Have you been to Columbine?

I haven't. I am curious, yes, but I would feel so awkward going there to gawk. But maybe one day I'll work up the nerve. (First I have to scrounge up the money for airfare.)

On the old boards, I chatted with some folks who did go there ... they all said that it was a lot smaller than it looked. One girl said that it was so lovely that, when she went there, she felt so angry at Eric and Dylan for wanting to destroy it.

Has anyone here been there?

i've never been to it, but i'd love to travel to America and visit it someday.. now Frank DeAngelis is gone, i'd say this is your last chance to visit it before they completely change it, I know they will.. every year parts are changed and it's slowly going to look less like it did to the boys in the 90's.

I think the school looks futuristic, clean and all around beautiful.. my school was a complete dump, and that mountain view is heaven on Earth... so I see why she was angry!

side note:

any one seen this music video where the singer is inside CHS?

I would love to visit, but live in the UK and if anyone I knew found out it would be very awkward to say the least. I don't think I would, I would be too nervous and wouldn't know how to go about it.

eli27 wrote:

I would love to visit, but live in the UK and if anyone I knew found out it would be very awkward to say the least. I don't think I would, I would be too nervous and wouldn't know how to go about it.

the best thing to do would go with a group, if you know other researchers very well from the UK, you could all go together, i've seen some quite cheap hotels in Littleton, but there is also Denver which is usually a better choice, with buses and trains and a map to find the location, actually Columbine is a 7 minute drive to Eric's house, on a very straight road, it's also about a 30 minute walk, Dylan's house would be harder to get to though.

I have heard from a friend who is 19 and went inside CHS, I asked him how he got inside and he told me "it's a public school not a private school so it's not a problem" he walked in during the lunch break and with the 1000s of students, nobody knew that he wasn't a member of the school, he told me that most of the other students were scattered all around the building, some going out for off campus lunches or smoke so it wasn't unusual for people to be in and out of the cafeteria entrance leading to the parking lot, and once in the cafeteria with the crowds of students that he blended in with, he saw only the cafeteria and the halls, and told me he nearly had a heart attack from the experience of being inside there and it looked pretty much the same as it did back then that he knew the basic route from the videos Eric made inside, he also said that one of the halls above the cafeteria had nobody in it and it was haunting being alone and hearing the echoes of student's voices from other parts of the school, he then decided to leave, although he said he probably could have stayed longer without being caught. I don't know how much of this is true, he did take photos of the outside and other parts of Littleton, but not inside and I also wouldn't recommend this but I just wanted to share the story he told me.

I visited Columbine in the summer of 2000, while construction was still underway. At first I just intended to drive by, but eventually I parked and then just walked into the school. It was completely empty.  I spent at least a couple of hours exploring the building.  It gave me a completely different understanding of the scale of the building. For example, the entrance to the library is very close to the stairs that lead down into the cafeteria. The north-facing west emergency exit, near where the deputies were standing, leads right into the library with just a couple of steps. Eric's car, where he talked to Brooks, was parked very close to the school.

The experience completely changed the way I viewed the tragedy, because I was literally in the same place, looking at the same sidewalks and lockers, barely a year had passed, and I could imagine it unfolding that much more clearly.  What struck me was not only how small it was, but also how new and nice everything seemed (I don't mean the parts that were under construction, but the facilities in general--it was a nice school).

This was part of a broader curiosity trip where I visited every key location in the case, except for Dylan's house.

I live right by CHS, first visited this spring when I moved here.

As expected, it's a nice area & I thought the school was as large as expected & the grounds are deceivingly large due to the park (very nice amenities, countless high quality sports fields etc).

It's a busy place with the sporting fields drawing various levels of teams not affiliated to CHS.

The memorial is first class, I've been to the University of Texas & Kent State campuses.. Columbine has by far the classiest memorial I've seen for school shootings/tragedies.

The new library wing is very nice, I went up the steps & stood in E&D's parking spots, but did not attempt to enter the school.

Nothing can equal the wave of emotions I felt on my first visit, I've cried once since I was 14 & it was everything I could do to stop from breaking down as I read the memorials with my own HS aged son.

Return visits still have their effect, each visit stirs feelings that I have not felt in any other scenario.. especially when you stand in that parking lot near Dylan's space & look up to where the library windows were on 4/20.

Denver is such a beautiful city & great vacation spot that I would encourage everyone to budget time at some point to visit Columbine. While the CHS visit will hold a special moment for you, this area & specifically the Rockies are a wonderful destination for any traveler.

Frontier airlines, while not my favorite by a long shot, offers direct flights from many spots throughout the US & if you watch their website deals can be around $99-$149 round trip quite often.

If anyone is planning a visit plz PM me & I can share feedback on sight seeing hot spots, restaurants & lodging to your personal style.

It's God's country for sure.. another element on what makes E&D's NBK tragedy so compelling.. they had it far better than most in this world would ever know.

If anyone has specific pic requests that google can't provide plz post or PM me.. within reason I could swing by & post within a week or so.

The internet likely has them all, but if not it wouldn't be anything for me to snap a few & post here. Excluding pics inside the school of course.

