In 1972, Lakewood voters approved buying the land at Wadsworth and Alameda, which had been May Bonfils-Stanton's Belmar Estate. Her will required that the mansion be torn down, and it was. Her calving barn, tractor shed, auction house, John Deere Barn and caretaker's cottage survived. Those outbuildings became the start of a museum. This November that land and the Cultural Center nearby are where the City of Lakewood opens its holiday shops.
Shoppers who come this season are visiting a site whose long-range plan is nearly used up. The museum itself is asking, in an exhibition that closes November 28, what should happen there next.
What the 1972 vote left standing
The timeline is short. After the 1972 referendum, the Lakewood Historical Society formed in 1974 to build the first collection of buildings and archives. The Heritage Center opened in 1976, and the society handed it to the City in 1978.
The site grew by taking in buildings from elsewhere. By 1996 it had 13 structures. The Ralston Crossing Country School came from the R-1 School District. The Hallack-Webber Ranch House was moved there in 1980. The Streer-Peterson House, dated to about 1872–1885, was saved from demolition and moved in 1986, and its restoration was finished in 1989. A pump house, a chicken coop, a windmill and a former interurban trolley stop were kept as well. The 1996 master plan made the 20th century the museum's focus. Today the City describes Heritage Lakewood Belmar Park as 15 historic buildings holding more than 40,000 artifacts.
That focus on the 20th century explains the gift shop. It also explains why the City's holiday shopping this year splits between two buildings.
The city is running two shops this season, plus an art wall
The Holiday Pop Up Market is new. The City calls it a second shop added to the existing Museum Store. It sits in the Corner Gallery off the Lakewood Cultural Center lobby. The Museum Store sticks to retro toys, souvenirs and gifts tied to the 20th century, and the pop-up carries artisan pieces. The coordinates on the City's own pages put the Cultural Center and the museum less than half a mile apart.
| Counter | Address | What's on offer | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Museum Store | Heritage Lakewood Belmar Park, 801 S. Yarrow St. | Retro and vintage reproductions, Remember Whens, retro mugs, greeting cards by local artists, carved wooden farm animals, books | Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–4 p.m., year-round |
| Holiday Pop Up Market | Corner Gallery, Lakewood Cultural Center, 470 S. Allison Pkwy. | Artisan pieces | Opens Friday, Nov. 6 |
| Winter Salon | Lakewood Cultural Center, 470 S. Allison Pkwy. | 2D works 16 by 20 inches or smaller, each priced at $500 or less | Nov. 7, 2026, through Jan. 2, 2027, during business hours |
City pages give two different closing dates for the pop-up. The market's own event page lists November 6 through November 23. The City's Holiday Events roundup lists November 6 through December 23. If you're saving the pop-up for a December trip, check the Cultural Center's schedule before you go. November 23 is the one date both pages agree it will still be open.
One item at the Museum Store fits this season especially well. "A Half-Century of Transformation: Lakewood, Colorado 1969-2019" costs $34.95 plus tax, in the store or online.
A wall of affordable art, hung the old way
The Winter Salon is the easiest stop on this list to plan around. The opening reception is Saturday, November 7, from 6 to 8 p.m. The City's Winter Salon announcement explains where the hanging style comes from:
"Salon style" refers to hanging multiple pieces of art closely together in a dense, floor‑to‑ceiling arrangement rather than spacing them out in a single line. This method began in 17th‑century France and later flourished in the grand French salons of the 1800s.
Any artist could enter. Accepted work was original painting, drawing, printmaking, mixed media and photography, and every piece had to be for sale and delivered by hand. Entries closed October 22. Every piece on the wall was brought in by hand, and nothing on it costs more than $500. For questions, the Cultural Center's number is 303-987-7845. The Lakewood Arts Council Members Art Show hangs in the same building from November through January.
The exhibition that closes November 28 is about the site itself
The museum turned 50 on Colorado Day, August 1, and the City Council marked the anniversary with a May 11 proclamation. The anniversary show, 50 Years of Heritage in Lakewood, is in the Visitor Center's temporary gallery and is free Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The City says it covers why and how the museum began, the stories it tells about the community, and "what may happen on the site in the future."
That last question comes from the City's own planning calendar. The current Heritage Lakewood Master Plan covers 2017 to 2027. Its final phase, labeled 2025–2027, calls for finishing added buildings, restoring historic ones, expanding indoor and outdoor exhibits, and updating museum policies. The City's May 2023 citywide parks, recreation and arts plan, Imagine Tomorrow, told staff to keep carrying out that master plan and to "begin plan update process in 2026."
The money in the City's proposed budget points to upkeep, with no new construction listed. The 2026 revised / 2027 proposed budget lists work at 801 S. Yarrow: painting, drainage and concrete, interpretive signs, future safety improvements, and maintenance and minor repairs. It shows $439,281 for 2026 revised, then $50,000 a year from 2027 through 2031. These figures come from the proposed budget document and may change before or after Council adopts it. Even so, they show the City paying to maintain what is there while the larger questions are left to the plan update.
Four Saturdays remain before the exhibition closes: November 7, 14, 21 and 28. If you're stopping at the Museum Store, the gallery is in the same Visitor Center.
From the closing exhibit to Lakewood Lights
After November the same grounds become the setting for the City's biggest holiday evening, and other City venues fill the rest of December. Dates are from City event pages:
- Nov. 7–22, 9 a.m.–3 p.m. daily: Free leaf recycling for Lakewood residents at the City Greenhouse, 9556 W. Yale Ave. The City extended it to two weeks this year.
- Nov. 15: Holiday Woodcarving Workshop at Washington Heights Arts Center.
- Nov. 23: Turkey Talk presentation at Bear Creek Lake Park.
- Nov. 28: Last day of 50 Years of Heritage in Lakewood.
- Dec. 3, 5–8 p.m.: Lakewood Lights at Heritage Lakewood Belmar Park, with a lighting ceremony, live music, cocoa and visits with Santa.
- Dec. 4: Snow Ball at Clements Community Center.
- Dec. 5–6: The Rocky Mountain Stocking Stuffers, a Colorado acoustic Americana group, at the Cultural Center. Shows are Saturday at 2 and 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.
- Dec. 8: Holiday Scents and Soapmaking class at Heritage Lakewood Belmar Park.
- Dec. 12, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.: The free Holiday Arts and Pottery Sale at Washington Heights Arts Center, 6375 W. 1st Ave., selling work by students and instructors.
- Dec. 16: Canadian Brass at the Cultural Center, 3 and 7:30 p.m.
- Dec. 19: Holiday Craft Tea at Heritage Lakewood Belmar Park.
- Dec. 21: Winter Solstice guided night hike at Bear Creek Lake Park.
Families with school-break plans can look at the City's Thanksgiving Break Camps, November 23–25, and Winter Break Camps, December 28–31. Both run at the Cultural Center and Heritage Lakewood. The rest of Lakewood's cultural calendar, including the West Colfax gallery headquarters and our Lakewood neighborhood page, adds more options to the same weekends.
The next Heritage Lakewood plan will shape the grounds around Allison Parkway and Yarrow Street. If you live near the museum site and want to talk through what that could mean for your own address, Brian Grace is glad to start with a conversation about your home.
