During my recent (and first) trip to Colorado, I stumbled upon a little bookstore called “Old Firehouse Books” while strolling around Old Town Square. Like any nerdy tourist in a brewery town, I had to check it out.
There was a small group of elementary school students circled around the front of the room when I walked in. Not wanting to disturb them, I began browsing the shelves looking for an interesting read, as well as the local author section. As I slowly meandered, the students’ teacher began telling the history of the building we were in – which as the name suggests, Old Firehouse Books is located in the town’s first firehouse. 
The Fort Collins’ first fire station was built in 1882. According to Forgotten Fort Collins’ blog post, the “building served as a fire station until 1979.” Now, the building is occupied by Old Firehouse Books and Happy’s Lucky Teahouse.
As I strolled around the book store, I began examining the interior architecture and delighting that I had stumbled upon a little bit of history … especially since I had done zero research on Fort Collins and was originally stopping through for a quick lunch and beer (might I recommend Coopersmith’s Pub & Brewing Green Chile Beer – light, crisp with a hint of green chili upon the end of each sip) with an old friend.
These moments of happy accidents bring a warm smile to my face and a good paperback book smell back to life. Next stop: Austin … and hopefully BookPeople (Austin’s largest independent book store since 1979) will have its own quirky surprises.
Read. Travel. Write. Inspire. 
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