{"id":214,"date":"2024-11-05T21:38:12","date_gmt":"2024-11-06T04:38:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koto.local\/free-box-gets-a-new-home\/"},"modified":"2025-05-20T13:43:08","modified_gmt":"2025-05-20T19:43:08","slug":"free-box-gets-a-new-home","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/koto.org\/es\/news\/free-box-gets-a-new-home\/","title":{"rendered":"El buz\u00f3n gratuito tiene un nuevo hogar"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

\n

As winter came into Telluride this week, pulling its white hood over the canyon and sending flurries into the afternoon street, the sheltered nook of the newly opened Voodoo Affordable Housing Project is quiet and empty.  But not for long. Come Monday, November 4th, this alcove across from the Post Office will be the new location of Telluride’s Free Box.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Here\u2019s Free Box Manager Beck Boehm: \u201cwhat you can expect from the new Free Box is a bigger shopping space; I wanted a space for a rack to hang hangers and nice clothes and jackets. One of my main thoughts was obviously a shelf for the glassware. That’s something that needed to be there.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

This new box on Willow Street has cheerful bilingual text labeling the different bins. There is<\/em> more space, but it’s much the same as Telluride’s current Free Box, which has been located by the intersection of North Pine Street and Colorado Ave for nearly 50 years, where it\u2019s shadowed by the long awning of the Van Atta building, constructed in 1891.<\/p>\n

That location, says Telluride Historical Museum Director, Kiernan Lannon has always been a hub: <\/p>\n

\u201cVan Atta was a grocery dry-goods store,\u201d<\/em> he says, \u201cso, it got a lot of traffic. Certainly during the mining heyday that was the busiest intersection [in Telluride].\u201d<\/em> <\/p>\n

By the seventies, the Van Atta store was long gone, replaced by a natural foods coop. It was in one of those years that Telliuride\u2019s Free Box was born:<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course it started <\/em>as just a box,\u201d Lannon says. \u201cI take it a woman was trying to get rid of some stuff and asked if she could leave it there. [The co-op] said \u2018yes,\u2019 and it wasn’t too long before people started bringing stuff thinking: \u2018hey, well, maybe I can get rid of my stuff too.\u201d<\/p>\n

It grew and grew, becoming the shabby 3×4 bin structure it is today. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat iteration came about in 1983 and they actually needed and got a HARC certificate of appropriateness for it,\u201d<\/em> says Lannon. \u201cSo it was considered a legit structure in the town.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

HARC is the Historic and Architectural Review Commission, signaling the town government’s seal of approval for this community asset. <\/p>\n

Despite its magic, the box has always had its detractors, or at least skeptics, says Lannon: \u201csomewhere in the late 70s is the first reference that the town was being urged to do something about the Free Box, the condition of the Free Box. People are complaining about it getting messy and blocking the sidewalk and people bringing stuff that shouldn’t really be there and all that kind of stuff.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The truth, explains Boehm, is that a Freebox takes work, management, and care, or else the trash piles up to obscure the treasure.<\/p>\n

Who performed that work has shifted over the Freebox’s history, falling on different volunteer groups and sometimes \u2014 such as in the mid 2010\u2019s \u2014 going undone. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd so as we all know, it kind of fell into disrepair,\u201d<\/em> says Boehm, \u201cand it was a huge trash dump for years. When COVID hit, the discussion came up, do we want to keep the Free Box? Is it something that we want in the town?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

A pandemic pause shuttered the box. Then, as the COVID germ scare subsided, residents called for a reopening. The town was ready to do it on its own terms, funding Boehm\u2019s position to manage trash buildup at the box and incorporating a relocated Free Box, housed on town property, into the designs for its Voodoo Affordable Housing Project.<\/p>\n

With the housing project complete this fall, it’s time for the box to move. <\/p>\n

Twenty-four seven and three-sixty-five, the Free Box Bustles. On a recent afternoon, Nicola Kerr enthused about her finds, and she shows off an outfit picked from the Box on prior days of hunting. <\/p>\n

Are folks worried about the new location? Not particularly. Says Sarah Owens, browsing with Kerr: \u201ca couple more blocks\u2019 walk isn’t gonna hurt anybody\u2026It’s gonna be good for all of us. I think it’ll get more action [with its new location].<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

What is it about the Free Box? Why has this community stayed so dedicated to its shabby curbside catchall?<\/p>\n

\u201cI do think the Freebox does speak to a very specific time in that period in the 1970s,\u201d<\/em> reflects Lannon. \u201cAs the town has progressed a little more into the resort feel that it has now, it’s  hearkening back to a part of the culture that still seems to be there, even if it’s a little more under the surface.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

While nostalgia certainly may be a factor, Boehm says it’s not the only piece. <\/p>\n

Everyday, she says, she sees \u201chow much people need that Free Box, not just because they want free stuff, but how they need it as a social space, as a way to clothe their kid, as a way to just feel connected to this community.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Elizabeth Gick, who’s lived in town for decades, was browsing on a recent afternoon, and she says it’s true, the Free Box provides:<\/p>\n

