On the occasion of Historic Denver's 40th Anniversary, it is only fitting to recognize that preservation is an unnatural human desire in which an abnormal degree of gratification is linked to a particular object from the recent past.
The majority of Americans have always craved the new and despised the old. As a people we work effortlessly to create a culture that has the shelf-life of a loaf of bread. Historic Denver's compulsion to preserve the Molly Brown House back in 1970 defied the norm and inspired a new generation of historic preservation fetishists.
The yard decorations of the house pictured above suggest that the occupants are hard-core western-fetish enthusiasts. The placement of the Conestoga wagon effigy at the center if the yard would already intimate an abnormal fixation with western Americana, but the green cock placed on the wooden barrel before it denotes the international symbol for a particularly inordinate and frustrated desire.
The split-rail fence as a singular feature would alone insinuate a fascination for an agrarian lifestyle. The inclusion of the oversized wrought-iron wagon wheels on the driveway gates indicates that this yard artist is especially enthusiastic to "swing" with like-minded adults for the purpose of celebrating historic preservation.