claims go back as far as 1926. The Humpty Dumpty, located at Speer Boulevard and Alcott Street, was Colorado's first drive-in. It was colloquially known as "The Barrel House," and it sold root beer by the keg. Louis Ballast (indisputably) first registered the "cheeseburger" trademark on March 5, 1935. Before settling on cheese, he experimented with Hershey bars and peanut butter as burger toppings. Although Louis Ballast took the first steps toward securing exclusive rights to the cheeseburger, he never completed the process, "and that's why I'm not a millionaire," son David Ballast told The Denver Post. He claims his father was also first in the world to serve deep-fried chicken sandwiches. Matriarch Dorothy Ballast Jarrett, known by many as "Mrs. Cheeseburger," only recently died at age 94 in Fort Collins.

Is now: A Key Bank. A stone monument to the cheeseburger's origin was dedicated outside the bank in 1987.

Written by John Moore off a tip from reader Arturo Gomez. Send yours by email to [email protected].

[thisusedtobedenver]

This Used to Be Gabor's

Gabor's, 1223 E. 13th Ave.

This Used to Be: Where every great Capital Hill story started. I used to work the late shift at The Denver Post. After one grueling night, the sports department hacks and the pressroom peeps who put our pages together decided that some further bonding was in order. I suggested my favorite bar, Gabor's, just east of Downing on 13th. Those of us who showed up had a great time. Those who didn't got confused and ended up at a nearby gay bar called Garbo's. (Where I'm told they had a great time, too.) If anyone has a Capital Hill coming-of-age clique story, it no doubt intersects somehow with regular stops at Gabor's. Mine was when I returned to Denver from New York and reconnected with my old Elitch's friends Michelle Olguin and Beaner Sheridan, who absorbed me into a whole new crew of Colorado friends who met once a week without fail at Gabor's. I remember starting to cry one day when I walked in and saw the best jukebox this side of the P.S. Lounge in pieces. Luckily, it was only being cleaned. I remember a legendary, goddess-like waitress named Sherry, who also worked the Bluebird Theater, casually walking through crowded rooms with two trays of drinks hoisted above her perfect shoulders like Aphrodite. Gabor's closed in early 2012 under suspect circumstances. If it had to happen, perhaps it was fitting it closed just after I left The Denver Post. I was taken out for farewell drinks at, yes, Gabor's.

Is now: Still closed, last I checked. We were told it would re-open a month after it closed as a sports bar, and thankfully, it never did. (I love sports, just not sports bars.) Then we were told it would re-open as a franchise of Providence Tavern in Edgewater, but never did. Maybe it's a small blessing that Gabor's hasn't come back to life as anything yet, so we can hold out hope it might come back as something with a modicum of the kind of Capital Hill character Gabor's oozed. In the meantime, everything around it has left or changed, from the closing of Cricket on the Hill and its live (and endearingly crappy) music, and the high-rise that has swallowed up the parking lot across the street.

Written by John Moore

[thisusedtobedenver]

This Used to Be Celebrity Sports Center

Celebrity Sports Center, 888 S. Colorado Boulevard

Used to Be: One of Walt Disney's great experiments in expansion: A year-round, indoor amusement park in a cold-weather city. Or, as Disney called it: "An open-air playground in keeping with the demands of Denver's cosmopolitan and thoroughly discriminating population.” Opening in 1960 as Celebrity Lanes, Disney offered an 80-lane bowling alley, a massive indoor swimming pool, restaurants and a health salon. The name was a nod to an initial ownership group that included Jack Benny, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Burl Ives, Bing Crosby, Spike Jones, Art Linkletter — and Walt Disney. The seven-acre site at Kentucky Avenue and Colorado Boulevard had been a veterinary clinic owned by Leonard and Dorothy Peavy. The Denver Post reported that the bowling equipment, which cost $1.25 million alone, was “the largest single order for such equipment in U.S. history,” and included seating for 2,000. The 165-foot-long swimming pool had a removable skylight. (Three popular water slides were added in 1980.) The penny arcade and game rooms were patterned after the original Disneyland, and included a shooting gallery, pinball games, billiards, bumper-car rides and basement slot-car tracks covering 13,500 square feet. Completion of the original design cost $6 million. By 1962, all other financial investors wanted out, but Disney had his reasons to remain as sole owner of Celebrity Lanes, which he  renamed “Celebrity Sports Center." This whole project was a  dry run for his much greater ambition: He was creating the blueprint for Walt Disney World in Florida. Celebrity was a training ground for future Disney World employees for decades. His intent was to sell a wholesome, crime-free environment to families. When he once saw train operator being rude to a guest, Disney is said to have said: "We’re selling happiness.” Despite Disney's death in 1966, his corporation did not sell  Celebrity until 1979, and for just $1.9 million. After several ownership transfers, the Acquisition Corporation of the Rockies bought Celebrity for $10.8 million in 1994, tore it down the next year and replaced it with a $20 million retail center anchored by Builder’s Square and Best Buy stores.

