We Are Tri-Lakes: The Palmer Lake Star continues to shine eight decades later

(PALMER LAKE, Colo.) — On Wednesday, March 22, 2023, the Palmer Lake Star at 500 Highland Road, will be lit for the FOX21 News Special: We Are Tri-Lakes. FOX21 Reporter and Weekend Morning Anchor, Austin Sack, will be live from the Star on Wednesday evening at 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. on FOX21 News.


>>We Are Tri-Lakes: March 20-March 24, 2023

The 457-foot-wide star was built in 1935 to spur civic pride during the Great Depression and represents the Star of Bethlehem. It is lit throughout each December.

Photo is from the Great Depression (1930s), Courtesy of Jim Sawatzki, Star on Sundance.Photo is of Bert Sloan’s Cafe (1935), Courtesy of Jim Sawatzki, Star on Sundance.

Mountain Utilities, the Palmer Lake Volunteer Fire Department, the Palmer Lake Historical Society, and countless local volunteers have been responsible for the construction and maintenance of the star for more than 80 years.

The Star was completed in 1935 in a matter of three months.

Local volunteers including; Gilbert Wolf, Floyd Bellinger, George Sill, Jess Krueger, B.E. Jack, Bert Sloan, and even Sloan’s German Shepherd named Dizzy, hauled supplies up the side of Sundance Mountain to complete the job.

When lit, the Palmer Lake Star is visible from I-25 and Colorado Highway 105. The star can even be seen by aircraft.

View from afar of the Palmer Lake Star, Courtesy of Jim Sawatzki, Star on Sundance.Photo is of Palmer Lake Star illuminated at night, Courtesy of Jim Sawatzki, Star on Sundance.

Jim Sawatzki, a local film producer and director from Palmer Lake, completed a documentary, Star on Sundance, which describes the history of the star and the people who live beneath it.

Sawatzki and several other Palmer Lake community members will be featured during the We are Tri-Lakes special, which continues through Friday, March 24.

The Palmer Lake Star, Courtesy of Jim Sawatzki, Star on Sundance.View from afar of the Palmer Lake Star, Courtesy of Jim Sawatzki, Star on Sundance.

FOX21 News will update this article with more information as the story develops, along with video of the star illuminated once available.

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