Someone I talked to on Tumblr posted pictures a while back of flowers they left on the gate of the Klebolds' house on the anniversary, and a bottle of Coke that said "Share a Coke with Dylan" (for any non-U.S. posters, Coca-Cola runs a gimmick during the summer in which single-serve 20 oz. bottles are sold with different names on them under the phrase "Share a Coke with" with the intention of people buying them for friends with those names).

WendlaBergman wrote:

Someone I talked to on Tumblr posted pictures a while back of flowers they left on the gate of the Klebolds' house on the anniversary, and a bottle of Coke that said "Share a Coke with Dylan" (for any non-U.S. posters, Coca-Cola runs a gimmick during the summer in which single-serve 20 oz. bottles are sold with different names on them under the phrase "Share a Coke with" with the intention of people buying them for friends with those names).

Coke does the same thing in Australia ... in fact, they started doing it there a few years before they started doing it here.

^ they do the same thing with Coke in Europe and Asia now too! really nice that someone did that, I hope his parents found it and were touched by it, remember he may be a monster to 99% of people, but to them he was their baby.

Thanks for the interesting stories you guys shared! I always thought the security would be super tight after the massacre, but it does seem like anyone can just walk in.. this reaally surprises me, I would really think Columbine would be the first school to have security with bag checkers, I.D cards to buzz each student in, armed officers on every gate, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

I would love to see some 2015 photos of Eric's house if possible

I've been thinking about visiting but the big thing holding me back is the fact I can't drive. I imagine getting to all the locations I'd want to visit would be a bit of a nightmare by foot/ bus/ taxi.

I'm actually due to be made redundant from work any time over the next six months so getting the time off isn't going to be a problem & I'll have the money to do it. It's a now or never type situation for me.

As Charles suggested above - if anyone else was thinking about visiting (UK or anywhere else for that matter - I'm sure there are plenty of costs to be saved on by meeting up) feel free to drop me a pm. I appreciate it's highly unlikely and maybe somewhat creepy to talk about a potential trip away with a weirdo off the Internet to visit the site off a shooting spree!

WendlaBergman wrote:

Someone I talked to on Tumblr posted pictures a while back of flowers they left on the gate of the Klebolds' house on the anniversary, and a bottle of Coke that said "Share a Coke with Dylan" (for any non-U.S. posters, Coca-Cola runs a gimmick during the summer in which single-serve 20 oz. bottles are sold with different names on them under the phrase "Share a Coke with" with the intention of people buying them for friends with those names).

A good gimmick at that. I can't tell you how much time and money I spent looking for and buying the names of all my family and friends. I've never been able to find 'Jenn' though so I had to settle for 'Jennifer'.

We've had the coke can thing over here for a couple of years now.

Personally, I found it a little annoying when it first came out. Facebook just seemed to be full of girls posting pictures of their name on a can next to a can with their boyfriends name on.

As mentioned though, good marketing if it gets people buying it even if it's just to do that.

I would like to visit once, the main thing I would enjoy is driving the mountain roads Dylan took from his house.
Those roads up there in the mountains are spectacular. It’s so beautiful.

CharlesWhitman wrote:

i've never been to it, but i'd love to travel to America and visit it someday.. now Frank DeAngelis is gone, i'd say this is your last chance to visit it before they completely change it, I know they will.. every year parts are changed and it's slowly going to look less like it did to the boys in the 90's.

I think the school looks futuristic, clean and all around beautiful.. my school was a complete dump, and that mountain view is heaven on Earth... so I see why she was angry!

side note:

any one seen this music video where the singer is inside CHS?

Bones! I love him, he is one of my favourite rappers, he dedicated a whole album to Columbine.

I have not been to Columbine, but I want to some day, I really think Colorado is a beautiful state.

I had walked into a market and saw two bottle of Coke with Eric and Dylan's name side by side on a shelf. It was probably a coincidence, or maybe someone did it on purpose, but I doubt it as they are not known here.

CharlesWhitman wrote:

I had walked into a market and saw two bottle of Coke with Eric and Dylan's name side by side on a shelf.

Snapshot or it didn't happen.

Radioactive_Clothing wrote:

Facebook just seemed to be full of girls posting pictures of their name on a can next to a can with their boyfriends name on.

Guilty.
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I´m planning to visit columbine next year. probably alone.... but who cares.... it´s columbine. like CharlesWhitman said "this is your last chance to visit it before they completely change it" and that would definitely breaks my heart

I would love to visit. I don't know that I would want to go alone, although I don't have anyone to go with. Maybe I would brave it if given the opportunity and go alone.

Never went. I've been to nearly all Lower 48 States, CO is one of the few I'm still missing.

I spent nearly two months this summer in the northern Texas panhandle for business and it struck me that I was much closer to Denver/Littleton than I normally am... almost did the round trip! Wasn't sure if the school would've been as accessible during the summer vacation, though?

Maybe next time. When are they remodeling it?

Hey. Don't know if you've seen my post but I went to Columbine a few weeks ago. Feel free to ask any questions.

