Interesting Facts About Colorado Springs (Denver, Fountain: apartments, houses, construction)

[WildSkyYonder]

Prospect Lake
General Palmer originally deeded this land to the city of Colorado Springs in 1890. He designated that this man made lake be used to store water for the local Evergreen Cemetery, a practice that stopped in 1950 because it was no longer needed. The waters that fill the Lake are pumped in from Fountain Creek.

In the late forties and early fifties, Prospect Lake was one of the few pools that allowed blacks the right to swim in their waters. However, blacks were only allowed to swim on the east side of the lake where there were no lifeguards, bathrooms or bath houses. The west side of the lake, which had a lifeguard and full facilities, was reserved for white use. The Monument Park pool finally opened to blacks in the 1950s, but would only allow them to swim on Wednesday afternoons, and then the pool was drained and cleaned every Wednesday night so that whites wouldn't have to be in water blacks had been in.

It might sound strange, but the Naval Reserve training center was indeed once located on the southwest side of the park, it was one of 44 built in 16 states in the late 1940’s. In 1950 a Naval advisory board announced plans to extend the armory and to take over the entire lake for training purposes. Thankfully, neighbors wouldn’t hear of it and plans were brought to a halt.

[phetaroi]

Originally Posted by Mike from back east

Good piece on town founder William Jackson Palmer in today's Gazette.

Too many tidbits about him and the town to put here.

Mike, I know this was quite a while ago, but I just ran across it from the resurrected thread.

Thanks for posting it. I had searched for more info on Palmer, and this is about the best article I have found.

[smdensbcs]

By the turn of the (20th) century Colorado Springs was the wealthiest city per capita in the United States. At this time it earned the nickname Little London, reflecting the number of Tudor-style houses constructed in the area. During this age of the elegant hotel, the rich and the titled were drawn to the Rocky Mountains—especially Colorado Springs—to play polo and hunt foxes.

Historical Information: Colorado College, Charles Leaming Tutt Library, 1021 North Cascade Avenue, Colorado Springs, CO 80903

[WildSkyYonder]

It was also referred to as Newport in the Rockies, which is a new one on me..

[Todd TCE]

Tidbit of info:

16 East Bijou St.

Long time funeral parlor. Way back in the back corner you'll find a wooden floor covering that exposes the sub terrain 'storage' area. Know it well, spend many a day down there. Rebuilding my first VW motor!

Later was run as a Radiator repair shop up to about 1975ish. Have one of the originals signs; "Honeys Radiator". Late 70s was the last location of my fathers business; The Fireplace Shoppe circa 1982ish. Having actually occupied 12, 14 and finally 16 over the years as Has-Ton Products- it's former name.

Not as cool as the 'cold storage' however...

[TCHP]

Colorado Springs proper did not grow at a very fast clip for its first 70 years. It never exceeded the core of what most call the downtown are in that time. It was founded on the eastern edges of Monument creek to create a physical border with the earlier established Colorado City, which was know for it rowdy and bawdy existence. Colorado Springs prided itself on being a refined domicile for those seeking to avoid the rough and tumble aspects of the frontier mining towns prevalent in the era, but much has been written about that. Marshal Sprague's book "Newport in the Rockies" is a good reference for that.

What many don't know is there were several independent towns surrounding Cos that provided the living areas for many of the merchants, shops, farmers, and laborers required to supply the Victorian and Edwardian lifestyles of Cos' more affluent society.

