The El Colorado Lodge was a benchmark in motor-travel camps of the West. The El Colorado Tourist Camp, built in 1926, originally included 24 cabins and the main lodge. The camp typifies early lodging facilities catering to the auto-tourist. The El Colorado Lodge Subdistrict is located on Manitou Avenue at the easternmost City limits and is comprised of the El Colorado Lodge motel property and the City’s Eastern Gateway Arch over Manitou Avenue. A Historic Survey and Inventory of this area was completed in 1991 and contains more detailed and specific information regarding the history and features of this subdistrict.
The Garden of the Gods trading post was built as an example of southwestern culture for those visiting the park. It is the oldest and largest gift shop in Colorado—and the local’s hidden entrance into the world-famous Garden of the Gods.
Manitou Springs founder Dr. William Bell ran Red Crags as a tuberculosis hospital. The Red Crags parcel is listed on the Manitou abstract as early as March 15, 1870. Built by Dr. William Bell, the Red Crags was first purchased by Countess De Noailles, who was from a prominent French family.
Rockledge Manor was the home of farm journal publisher Edward Harrison Heath in 1912. Rockledge Manor is situated above El Paso Boulevard beyond a magnificent set of gates. It later sold to M.F. Yount, an oil multimillionaire from Texas, who used the 15 acre estate as a summer home.
The Craftwood Inn served as a coppersmith's workshop and then a restaurant, attracting many dignitaries and celebrities. The Craftwood was build for Boutwell, a copper craftsman, for his coppersmithing shop. He called it the "craft shop" and the initials C.S. were hammered into the copper fireplace on the main floor.
On-a-Ledge was the original Craftwood Association residence. Built in 1912, On-a-Ledge is a wonderful example of Tudor architecture in Manitou Springs. Y.M. Yount, owner of Rockledge, built this house, adding an incredible series of eight foot high wall ledges in the back of the house property eight years later.
The Briarhurst Manor was the estate of Dr. William Bell's family. It now operates as a restaurant, wedding venue, and culinary school. The Briarhurst Manor is located just opposite the Chamber of Commerce. This beautiful castle was actually rebuilt in 1888. Dr. William Bell originally had constructed a splendid Tudor frame house here calling him back to his English heritage.
Original location of Dr. William Bell designed Railway Station considered the most beautiful in the west. Now the site of the Villa Motel, the station was demolished in 1946. The Denver and Rio Grande Railway station was built on this site in 1880-81, using plans provided by Englishman Dr. William Bell.
Originally built as a horse livery in 1892 by Wallace Gould. In 1907, William Bowman Kirby purchased and converted it into the Pikes Peak Auto Garage, providing monthly parking, mechanical repair, and cleaning. Kirby later leased the building to the Pikes Peak Automobile Company (PPAC) and became general manager. The PPAC provided early auto tours, launching countless journeys up Pikes Peak from here. The building now operates as part of Manitou Art Center (MAC).
The site of Mansions Hotel was built by Dr. William Bell and General Palmer where the fire department now stands. The Mansions Spring Pavilion/Lorraine Gardens area is now Manitou's City Hall. This was a spring pavilion for General Palmer's The Mansions hotel built in 1875. The hotel was located to the west, taking up the entire block from where Manitou's volunteer fire department is today, all the way to this side of the Stagecoach Inn.
The oldest Congregational Church in Colorado with continuous use. In 1877, the minister of the First Congregational Church in Colorado Springs came to Manitou for local services. Just three years later in 1880, services began in this church, making it the first church in Manitou Springs. The dedication didn't happen until 1882, and the interior was not completely finished until 1886.
Manitou Springs' first literary collection was a lending library started by Rev. Benjamin Walter Bonell, rector of St. Andrew's. He recruited twelve ladies, several from each church in Manitou Springs to volunteer as librarians. The library was furnished through donations of books or money and a nucleus of 400 volumes was housed in St. Andrew's Parish house on Canon. Manitou was soon designated as a site for a Carnegie Library building grant. Picking the corner of Manitou and Pawnee Avenues for the site, the town board leveled the frame buildings, including Davis' original drugstore building and the Yee Ching Laundry.
Jerome B. Wheeler donated this clock in 1889 for the opening of the Manitou Water Bottling Company. The clock was cast by the J. L. Mott Iron Works of Trenton, New Jersey and originally functioned as a fountain. Water flowed from stylized dolphin heads into bowls; the lower bowls allowed "man's best friend" a drink. The clock features a statue of Hygeia, the daughter of the Greek god of health and medicine, Aesclepius.
The Smith (102 Canon Avenue) and Davis Blocks (10 Canon Avenue) are across the street from each other, with the Smith Block housing the Commonwheel Artists Co-Op gallery and the Davis Block housing the Rockey Art Museum. The Davis Block was Charles Rockey's residence and studio for many years. The Davis Block can be seen in the image of the Jerome Wheeler Town Clock.
The Episcopal community has played an important role in the development of Manitou Springs since 1874, with the first church members holding meetings in a tent with sermons given by Reverend J.F. Walker of Grace Episcopal Church in neighboring Colorado Springs. Early Manitou Springs Episcopalians garnered the support of prestigious community members such and the Bell and Nichols families. Some of the initial Episcopalian worship services were held in the Bell’s personal residence, Briarhurst, when weather prohibited tent meetings.
.jpg){kind=avatar}
The ca. 1899 Creighton House is build in a classic East Coast Resort style which suits its original function as a summer home. Two popular architectural movements merge in this cedar shingled house. The Arts and Crafts influence can be seen in simplified framing details, shingled column bases, and a rustic stone foundation, while the cross-gambrel roof, double front porch with Chinese Chippendale inserts, and Palladian windows are classic Colonial Revival style.
