BELLVUE, Colo. — It's not clear whether a big jump in human evolution will have its epicenter in a small town just over 70 miles outside of Denver, but whether it happens or not isn't a concern for the many spectators who've begun gathering there after a monolith popped up on a hill, seemingly without anyone noticing.
The structure is well over six-feet tall, shiny and on top of a hill in Bellvue, Colorado.
"When I first saw it, I definitely thought of '2001: A Space Odyssey,'" said Brandon Scott, who was driving out of state and decided to stop and see the monolith in-person on his way.
The monolith is similar, yet wider, to those that have popped up in other places across the country and around the world since late 2020.
Checkout a brief timeline of monoliths that have appeared across the world here or in the Infogram below.
"I was hearing that there was an alien monolith on the hill, and where did it come from? And a whole bunch of questions. And I didn't know. I had to go outside and look for myself," said Lori Graves, who owns the land the structure is on.
Who put the monolith on the hill, how did they hoist it atop the hill and why? All questions Graves is now asking herself after first being told about the structure over the weekend.
"I mean, I don't know what aliens drive these days, whether they flew it in, whether it was, I mean... we've run the gamut of it; could be some local artist. It could be a bunch of kids," Graves said. "That took some work and some planning. You don't build one of those overnight."
The monolith is bolted into a cement pad on the hill and despite it also being behind a gate, many are stopping by to take a look at the bizarre structure with unknown origins.
"We were not going to miss this one," said Jorie and Mark Kramer. "We were afraid we'd miss it, because they do take them down. So, it's good to be able to see it."
Jeremy Pounds, who lives just minutes away, told Denver7 he drove by on his way to work.
"Right now, I'm mostly curious," he said.
As for who put it there, that is the pillar of the debate.
"I don't think it's aliens. I'm definitely a skeptic," Scott said.
For Graves, the curiosity has brought amusement and even added business to her nearby café, and she's embracing it all.
"I don't plan to do anything to make it go away. I don't want to make an alien mad," she said.