Ivywild to the south was built around a local dairy farm and soon boasted its own school and zoo. Cos philanthropist Windfield Stratton built trolley lines to the area and paid for some extensive park lands in the area before it was annexed into Cos. There are still many original structures in the area from this era. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivywild,_Colorado

To the north west of Cos was Roswell, built along what is now I-25, north of Colo City and adjoining Monument Creek. Roswell was the home of a number of central and eastern immigrants as well as lower income eastern transplants. The town had its own school, church, and hotel. Due to the low income nature of the people living there, much if its original buildings were destroyed when the interstate went through. There are still some that remain just west of Cascade Ave, but most of the area was rebuild in the 1950s with what could be called post war crackerboxes. Rosewell also supported a couple of horsetracks where Cos residents could wager on the ponies. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roswell,_Colorado

Further north of Roswell was Pikeview. Pikeview consisted of primarily Greek immigrants and was a mining town and supported many of the mines dug into what is now the Rockrimmon area as well as the huge quarries on the side of the mountains west of Cos. Pikeview had its own school, post office and railroad spur as well as being a supply station for water and electricity to Cos when the demand required it.Much like Roswell, the Interstate destroyed nearly all vestiges of Pikeview. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pikeview,_Colorado

Along what is now Fillmore was the town of Papeton. Papeton was the more formal incorporated town in the Austin Bluffs area which also included Curtis. These two towns were primarily Italian immigrants who worked the mines nearby. Curtis was the more rowdy, bachelor populated, factory town while Papeton had many farms and many more families. Papeton also had some fledgling aircraft industry going on immediately after WW2 which supported the nearby Aircraft Mech Inc and an airfield before being annexed into Cos. Curtis was briefly resurrected as a work camp during the depression under some of FDRs recovery plans. The Ruth Etting home, now the Omelette Parlor, was one of the larger homes in the area. Its story can be found on their menus. Close by, the Cappadona Funeral home was another prominent farm in the area before its lands were subdivided and the house turned into the Three Thieves restaraunt and ultimately the funeral home. North of Fillmore on 2nd and 3rd streets, some of the original houses can still be found, but the low income nature of the town meant most dwellings were shoddy and demolished over time. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papeton,_Colorado

While never separate towns, also worth mentioning are the North and Middle Shook's Run and Hillside areas. They were across the tracks of the Atchison,Topeka, and Santa Fe railroad in the heart of Colorado Springs. These were populated by the lower income eastern transplants and western Europeans, so they tended to be slightly more costly, substantial, albeit it small, homes compared to the above areas. They ran from around the Platte Ave area down to around Costilla. The Hillside area would have been some of the most desirable real estate in Cos if the affluent class hadn't preferred large, flat lots for croquet games as the hill provides great views of the mountains. This area did decline some over time and has been making a painfully slow recovery to the south and has bounced back nicely in the middle Shooks Run area. Many of the original houses still stand. The southern Shooks run area, Lowell, and south down town were also similar in scope at the turn of the last century, but their closeness to several railroad junctions and heavy industry meant they rapidly eroded over time and become the closest things to projects or slums that Cos ever had. Many of the 3 room tenament housing projects that boomed here from the 1950-70s were torn down in the 80s and the Lowell and So Do areas are actually experiencing a very rapid revitalization.

[otowi]

If you want to read about really early Colorado Springs and not just about its founder, then I highly recommend getting a copy of Irving Howbert's Memories of a Lifetime in the Pikes Peak Region. Howbert Elementary is named after him. You will read about his family coming here in a stagecoach migration, about the deaths of residents by Natives as commemorated in Boulder Crescent Park, about the Sand Creek Massacre from a participant's perspective (you can bet he didn't see it that way) - and much more. Very interesting.

[Christina S]

@otowi

The book looks intersting and Amazon has it.

[beezle1]

Originally Posted by otowi

If you want to read about really early Colorado Springs and not just about its founder, then I highly recommend getting a copy of Irving Howbert's Memories of a Lifetime in the Pikes Peak Region. Howbert Elementary is named after him. You will read about his family coming here in a stagecoach migration, about the deaths of residents by Natives as commemorated in Boulder Crescent Park, about the Sand Creek Massacre from a participant's perspective (you can bet he didn't see it that way) - and much more. Very interesting.

The library has it. I just reserved a copy. Thanks!

[Kar54]

Colorado Springs is one of the few cities that has no official demonym. Some ideas have been floated over the years:

"Springers"
"Pikes Peakers"
"Springsians"

Looks like we're stuck with "resident of Colorado Springs".