Old Town Churn Ice Cream

Fort Collins, Colorado, United States

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Listed, not yet checked · Oct 2026

This Big Thing is recorded as still being here.

The Old Town Churn is a 26-foot-tall ice cream churn housing a Little Man Ice Cream shop at The Exchange on North College Avenue in Old Town Fort Collins. It opened on 27 October 2018, and in April 2026 Retro 102.5, citing 9News, reported that it would be renamed Little Man Ice Cream Fort Collins from May 2026.

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Old Town Churn Ice Cream

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Site-level location · 40.5878° N, 105.0781° W

FIELD GUIDE

The story

Denver's Little Man Ice Cream is known for a shop built as a giant milk can, so a churn-shaped sibling in Fort Collins has a ready-made story. The Old Town Churn was built in The Exchange, a courtyard on North College Avenue in Old Town, and opened on 27 October 2018.

According to Denver7, the shop was housed in a 26-foot-tall ice cream churn accented with a 2,000-pound hand crank. The Rocky Mountain Collegian reported that at the opening the crank was still missing. The Collegian also describes the Denver original as a 28-foot-tall milk can.

The design followed a rejection. Founder Paul Tamburello told the Collegian that an earlier Fort Collins proposal for another can-style Little Man was turned down and that the city did not want another Little Man. A developer involved in The Exchange described turning a parking lot into a plaza meant as a gathering place. The company then chose a churn to represent the agricultural background of Fort Collins, and Tamburello said they would never again copy the can: each new community would get a design built around its own roots.

The menu leaned local, with three Fort Collins-inspired flavours created for the opening, including a brie-and-pancetta ice cream named for The Exchange.

In April 2026 Retro 102.5 reported that, according to 9News, the shop would be renamed Little Man Ice Cream Fort Collins from May 2026, as part of brand consistency across Little Man locations that would keep unique roadside-attraction designs.

Check the shop's current name and opening times before visiting.

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WHAT TO EXPECT

A Little Man ice cream shop built as a churn-shaped building in The Exchange courtyard. Denver7 in 2018 listed shakes, malts, sundaes and ice cream sandwiches; check current hours and menu with the shop before visiting.

ACCESS

The Exchange courtyard on North College Avenue, Old Town Fort Collins. The building was reported in 2018 as an ice cream shop with a service window; confirm the shop's current name and opening times before visiting.

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1.5 km away

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