However in 1886, it was destroyed by fire. Not being one to succumb, Bell replaced the Tudor with this majestic stone structure with separate servants' entrance and quarters. His estate encompassed 20 acres along the creek. The estate included an orchard, stables, coach house, greenhouse, tennis court and luxurious gardens. Included in the architecture are a Gothic porch, a conservatory, a majestic stone cloister, fancy-cut verge boards and terra-cotta chimney pots. Dr. Bell was a close associate of General William Palmer, and they were both the principle planners in the development of Manitou Springs as a fine resort and retreat. They envisioned large homes and beautiful hotels, many which did get built. They wanted it to be a spa equal to those of the east. The Bell family kept the castle until 1922. It was sold to Chef Sigi Krauss who operated it as a dining establishment.

Website

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.

Briarhurst Manor 1873

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.

The Pueblo Revival cabins and main lodge building are the prevalent structures in this area, giving it its distinct identity. The defining characteristics of this area are: • Single story cabins and the two-story main lodge building. • Stucco with peeled log vigas, exclusively • Flat roofs • Siting and landscaping which blends with the setting • Dominant Greenstone retaining wall along the Manitou Avenue frontage.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. A 1929 article in American City magazine spoke of the El Colorado as an example of the new beautiful and comfortable motor-travel camps that were beginning “to replace the unsightly and unsanitary camps which dotted cities of the West.” El Colorado “was the pattern for others which are now to be found in San Antonio, Galveston, El Paso, Albuquerque, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City and Denver.” In 1952 and 1954 four cabins, the swimming pool, patio and barbeque were added.The street layout and siting relationships also contribute to the character of the El Colorado property. Native vegetation, including yucca, scrub oak, and cedar, were originally the typical plant materials. These have given way to areas of grass and large, pine trees. The El Colorado is the primary resource within this subdistrict, and important to the context of the Historic District and history of the City overall. The Historic Gateway Arch is one of two arches located over Manitou Avenue adjacent to Manitou Springs’ boundaries at either end of the City. The eastern archway has been in this location since approximately 1915 and was relocated from closer to Downtown (where it advertised the Cave of the Winds). The archway itself is over 100 years old and is constructed of steel, with open fretwork and exposed rivets that are both structural and decorative. Manitou Springs’ may be one of only two locations in the State with existing, historic arches over public streets. Definitive research is not complete, however efforts have been made to locate other, similar structures. Golden, CO, has the only other historic archway of which we are aware; Manitou Springs’ arches pre-date Golden’s. Both the Eastern Gateway Arch, and the Western Gateway Arch located in the West Manitou Subdistrict are unique and rare structures. The Archway and National Register-eligible El Colorado Lodge are located in close proximity and the association of these two landmarks is important to the interpretation of this part of Manitou Avenue. The Arch, together with the El Colorado Lodge, exemplifies the advent of Auto Tourism - a nationwide shift in tourism that began as private vehicles became more available. Auto Tourism has had an important, historic role particularly in this area of Manitou Springs since cars started replacing trains and trolleys after the turn of the 20th century.

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.

El Colorado Lodge 1926

<h3>1917: The man behind it all</h3>Charles E. Strausenback was a born entrepreneur. At the age of 10, Charles spent his summers selling paintings and figures that he carved from gypsum to visitors in the Garden of the Gods. Always enamored with Garden of the Gods, Charles even worked one summer at Balanced Rock—taking photographs of tourists. He opened his first store in 1917 and it took off running.<h3>1929: A dream realized</h3>In 1929, construction of The Trading Post was completed. Charles and his wife, Esther, spent $10,000 on the new store, resembling a true adobe with cupolas—traditional hollow frames that protrude up from the roof. At that time, Charles was already a well-established entrepreneur in the Garden of the Gods area. The Trading Post opened for business on June 9, 1929—realizing Charles Strausenback’s dream of a quarter of a century.<h3>1967: The end of an era</h3>Strausenback passed away in October of 1967 from an unexpected stroke, near his home in Lupton, Colorado. His widow, Esther, continued to run the Trading Post until 1979 when T.A.T. Enterprises acquired the business. Since then, the store has drastically expanded.<h3>1979: Years of expansion</h3>The store expansion, from 2,000 square feet to an impressive 25,000 square feet, now houses a general store, restaurant, art gallery, gold panning and arcade games—all while honoring the original building and its nearly century of history.

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.

Garden of the Gods Trading Post 1924

The street on the east boundary carried Countess De Noaillesher's name until the land around it was subdivided. Dr. Bell bought the property back August 11, 1880. It is believed the building was built five years later, four years before a permit to lay water lines was obtained in 1889. Dr. Bell in association with Dr. Donaldson intended to use the building as a hospital, according to early accounts, but there is not much evidence that it was successful. Dr. Donaldson was a member of the famous Rough Riders. Then Vice-President Theodore Roosevelt visited him here in August of 1901. November 29, 1912 the property was sold to W.D. Swain. Mr. Swain died in 1924 and 1925 to Berger Sanzen an artist associated with Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas. His classes in the art school in Colorado Springs evolved over the years into the Colorado Springs Fine Art Center.

