Colorado Springs, Colorado

City view c1900

Main Street c1900
view to Antlers hotel

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Colorado Springs, CO
Elevation 5989 feet.
Population 30,105 (c1920).
Denver 75 miles.

There is much to do in Colorado Springs, which makes it one of the most popular tourist destinations in the state of Colorado. Aside from the fact that it is only a few miles from Pikes Peak, there are many breathtaking geological formations to appreciate and explore, such as the Garden of the Gods, which is a favorite for advanced rock climbers and photographers alike. The city is located close to many fabulous recreational areas. Hiking, cycling, skiing, or golfing, when it comes to playing outside, Colorado Springs has it all and then some.

Colorado Springs is also a great place to visit if you are a history buff. The city buildings and residential areas are still much like they were 100 years ago, and the museums are plentiful and diverse. A tourist can spend weeks in Colorado Springs and still not experience everything it has to offer.

In 1858, a group of miners from Kansas founded El Paso, Colorado, which one-year later changed its name to El Dorado City. A large community was constructed and by the end of the decade, several hundred homes had been built and El Dorado City became Colorado City.

William J. Palmer, a Denver and Rio Grande Railroad tycoon, wanted to build a community that was modern and civilized. In 1871, he acquired 10,000 acres of land east of Colorado City. He called his new community Colorado Springs, originally known for a short time as Fountain Colony. Saloons and gambling houses were not welcome in Colorado Springs, and if one wanted alcohol, they had to travel to the more unruly Colorado City, or nearby Manitou Springs, to get it. In fact, the production and/or sale of alcohol was illegal in Colorado Springs until 1933, when prohibition was lifted.

Palmer’s original plan was to keep upscale Colorado Springs separate from Manitou Springs, but a road was built between the cities about one year after Colorado Springs’ first buildings were put up. The railroad companies molded the town into a vacation area, by advertising and promoting the healing mineral waters and milder climate of Colorado Springs, and the tourists came. The road between Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs made it easy for them to visit both places.

Colorado Springs quickly grew into a high-class resort community complete with golf courses and polo fields. “Little London”, as Colorado Springs was soon nicknamed, attracted Europeans and easterners by the droves. Mansions lined the wide streets and towering trees were planted all through the city. Many sanatoriums, complete with giant porches, were built into the hillsides for tuberculosis patients, who moved into the area to take advantage of the climate and air quality.

Nikola Tesla lived and worked in the Colorado Springs area at the turn of the century. He did experiments with electricity and at times pulled so much current from the local power grid that he blacked out the entire city and the residents would thought war had begun from the loud rumbling noises.

Colorado Springs continued to grow as a resort town, but by the 1940’s Fort Carson and Peterson Air Force Base were built, and the military moved in. In 1954 the United States Air Force Academy was constructed.

Colorado Springs has continued to grow as a tourist town. Much of the architectural design in the downtown area remains as it originally was, and most of the buildings that have been remodeled have been done so as to keep the ambiance of early Colorado Springs alive.

As with a lot of desirable cities, urban sprawl has invaded Colorado Springs, with many miles of carbon copy housing developments spreading to the east and south, as far as the eye can see. Even so, the many recreational and historical activities one can partake in, make Colorado Springs a number one tourist destination