Colorado monolith torn down by landowner

Aliens, we have a problem: The Colorado monolith is no more.

The shine of the Bellvue monolith has worn off and the private landowner removed the popular pillar Wednesday morning from the hilltop where it sat since it mysteriously appeared June 23.

The Coloradoan was the first to report the monolith's appearance.

"The final decision to remove it was the overwhelming influx of people who came to see it,'' Lori Graves, who owns the property with husband Rob Graves, told the Coloradoan on Wednesday morning. "If the creator would like to have it back, they can email the cafe. We will keep it but are not sure what we are going to do with it.''

Lori Graves said the monolith has been good for business at the Howling Cow Cafe, which the Graveses own and is adjacent to the hill on which the monolith was erected. But she said the popularity of the reflective monolith has caused damage to the hill on which it sits by trespassers who have left trash.

She has said she does not know who placed the monolith on the hill.

She said a trail had been worn to the top of the knob by people hiking to get a close-up view of the 9-foot-tall, 4-foot-wide, 8-inch-deep reflective structure.

So Wednesday morning, a worker took a grinder to cut the bolts that attached the monolith to a concrete slab and used a front end loader with forks to haul the structure away.

She said the decision to remove the monolith Wednesday was done before the expected hordes of people came to see it over the long Fourth of July holiday weekend.

She estimated 800 to 1,500 people came to view the monolith last week.

The crowd got so out of hand that she had people stationed at a gate near the monolith to open it so vehicles could park and see the structure and not block the narrow paved county road.

Since then, she said the gate has been locked and no trespassing signs have been placed along the fence line.

"I completely understand why other monoliths have been removed,'' she said. "Everyone wants to look but not everyone wants to do it respectfully.''

She said having the monolith was fun while it lasted but a return to normalcy in the quiet foothills northwest of Fort Collins will be welcomed.

"As much as I liked it, it really is kind of a relief, especially going into the holiday weekend and knowing how many people would show up,'' she said. "We can have our little peaceful spot back.''

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Colorado monolith removed before July 4th weekend