This original one-story building was built and occupied by Dr. O.H. Ogilbee as his home. The fact alone supported his belief of the healthful properties of Manitou Springs. Ogilbee's office was at the Bath House. The doctor eventually moved to 202 Canon Avenue, moving his office to 108 on the first floor.
Next to the parking lot on the left is what was originally Pike Street. Originally, this area was a park. Then in the 1920s, the street was cut here with diagonal parking for the Spa building. But in 1930, M.F. Yount converted the street into this arcade, built in the arts and crafts style.
The Cliff House gained prestige as the finest hotel in Manitou Springs and has had numerous famous guests. A pioneer named Keener built the original Cliff House in 1873 as an inn for summer visitors traveling on the stages of the Leadville Stage Company. Edward E. Nichols, Sr. a founding father of Manitou leased the inn from Keener in 1876 and named it Cliff House simply because it was near a cliff.
This is one of the most unique looking buildings in Manitou Springs. It was built in 1890 by J.E. Newton, owner of the Newton Lumber Company. He called it the "New Carlon." In 1900, a man named John Nolan bought the house and expanded it to its present size. Nolan was a gambling and saloon hall owner who made his money in Cripple Creek. When he came to Manitou, he bought two saloons.
Location of the Jerome Wheeler Estate now home to the Post Office, Wheeler Spring, and a city park. In 1940, this exquisite Post Office building was dedicated as the permanent home for a traveling Manitou Post Office. The first half dozen postmasters shifted the office from one building to another, depending on where their personal business was located.
The Park Avenue Bridge was built in 1907 and is made of Manitou greenstone. This bridge as well as the almost identical Canon Avenue Bridge (1906) were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. The Park Avenue Bridge is located over Fountain Creek near Soda Springs Park. Manitou Springs still has most of its greenstone bridges which replaced rustic wooden bridges.
This notable building houses the city's namesake--the Manitou Soda Spring. The Manitou Spa Building is a large Mission on Revival style stucco building that was the last attempt in Manitou to sell mineral baths as a medicinal commercial venture. Originally, this was the site of the Soda Springs pavilion built in 1883. The pavilion was enclosed in 1903 for mineral water bathing, when the practice was at its height. After being threatened with demolition in 2000, the Spa Building was rehabilitated to house shops, restaurants, and condominiums.
Built in the 1870s, the Barker House incorporates features found in resort hotels of the late 19th century. The wood frame building rests on a stone foundation. The property is associated with Charles W. Barker, an important Manitou politician who purchased the building in 1880 and built it into a large resort hotel. Today, this 1872 National Landmark offers affordable studios and 1-bedroom apartments.
This fitted-to-lot building was not the first bank in the city, though its roots go back to the original money that banked here in town. The Jerome B. Wheeler Bank Building was the first bank. It served folks in the Wheeler Building at 717-719 Manitou Avenue for only a few years before succumbing to a silver depression in 1893.
One of the oldest buildings in downtown, the James House is notable for it being the residence of one of the first Manitou births. Arthur Manitou James was born March 9, 1878 to James and Catherine (Wood) James who were residents of Manitou since 1871. Among Arthur Manitou James' commitments to the community were serving as Town Marshall and on the Volunteer Fire Department.
The Episcopal community of St. Andrew is the oldest church community in continuous operation in the Manitou Springs area, and one of the oldest Episcopal churches in the state. The church began services in 1874 in a tent. In 1877, Dr. William Bell donated this lot. Originally, Soda Springs Park extended the entire length of Manitou Avenue, and Dr. Bell's donation of this property cut the park short and allowed for commercial development on Canon Avenue.
.jpg){kind=avatar}
Beginning in 1891, the Bottling Plant took water from the Ute Chief Gusher, south of the existing bottling plant across the street. Destroyed by fire, the current site houses the rebuilt bottling plant no longer in operation. The spring's font still stands. However, it is closed off to the public and no longer running. It was famous back in the day and was one of the sources for the “Ute Chief Mineral Water” and Manitou Springs bottling company.
Miramont Castle was built in a variety of styles by Jean Baptiste Francolon, who was a parish priest of Manitou Springs. Father Francolon also lived there and came to Manitou Springs to be near the curing mineral waters because of abdominal problems. This magnificent castle now houses the Manitou Springs Historical Society.
The historic chapel on Ruxton Avenue in Manitou Springs and a mission church of Sacred Heart Parish, is the oldest Roman Catholic church in the Diocese of Colorado Springs. It is Manitou Springs' first Catholic Parish, standing rebuilt and restored after fire and age. Manitou Springs community members recall memories centered at this pretty little chapel: weddings, baptisms, children dressed in their finest to receive their First Holy Communion.
Built in 1893, this engine is the second on the world famous Pikes Peak Cog Railway. It was named the "Major Hulbert." The railway is one of the most industrious undertakings in the railroad world, climbing over 8,000 feet in eight and three quarters miles. David Moffat, Major John Hulbert, Jerome B. Wheeler, R.R. Cable (President of Rock Island) and Z.G. Simmons (the mattress king) organized the railroad in 1888.
This Tour is a Walking Tour.
Get a QR Code for this tour
This tour offers thirty-one historical points of interest in Manitou Springs, CO. The Downtown portion of the tour (8-26) covers approximately 1.25 miles. The entire tour spans approximately 5.5 miles.
