The project's not complete, but thanks to enormous progress Goldstein has made since 2020, "I can see the light at the end of the tunnel," he says.
Audiences in Englewood will be able to do so as well at today's presentations. But for those unable to attend, Goldstein has created an Instagram video offering a sneak preview, and is also offering downloadable access to the work in progress.
Westword first shared information about Goldstein's online Cinderella story in March 2018, fifty years to the month after the shopping area debuted at the current site of the Englewood Civic Center, 1000 Englewood Parkway. The remnants of the former Broadway Southwest department store, added to the complex in 1985, were converted into the government center, and a petition supported by Goldstein calls for it to be protected amid a proposed neighborhood development dubbed CityCenter.
An ad from the mall's early days maintained that "Once Upon a Time...Is Now at Cinderella City," where "Your Shopping Dreams Come True." And for a generation of Denver residents, as well as folks who traveled from all over the region to behold its marvels, these pitch lines were on the money. Attractions included a giant fountain and a handcrafted Italian carousel that stood 28 feet high, as well as so much indoor shopping space that sections were color-coded (the Blue Mall, the Gold Mall, etc.) so patrons wouldn't get hopelessly lost.
These wonders helped the mall flourish for many years, but areas such as the Rose Mall, another one of the shopping zones, eventually lost their bloom; by the end of the 1990s, everything other than the portion of Cinderella City used for the civic center had been demolished. But Goldstein, a former architect who's now a senior product owner for Denver-based Autodesk, which specializes in software development, came up with the idea of preserving the spectacular edifice through graphics modeled after historic photographs and audio from actual Cinderella City patrons, who were able to record their memories on a special phone line. The finished experience will create opportunities to roam the mall during two time periods: 1960s/1970s and 1980s/1990s.
According to Goldstein, today's presentations "will cover various simulation milestones I've hit over the past two years, including the addition of the 1960s/1970s era and tons of new stores and details in the 1980s/1990s era." He also touts "the ability to time travel between the two eras, animated shoppers in both eras, animated fountain elements in the 1960s/1970s era, tons of new plants and trees in both eras" and "historic photographs in both eras — an exhibit within an exhibit."
Adding to that, he says he's designed "new user interfaces and menus, including more ways to access various waypoints around the mall, visualization options, audio options and a credits screen, new music in both eras" and a "huge code and graphics overhaul, improving performance and reliability of the simulation generally."
Here's the Instagram video that takes the viewer on a "straight shot from the parking lot into the mall," Goldstein notes.
Click for more information about Goldstein's Once Upon a Time at Cinderella City presentations, which will take place at 2:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. at Hampden Hall, on the second floor of the Englewood Civic Center (both are co-sponsored by Historic Englewood and the Englewood Public Library), as well as instructions on how to download the latest version of the Cinderella City Project.