Fatheroftwo wrote:

I live right by CHS, first visited this spring when I moved here.

As expected, it's a nice area & I thought the school was as large as expected & the grounds are deceivingly large due to the park (very nice amenities, countless high quality sports fields etc).

It's a busy place with the sporting fields drawing various levels of teams not affiliated to CHS.  

The memorial is first class, I've been to the University of Texas & Kent State campuses.. Columbine has by far the classiest memorial I've seen for school shootings/tragedies.

The new library wing is very nice, I went up the steps & stood in E&D's parking spots, but did not attempt to enter the school.

Nothing can equal the wave of emotions I felt on my first visit, I've cried once since I was 14 & it was everything I could do to stop from breaking down as I read the memorials with my own HS aged son.

Return visits still have their effect, each visit stirs feelings that I have not felt in any other scenario..  especially when you stand in that parking lot near Dylan's space & look up to where the library windows were on 4/20.

Denver is such a beautiful city & great vacation spot that I would encourage everyone to budget time at some point to visit Columbine.  While the CHS visit will hold a special moment for you, this area & specifically the Rockies are a wonderful destination for any traveler.

Frontier airlines, while not my favorite by a long shot, offers direct flights from many spots throughout the US & if you watch their website deals can be around $99-$149 round trip quite often.

If anyone is planning a visit plz PM me & I can share feedback on sight seeing hot spots, restaurants & lodging to your personal style.

It's God's country for sure.. another element on what makes E&D's NBK tragedy so compelling..  they had it far better than most in this world would ever know.

I´m planning to visit Denver (and Columbine of course) in October next year. i´m new in this Forum and i can´t send pm yet because i haven´t reached the post limit. So maybe you could send me an email or pm. That would be awesome.

Fatheroftwo wrote:

If anyone is planning a visit plz PM me & I can share feedback on sight seeing hot spots, restaurants & lodging to your personal style.

Hey Fatheroftwo,
thank you for your quick reply and sorry for the late answer. so i tried to reply back with a pm but it still doesn´t work.

have you ever been to the rampart range? i would love to go there and to all the other famous places like erics and dylans house, the park where they recorded one of their videos, their workplace (even though it doesn´t exist anymore), the memorials... . and of course the school. is it really that difficult to get inside of the school? here in germany you can just walk in and no one would care about it.

so can you recommend some good lodging in littleton?

I want to visit littleton sometime. The only problem with that is the cost of plane tickets. If I ever end up going, i'm not going to miss out on the Rockies.

I want to travel to CO around Dylan's birthday and leave a flower, a card, and a Dr Pepper on the Klebolds' gate for it. I have no means to do it though.

I've just checked it out on Google Earth.

I'm afraid that setting up a trip to go there would be crossing some internal boundary for me.

radaddio wrote:

I've just checked it out on Google Earth.

I'm afraid that setting up a trip to go there would be crossing some internal boundary for me.

Meaning?

I have a mild obsessive disorder that I use as a double edge sword, so to speak.

I've learned to manage it, and even use it to my advantage. I can create a sort of laser-focused ambition to finish a project or goal using it. I've taught myself how to do everything from Industrial Design, all the way to electronic music production, triathlon and everything in between. I'll even be using it to teach myself the piano very soon. For instance, I used this same disorder to propel me to the director of design at an orthopedics company that I helped establish.

The flip side to that is that the obsessive nature of my mind will latch onto random subjects or ideas. Nothing violent, or harmful mind you. But, I can tell when things are getting out of hand, and I need to try and reign it back in.

This was how I first came to the whole Columbine thing. So, if I were to ever make arrangements to go and physically be at or near the school, it would be a blaring klaxon warning for me to sort some stuff out.

But, that's just me. That doens't mean that anybody else that goes there has some kind of problem. Probably the opposite, since there are many people who still go there to this day.

Sorry to over share : )

I have thought about going to visit CHS, but for some reason have been holding back for the last several years since I caught the Columbine bug. I'm kind of afraid actually that I might fall further down the rabbit hole if I actually go there and see the school, the memorial, and some of the key sites involved. And I really don't want that to happen. It's taken up more time in my life and thoughts than it probably deserves, to be perfectly f--king honest.

I would like to visit the memorial, not so much the school itself.

A little after the shooting, there were entire tour buses showing up in front of CHS. It makes me wonder if there is still as much draw to it, since it's had time to become seemingly more infamous.

I now live in Colorado, 2 hrs west of Littleton. I'm open to have visitors, if anyone seriously wants to go. I'm extremely familiar with the campus as a previous student. Just PM me, I'm not quite brave enough to go alone, and none of my acquaintances are interested.

that's awesome! Would you be willing to go the the Denver Public Library and dig through the RMN archives there? I spoke with a journalist awhile back that said there were some decent unreleased pics of the shooting.

I want to go there and try to find Dylan's ghost. Devon has said he afterlives (see what I did there? :p) in the auditorium or the school overall.  I'd try to speak to him and be nice to him.

Deleted

I have never been to Columbine

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Absolutely! It shouldn't be too difficult if I know what I'm looking for.