\u201cI have found absolute treasures in here,\u201d<\/em> Gick exclaims.
Today, she brings a donation: \u201cI’m dropping off a beautiful pair of pajama pants with patterns of elk. And it’s just a little too tight around the waist for me, so I hope somebody else will have a good night’s sleep in it!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The Free Box officially opens at its new location across from the Post Office on South Willow Street on Monday, November 4th. And \u2014 supposedly \u2014 it will never close. Should you need to make a return, you can do so, no questions asked. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As winter came into Telluride this week, pulling its white hood over the canyon and sending flurries into the afternoon street, the sheltered nook of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":479,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":true},"news-category":[514],"news-tag":[843],"class_list":["post-214","news","type-news","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-category-featured-stories","news-tag-free-box-telluride"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFree Box Gets a New Home - KOTO FM<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/koto.org\/es\/noticias-2\/free-box-gets-a-new-home\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_MX\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Free Box Gets a New Home - KOTO FM\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As winter came into Telluride this week, pulling its white hood over the canyon and sending flurries into the afternoon street, the sheltered nook of [...]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/koto.org\/es\/noticias-2\/free-box-gets-a-new-home\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"KOTO FM\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/KOTOTelluride\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-20T19:43:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/koto.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/IMG_3797.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1875\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"5 minutos\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/koto.org\\\/news\\\/free-box-gets-a-new-home\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/koto.org\\\/news\\\/free-box-gets-a-new-home\\\/\",\"name\":\"Free Box Gets a New Home - KOTO FM\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/koto.org\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/koto.org\\\/news\\\/free-box-gets-a-new-home\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/koto.org\\\/news\\\/free-box-gets-a-new-home\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/koto.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/IMG_3797.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-11-06T04:38:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-20T19:43:08+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/koto.org\\\/news\\\/free-box-gets-a-new-home\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"es\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/koto.org\\\/news\\\/free-box-gets-a-new-home\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"es\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/koto.org\\\/news\\\/free-box-gets-a-new-home\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/koto.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/IMG_3797.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/koto.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/IMG_3797.jpeg\",\"width\":2500,\"height\":1875,\"caption\":\"A minimalist outdoor library with dark shelves featuring a small selection of books. Located next to a brick wall with a rusted metal sign reading 151 South Willow. A smaller sign below reads Free Box.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/koto.org\\\/news\\\/free-box-gets-a-new-home\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/koto.org\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/koto.org\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Free Box Gets a New Home\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/koto.org\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/koto.org\\\/\",\"name\":\"KOTO FM\",\"description\":\"The Sound of Telluride since 1975\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/koto.org\\\/#organization\"},\"alternateName\":\"KOTO Radio\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/koto.org\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"es\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/koto.org\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"KOTO FM\",\"alternateName\":\"KOTO Radio\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/koto.org\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"es\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/koto.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/koto.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/Daily-newscast-shield.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/koto.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/Daily-newscast-shield.jpg\",\"width\":452,\"height\":557,\"caption\":\"KOTO FM\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/koto.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/KOTOTelluride\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/kototelluride\\\/\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Free Box Gets a New Home - KOTO FM","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/koto.org\/es\/noticias-2\/free-box-gets-a-new-home\/","og_locale":"es_MX","og_type":"article","og_title":"Free Box Gets a New Home - KOTO FM","og_description":"As winter came into Telluride this week, pulling its white hood over the canyon and sending flurries into the afternoon street, the sheltered nook of [...]","og_url":"https:\/\/koto.org\/es\/noticias-2\/free-box-gets-a-new-home\/","og_site_name":"KOTO FM","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/KOTOTelluride","article_modified_time":"2025-05-20T19:43:08+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2500,"height":1875,"url":"https:\/\/koto.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/IMG_3797.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"5 minutos"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/koto.org\/news\/free-box-gets-a-new-home\/","url":"https:\/\/koto.org\/news\/free-box-gets-a-new-home\/","name":"Free Box Gets a New Home - KOTO FM","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/koto.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/koto.org\/news\/free-box-gets-a-new-home\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/koto.org\/news\/free-box-gets-a-new-home\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/koto.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/IMG_3797.jpeg","datePublished":"2024-11-06T04:38:12+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-20T19:43:08+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/koto.org\/news\/free-box-gets-a-new-home\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"es","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/koto.org\/news\/free-box-gets-a-new-home\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"es","@id":"https:\/\/koto.org\/news\/free-box-gets-a-new-home\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/koto.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/IMG_3797.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/koto.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/IMG_3797.jpeg","width":2500,"height":1875,"caption":"A minimalist outdoor library with dark shelves featuring a small selection of books. Located next to a brick wall with a rusted metal sign reading 151 South Willow. A smaller sign below reads Free Box."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/koto.org\/news\/free-box-gets-a-new-home\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/koto.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/koto.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Free Box Gets a New Home"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/koto.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/koto.org\/","name":"KOTO FM","description":"El sonido de Telluride desde 1975","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/koto.org\/#organization"},"alternateName":"KOTO Radio","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/koto.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"es"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/koto.org\/#organization","name":"KOTO FM","alternateName":"KOTO Radio","url":"https:\/\/koto.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"es","@id":"https:\/\/koto.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/koto.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Daily-newscast-shield.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/koto.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Daily-newscast-shield.jpg","width":452,"height":557,"caption":"KOTO FM"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/koto.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/KOTOTelluride","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/kototelluride\/"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/koto.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/214","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/koto.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/koto.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koto.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/koto.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koto.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-category?post=214"},{"taxonomy":"news-tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koto.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-tag?post=214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}