History

In 1957 Big Tops was introduced into the Denver metro area as a convenience store/auto mart. They were among the first convenience stores in the nation. John Roscoe, president and founder, hired William Sayer from the Denver architecture firm of Kellogg & Sayre to design the building’s circus-tent appearance. Big Tops uniqueness allowed engineers to use 3 inch thick concrete over much larger roof expands for the high-end hyperbolic paraboloid design. The 60-feet in diameter plan radiated from the center out. The auto mart was a success and by 1967, there were a total of 15 locations. There were plans to build 100 stores in the Denver area by 1970. However, by the early 1970s, Big Top sold off the buildings to other convenience store and the chains fail to prosper. Still some of the buildings were able to survive and today, five of the seven surviving buildings have been repurposed into small neighborhood business such as hair dresser, electronic dealer and florist.