Charles Lammers isn’t exactly sure how many padlocks adorn the LOVE sculpture in front of the Loveland Visitors Center, but as the marketing manager for the city and the sculpture’s caretaker, he knows that each one tells a story. Whether artfully engraved with a name and date or hastily scratched with initials and symbols, every one represents a heartfelt moment shared in the Sweetheart City.
“Even if they look like just a standard lock, like this one with nothing much on it, it meant something to somebody,” Lammers said as he pointed out the wide variety of locks attached to the backside of the installation. “There are so many special memories that are put here.”
So many, in fact, that the grid is nearly full, as is the city’s second love lock sculpture on the south shore of Lake Loveland. To keep the popular tradition alive, the city is now considering its options for adding more capacity, while ensuring the promises already locked up tight are kept intact.
A love story
Loveland’s sculptures were inspired by the worldwide trend of couples attaching padlocks to public fixtures and then throwing away the key, symbolically securing their love for all eternity.
The ritual started gaining popularity in Europe in the 2000s, most famously at historic bridges in Paris. But it actually dates back about 90 years before that to World War I-era Serbia.
According to local legend, a young school teacher from the village of Vrnjačka Banja died of heartbreak after a betrayal by her soldier fiancé, who went off to fight in Greece and ended up marrying another woman. Hoping to avoid the school teacher’s sad fate, other young women in the village began placing padlocks near the couple’s favorite meeting spot on a bridge.
It is unclear why the symbolic act reemerged, but it has since spread around the world. However, the practice is not universally embraced. In many locations, the love locks — which in bulk can damage public structures — have been regarded as vandalism or a danger to public safety.
Built for Love
There are no such concerns with the Loveland sculptures, which were designed specifically by local artist and engineer Doug Rutledge to hold the weight.
The first was unveiled at the inaugural Sweetheart Festival in 2019 and later found a home at the Visitor Center. Painted safety red and spanning 30 feet, it features 10-foot-tall steel letters spelling the word LOVE, with metal grid affixed to the back for attaching the locks.
The second sculpture, a 12-foot-by-14-foot red steel heart, was installed on the south shore of Lake Loveland in 2020.
Couples and families can bring their own locks or purchase one from the Visitors Center. There is no fee to place a one on the sculptures, but there are a few rules.
They should be no bigger than 4-inches by 4-inches and securely attached only to the metal grid. Any locks attached to the front of the sculptures or to other locks in a “daisy chain” are removed by Lammers and stored in the Visitor Center.
“I was out here two weeks ago and cut about 115 locks off the face and off of the heart,” he said. “We do have a box with the locks that have been cut off so that people can find them if they need to.”
Locked in Loveland
From a distance, it’s impossible to appreciate the volume and variety of locks that now engulf the backside of the sculpture at the Visitor Center. Many are standard padlocks available in any hardware store, but there are also antique locks in exotic shapes, colors and sizes.
“This is my favorite lock of all,” Lammers said, pointing out an aged brass lock in the shape of a fish. “There are so many cool ones.”
Most bear engraved inscriptions listing the names of the couple — Hope and Alex, Mike and Kim, Fernando and Sugey, to name a few. Others just list initials or anniversary dates.
Over the years, Lammers said, Loveland’s sculptures have attracted visitors from near and far, with up to a quarter of them returning to find their lock years later. One lovestruck couple from Michigan even staged a wedding at the LOVE sculpture in 2021.
On the flipside, Lammers said he has also heard from couples that have split since placing their lock asking to have it removed.
“I’ve told them we’re not going there,” Lammers said with a chuckle. “But maybe it would be a fun fundraiser someday. Donate $10 to the High Plains Arts Council and we’ll go cut your lock off.”
Another type of visitor with something other than romance in mind has also been known to stop by from time to time, Lammers continued.
“Crows will come along and see something shiny and they’ll start pecking at a lock and trying to get it off,” Lammers said.
Expanding the tradition
When the love lock sculptures were first installed, no one at Visit Loveland was quite sure what to expect, city Economic Development Director Marcie Willard told the Community Marketing Commission on Wednesday. But no one expected them to be so popular they would fill up within six years.
“This is a destination product,” Willard said. “When Charles and I were at the Sweetheart Festival, we had a couple come tearing in on that cold, snowy day when we were freezing to death and they said, ‘We drove all the way from Colorado Springs to buy a lock in Loveland to lock our love over Valentine’s weekend.’ It’s absolutely iconic.”
Now the city has a decision to make about how to keep the popular love lock initiative viable in the future without removing the locks that have already been placed, Willard continued.
To thread that needle, the city is weighing a few options. In one scenario, the existing grids full of locks will be removed from the existing sculpture placed in another complementary installation designed by Rutledge and placed nearby. New grids would then be installed in the existing sculptures, with signage or a tracking system to help visitors find their previously placed locks.
“It’s one of the things we really want to be cognizant of,” Willard said. “Because we’ve told people if they buy a lock and put it here, they can expect to find it here.”
Also under consideration is a new love lock sculpture outside the Loveland Museum to help support the new branch of the visitor center opening there later this year.
“We love the idea of having the locks for sale inside, because just like at the (main) Visitor Center, they buy the lock and then they can go outside and have the ability to lock there,” Willard said.
According to Willard, this should be sufficient to keep the program going for the next five years or so. Over the longer term, Visit Loveland is also considering up to two more love lock sculptures in the city, placed strategically throughout the city to encourage “flow and movement.”
To build support for the plan, Willard and her team have consulted with Rutledge and various city departments, including Parks and Recreation, Public Works and the Visual Arts Commission, which oversees public arts installations in Loveland. So far, no strong objections have emerged.
Next steps
The potential new grids and sculptures are still in the planning stages, Willard said, but a formal proposal will be coming to the Marketing Commission next month. Still in question are the costs of fabricating and installing the steel sculptures, which will be the final factor in determining whether the project moves forward.
“The quotes will allow us to evaluate all the costs in order to make a decision that’s sustainable,” Willard said. “We know we want to continue, but this program is just one piece of our overall mission.”
If the price is right and the proposal is approved by the Commission, funding for the new sculptures will come from lodging tax revenues, which totaled $1.4 million in 2024, but comprise Visit Loveland’s entire annual budget.
Turnaround time on the new grids and a potential new sculpture at the museum would be three to four months, according to Rutledge.
In the meantime, Willard and Lammers are grateful for the chance to be stewards of the love lock program as it has become an essential part of the visitor experience in Loveland.
“They’re leaving part of their relationship or their family in Loveland,” Willard said. “It’s a way they feel connected to the community.”