The first major change that happened to Colorado Springs was driven largely by the discovery of gold. Still, the area was a “a pretty sleepy town for the first few decades,” according to Witherow. “You can see that we were a tourist community through the Alamo Hotel, the Acacia Hotel, and through other historic structures that serve tourists who arrived here either by car or by train,” explained Mayberry. “Tourism and creating the West as a part of the American icon happened here.” “We have used that to market the city from the earliest days, as a sort of original wealthy, getaway tourist resort,” said Harner. “We commodified our beautiful, natural scenic environment, our healthy, clean air, and our sunshine-filled skies.” “Tourism was our greatest industry,” said Witherow. That's just one way that we can remember the people that have been here before us.”įounded as a tourist oasis, Colorado Springs relied on attracting travelers to grow and sustain. “You can still see those cultural traditions reflected in place names,” added Mayberry, “including Cheyenne Mountain, Uintah Street, and Kiowa Street. “The Cheyenne and Arapaho were first placed on a reservation in 1861, and then later relocated to the Oklahoma Territory.” “As white settlers came on a more permanent basis, tribes were pushed out,” said Witherow. Tribes were forcibly removed during the onset of Western expansion. Culturally, historically - this is their place of being.” “And for the Ute, this is their ancestral homeland. “Human history in the Pikes Peak region goes back tens of thousands of years,” said Leah Davis Witherow, Curator of History at the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum. ![]() That recognizes the fact that people have lived in the shadow of Pikes Peak for eons, including the Kiowa, the Comanche, the Arapaho, the Cheyenne, the Apache, the Ute Mountain Ute, and the Southern Ute.” “We often think of Colorado Springs and the Pikes Peak region as a cultural crossroads. “We have to remember that there have always been people here,” said Mayberry. ![]() “Colorado Springs was founded Jon a short grass prairie, built on this idea that we were a beautiful place with great scenery, close proximity to the mountains, and a wonderful climate,” said Mayberry.īefore colonization and the presence of Western influence, upwards of 50 tribes and nations called the area home, or routinely traveled through on cultural, trade, and migratory paths. It tells us about our values.”įrom a wealthy, getaway tourist town, to a gold rush epicenter to a tuberculosis respite, to the home of five military installations - the built landscape of Colorado Springs reflects these stories, containing the history of the city’s major industries and economic drivers. “The landscape of the built environment tells a story,” he said. ![]() John Harner, Professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at UCCS, agrees. ![]() “Historic architecture is really the tangible evidence of who we are as a community.” “I love the downtown, and just walking the streets of downtown, to see the buildings that have survived,” said Matt Mayberry, Director of the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum. Over 50 structures in Colorado Springs and the surrounding area have been deemed historically and architecturally notable, and worthy of preservation. It’s part of a national program to identify and support both public and private efforts to protect America’s historic and archaeological resources. They are all structures listed on the National Register of Historic Places, authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. “Colorado Experience: Lost and Preserved in Colorado Springs” premiered on Rocky Mountain PBS February 4.
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