Monday, September 3, 2012

Billionaire builds Old West town, but public not invited

The eccentricities of the rich

It's the brainchild of Bill Koch -- brother of billionaires David and Charles Koch -- who will use it as a repository for his vast collection of western memorabilia.

Post writer Nancy Lofholm says the faux Old West town of about 50 buildings sits on a 420-acre meadow in the middle of Koch's 6,400-acre Bear Ranch in Gunnison County, Colo.

"It's the kind of stuff I guess you would expect a billionaire to construct. It's like something out of a Gunsmoke movie set," Ramon Reed, chairman of the Gunnison County Planning Commission, tells the Post.

But, the newspaper says, it will only be accessible to Koch, his friends -- and historians. The Post reports that Koch's project manager has told county officials that the town will never be open to the public.

Koch, who has also made a mark buying