Vail, CO is fun. More specifically, I really enjoyed Vail Village. It’s a cute town. It’s a charming town. It reminds me of Disney World. I’m not a Disney Adult, but I always enjoy a trip to the Mouse House. There’s a certain charm there. The stories come alive through the characters and immersive buildings. Dare I say that it’s magical. But, it also feels plastic. You know that its manufactured. There’s a veil to it all. It’s a bit like a stage set. It’s manufactured charm.
To a certain extent, Vail, Colorado feels the same way. Unlike Disney World, the town is a fully functional town. All the buildings are real. There’s no hidden trap door to hide the garbage truck or some network of back alleys to hide the food services. But Vail still feels fake. Developed in the late 1960s, Vail was built and designed after the alpine towns of the Swiss alps. The pedestrian focused streets are lined with different imitations of small scale Swiss chalets.
Vail Village (taken from Vail.com)
A lot of towns in the West have history. Look at the mining town-turned-high end ski resort of Park City, UT or Telluride, CO. Even look at Aspen, CO or Jackson Hole, WY! You get the point…Vail is different. It was founded on the principle of being something else. It was built as a replica. As a copy paste. And, as a result, it doesn’t have a very rich history. Now, rich history usually means charm (look at basically any part of Europe). So, if you do a little thought experiment, lack of rich history would probably mean lack of charm right?
But, Vail does have charm! I really enjoy the downtown (and that’s not just because I like skiing). I’d like to think I have a decent read on a quality neighborhood. So, I’ve been trying to figure out why I like Vail so much even though I know its manufactured charm. Perhaps because it accepts its identity. It doesn’t shy away from who it is. It knows it’s mimicking something else. And the scale is great. Super walkable and intimate. I guess the question becomes: when does Vail has create its own history and charm?