The People’s Castle: Bishop Revisited

By On July 12, 2011 · 5 Comments · In A Big Something, Adventures, Architecture, Awesome, Colorado, Local Genius!, Tourism

Like any great work of art or architecture, Bishop Castle is a pleasure to visit on many (any) levels. Jim Bishop, its architect and namesake, and his caricaturistic anti-heroism has enough negative capability for all the Romantics put together, and his screeds are usually part of the sauce. But on a recent visit, absent Bishop himself, I found myself taken with the lovely and hilarious contradictions that Bishop and his castle embody, namely: Bishop’s Constitutional fanaticism and all-American rugged individualism combined with what is probably the most potent symbol of monarchical/dictatorial power known to humanity: the castle. And yet, by way of his total openness to the public, Bishop somehow manages to make his castle a beacon of messy, precarious, and thrilling democratic freedoms. With all its porta-potties, graffiti, ad hoc fixes, globs of chewing gum, rotten apple cores, vertiginous stair-cases, and its total at-your-own-risk attitude, Bishop Castle truly belongs to its visitors in a way that it only could in America.

Here’s to Jim Bishop and his freedom!

 
Reddit Facebook Twitter Delicious Mixx StumbleUpon Digg

5 Responses to The People’s Castle: Bishop Revisited

  1. Mary H says:
    July 12, 2011 at 9:38 am

    Never ceases to amaze me. So much work. So much creativity.

  2. Sarah says:
    July 12, 2011 at 10:43 am

    I didn’t think that structure seemed entirely sound.

  3. Mike M says:
    July 12, 2011 at 2:04 pm

    Great treatment. Reveals Bishop Castle to be more than a castle – but also a cathedral and art gallery . . . perhaps even a shrine to art and humanity.

  4. Dianne says:
    July 13, 2011 at 9:20 am

    Nifty pix. Thanks for these perspectives, especially from heights I never plan to ascend. What was the music? Lovely.

  5. Nico says:
    July 13, 2011 at 2:18 pm

    Jim Bishop is a crank and a nut and a treasure. Thanks to Noel Black for reminding us that J.B.’s still out there, doing his kooky thing, and thanks too for going, as Dianne says, to heights I plan never to ascend.

News

Senate Fails In Bid To Override Obama’s Veto On Keystone XL Pipeline
March 4, 2015 | NPR · The final vote was 62-37 – short of the two-thirds needed to override the presidential veto.
 

iStockphoto
Programs Help Students Cut Back On Booze, But Not For Long
March 4, 2015 | NPR · Most colleges have some sort of alcohol education program. One-time interventions do cut drinking, but only short term. They tend to work better for women, with with no benefit for men in frats.
 

EPA/Landov
Few Clues On Health Law’s Future Emerge In Supreme Court Arguments
March 4, 2015 | KHN · Will the Supreme Court strike down tax credits that help moderate-income Americans afford coverage in the three dozen states where the marketplace is being run by the federal government?
 

Arts & Life

‘American Crime’ And ‘The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’ Highlight The TV Revolution
March 4, 2015 | NPR · Tina Fey co-created the quirky comedy The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt for Netflix; John Ridley made the emotionally raw drama American Crime for ABC. TV critic David Bianculli says they’re both good.
Windows Media | MP3 | NPR Player | Add to NPR Player
 

Matt Doyle
Friends And Favors: ‘High Maintenance’ Creators Share Their Secret To Success
March 4, 2015 | NPR · The web series centers on a pot dealer who bikes around Brooklyn delivering to clients. Katja Blichfeld and Ben Sinclair say they drew on their experiences and friends’ generosity to make the show.
Windows Media | MP3 | NPR Player | Add to NPR Player
 

Fox
‘Mindy’ And The Little Story That Just Might Work
March 4, 2015 | NPR · There are certain stories that very few shows can tell without falling on their faces. The Mindy Project may be able to beat those lousy odds.
 

Music

Nora Jane Struthers Is Wide Awake On New Album
March 4, 2015 | NPR · Given the content of the songs, the title Wake seems, in part, to refer to an awakening Struthers has had about who she is, what she wants to do, and how she wants to sound.
Windows Media | MP3 | NPR Player | Add to NPR Player
 

Via Twitter
Bon Bon Jovi, Piggy Izalea, Pork Floyd: Fun With Foodie Band Names
March 4, 2015 | NPR · Zagat asked people to tweet their best foodie band names, and the Internet let the puns fly.
 

Courtesy of the artist
The Thistle & Shamrock: Welsh Roots
March 4, 2015 | NPR · Discover a world of Welsh contemporary folk and new roots sounds in the land of St. David.
Windows Media
 

Get the KRCC iPhone App

The Writer's Almanac

Radiolab