The Loft is a bustling daytime social hub in Manitou Springs. The cafe has earned rave reviews for both fare and ambiance.
There is now one more reason to visit The Loft – to hear unique personal stories focused on Manitou Springs. The stories are available via a payphone in a booth inside the cafe that has been repurposed to dial up stories – which is very much in line with Manitou’s famously quirky and whimsical vibe.
The phone book in this booth is a table of contents with the names of storytellers, story topics and their “phone numbers.”
Dial “3-2-0” and you can hear Justin Snyder, who co-owns The Loft with his wife Katie Snyder, tell the story of how the Story Booth came to be.
“Back when I was growing up on a farm in Ohio, I used to call into the local library once a week, every Sunday,” Snyder says on the recording. “When I would call in there, they would have children’s stories queued up and they would refresh them every Sunday … when I saw the phone booth, I thought of sitting there and listening to a story. And that’s … what we want to do with this phone booth. We wanted to make it a booth of stories about Manitou.”
Snyder’s concept for the phone booth caught the attention of another local, Audrey Gray, the executive director of Creative Alliance Manitou Springs (CRANE). CRANE helped secure grant funding through Colorado Creative Industries help with the cost; Gray said it took about $8,500 to re-engineer the phone and pay a sound engineer to record and edit the stories.
“I feel like we’re living in a time where people don’t have enough connection and are craving that,” Gray said. “And by telling our stories of why we’re here, why we love this community, we’re helping create that connection in the community and helping people feel more grounded.”
Gray said her favorite stories are the ones that speak to a storyteller’s personal connection to Manitou Springs.
“The stories that I feel are most touching, they’re love stories to Manitou,” Gray said. “Why did I decide to move here? Why, when I passed through, did I decide to stay here? What about it is important; what about it is individual and meaningful?”
Booth recordings include Manitou city council member, Manitou Art Center director, and unopposed mayoral candidate Natalie Johnson’s “Pink Bike Story” of how her love for Manitou Springs grew when her signature pink bike was stolen and community members rallied to help her get it back; Robin Intemann on the origin of the Intemann Trail; Doug Edmondson on the Mineral Springs Foundation, of which he is president; plus a handful of ghosty tales, and more – a variety of voices and perspectives that share the Manitou connection.
Sarah Riggs and Haley Howard are friends who visited the Story Booth together. Howard lives in the area; Riggs was visiting.
“I think it’s really empowering to see how the community is coming together,” Howard said of the Story Booth, adding that she and Riggs, who are in their twenties, had a recent conversation about how their generation lacks community and there aren’t many shared gathering spaces anymore – and that social media is a big driving force.
The Loft has long had a sign on the wall stating it does not have public wi-fi, encouraging patrons to talk with one another. With the Story Booth, The Loft encourages patrons to listen, too.
Gray said there are hopes to expand the Story Booth project, but no definitive plans as of yet.
