This story first appeared in a Colorado Community Media newspaper. Support CCM’s neighborhood news.
The 42 foot long, 18 ton hot dog known as the Coney Island Boardwalk now sits in Bailey, waiting for a new owner to return it to its former glory.
The structure originally was built on West Colfax Avenue in 1966.
The first owner, Marcus Shannon, had dreams of the hot dog shaped building becoming a cornerstone of American eateries, envisioning a national chain.
News articles from the Denver Post in 1966, provided by Colfax Avenue History Museum, told of the 25 cent hot dogs, special menu and 40 car parking lot the site would boast.
After the production of the first restaurant however, the company went under. This was after the president of Boardwalk Coney Island Inc. said he expected to take over Denver in 14 months with the business, and continue to succeed from coast to coast. The singular location managed to stay open for three years. The cost to build the hot dog was $26,000.
Colfax historian and museum curator Jonny Barber said that roadside attractions like the coney were part of the history of the area.
“So much of that roadside Colfax weirdness is gone,” he said.
Where did it go? Well, the entire 18 ton hot dog was put on a trailer and hauled up to Aspen Park along U.S. 285 in 1970. There, it took on the name Coney Island Dairy Land (and subsequently dropped the last part of the name.) In its new home, the coney resumed business, changing hands multiple times throughout the years. On its last day open in Aspen Park, the line for the restaurant allegedly went on for miles.
The bun did not stop there. In 2006, it moved again, this time to its current location in Bailey, near the Pike National Forest. The Coney Island Boardwalk is currently closed and looking for a new owner after some repairs are made.