Is now: Still retail, anchored by a Home Depot, Staples and Whole Foods. The Denver Post remembered Celebrity as a "uniquely Denver landmark," whose demolition left a "void...that cannot be filled."

Today: The wood in the old bowling lanes at Celebrity were re-used for the restoration of the Oxford Hotel in downtown Denver, now serving as the floor of the hotel's ballroom. At least one of the 14-point stars from the iconic outdoor sign is used today as a winter holiday decoration at the Lumber Baron Inn in Denver.

Note: There is a fantastic, expanded overview of Celebrity's history by David Forsyth here: http://buckfifty.org/2009/02/04/celebrity.

— Written by John Moore

[thisusedtobedenver]

This Used to Be Where Grace Kelly Lived

4020 Raleigh St., two blocks from the historic Elitch Theatre.

This Used to Be: The house where Grace Kelly lived in 1951. The future Princess of Monaco was among many Hollywood legends who got their start doing summer stock at the Elitch Theatre, including Robert Redford and Patricia Neal. In 1951, Kelly was a 22-year-old ingénue from Philadelphia when she was hired for the summer season in Denver. Ten days after she arrived, her mother also arrived in town, convinced her daughter would end up stranded in dusty squalor before the season was over. But instead, Kelly's mother was captivated by the botanical beauty of Elitch's and stayed with her for the summer at this unassuming rented bungalow residence.  Kelly rode her bicycle to the theater each day. In August, she got a telegram requesting her presence in Hollywood. One year later, she was starring in "High Noon."

Is now: Just another (unmarked) house on a pretty but fairly nondescript residential block in northwest Denver.

- John Moore

[thisusedtobedenver]

This Used to Be the 15th Street Tavern

The 15th Street Tavern, 623 15th St. (between Welton and California streets)

This Used to Be: Where grizzled old reporters took cubs like me for a drink when it was a bar called the Sportsman's Inn. Back then, two moves ago, The Denver Post newsroom and its printing press hummed along right across the street, where the Hyatt Regency Hotel now sits. I'll never forget the sad, sad day Denver Post sports columnist Todd Phipers got word that his 10-year-old son had died in a fire. Nothing to do and nowhere to go ... we all went as a group to the Sportman for the saddest of communal gatherings, deadlines be damned. In 1995, Denver's dingiest bar was transformed into Denver's dingiest rock club. Booked by up-and-comer Scott Campbell, I remember the White Stripes, Bright Eyes, the night the Murder City Devils set the stage on fire in 2000, and my first eye-opening exposure to a local rock band called Atlas that made it cool to, well, if not dance ... then at least to flail. (And they are still killing it today as Photo Atlas). The Tavern lasted a decade, closing on Oct. 30, 2004. But it was pretty much over after Campbell took off to open the rival Larimer Lounge in 2002. Westword's Thorin Kloswoski artfully described the 15th Street Tavern as "a pit of despair by the end of its run, with the scent of sewage masking any flavor of rock trying to be held there." Haha. Awesome.

Is now: Such an oddity. The building is long gone; in its place a communal garden of some sort, but one that is padlocked and closed off by a temporary chain-link fence. Hmmm ... a garden you can't get close to: There's a Bright Eyes song in this troubling image somewhere, no doubt.

(The surrounding land is all owned by a, sigh, commercial real-estate developer named Shames-Makovsky, so the lonely, locked garden is no doubt connected to some forthcoming project or other.)