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.

Red Crags 1889

M.F. Yount purchased On-a-Ledge as a guest house, building a series of eight terraces in the back yard. Improvements Yount made to Rockledge included an extensive rose garden, an Olympic-sized swimming pool, a bath house and tennis courts. In addition, the part of the estate on El Paso Boulevard which originally included Schryver Park was used to raise peacocks, to pasture his daughter's horses and for a green-house site. The house boasts 21 rooms totaling approximately 7500 square feet. It is beautifully paneled inside with a mezzanine around the fireplace in the foyer. This mansion receives its name from the rock shelf on which it is built and which serves as its foundation. The Yount family sold the property in 1969. The estate was subsequently subdivided for housing developments and the main house was leased as a restaurant.

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.

Rockledge Manor 1912

The original Craftwood Association residence was On-A-Ledge, which is now a bed and breakfast.The fireplace in Rockledge and next door On-a-Ledge were made at the Craftwood, but when copper became unavailable during World War I the shop closed and was reverted into a home.In 1927, the property was purchased by the Rosier family. The family lived upstairs and in 1940 they opened the downstairs as a tea shop called the Craftwood. It is now a fine restaurant operated year-round by the new owners. The stick style architecture is unique in Manitou Springs and enjoyable to view from many different angles.

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.

The Craftwood Inn 1906

The home boasts a drive-in garage underneath the house that is completely hidden by the structure.The rock work alone cost Yount $75,000 in 1917. He trucked the stone in from Penrose and Canon City instead of using his own stone from the greenstone quarry.A Dr. Thomas lived here until 1903 when he lost the property during the crash. In 1941 the Rosiers, who owned the Craftwood, bought On-a-Ledge and opened it up as a lodge. The Craftwood was then expanded into a restaurant. Ralph Sumner purchased both properties in 1963, expanding the restaurant dining area upstairs in the Craftwood and remaining open year round.

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.

On-a-Ledge 1912

Dr. William Bell helped found Manitou Springs and was the Vice President of the Rio Grande and Denver Railroad. The plans were originally for an Episcopal Church, but they produced what was considered the most beautiful train station in the west. It was built of pink and while Manitou sandstone exactly as the drawings dictated, right down to the pulpit and stained glass windows. Less complimentary travelers referred to it as "The Church of England." President Ulysses S. Grant and his wife officiated at the opening ceremonies.When W.S. Stratton's trolley line began servicing Manitou Springs around 1900, the Denver and Rio Grande spur to Manitou went out of business. The trolley cost much less than the train. The building served a variety of purposes before becoming the Villa Motel office in 1946. In 1969, a larger, more modern office replaced the former depot and its stone was used to construct a building at 620 S. Cascade Avenue in Colorado Springs.

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.

Denver & Rio Grande Railway Station 1880

The building features a Richardsonian façade with massive stones, ornamental cornice, and arched door and window openings. Heavy timber roof trusses provide a column-free interior space, which was typical of transportation facilities. Historic photos reveal that the building underwent many modifications.The City purchased the building in 1967. On Sunday, Jun 24, 1979, a tornado hit City Hall, Memorial Park, and the PPAC destroying its upper façade. The building was condemned, and the City finally abandoned it in 1990.In 1992, the Business of Arts Center (now the MAC) bought the building for storage, and then embarked on a restoration program that included reconstruction of the upper floor and façade. The Colorado Historical Society's State Historical Fund and Transportation Enhancement Grants, through the Colorado Department of Transportation, provided assistance to the project. Construction was completed in 2002.The Pikes Peak Auto Livery is listed as contributing to Manitou Springs' 1983 National Register and 1980 Local Historic Preservation Districts.

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).

Pikes Peak Auto Livery 1893

A magnificent building, it burned around World War I. This pavilion, though, remains part of a 10 acre park for the hotel that had two drilled mineral springs. Palmer's purpose was to build a mineral water resort, similar to the European spas and Eastern U.S. mountain villas.The spring's pavilion, complete with these remaining massive columns and the front Spanish-tiled roof, became Leddy's last attempt at entrepreneurism. The window, fifteens-over-fifteens, were there when he enclosed it in 1920 and added the dance hall behind, calling it "Lorraine Gardens" now Memorial Hall.Behind this building is the rest of the Mansion's estate, including the outside shuffleboard floors and the unique "Roque Court," under the restored open-air pavilion. The restoration of this roque court pavilion was honored by the Colorado Historical Society in 1990.Roque is a sophisticated English version of croquet, using a covered clay court, rubber mallets, and the stiff upper lip of intense English betting and late night competition.

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.

Mansions Hotel 1874 - City Hall 1910

In about 1888, the belfry and bell were added to the entrance. The bell is from the Maryland McShane Bell Foundry and bears the inscription "I ring for God, home, and native land." In 1922, the name was changed to the Community Congregational Church, and a year later a 13 rank tracker pipe organ from the First Presbyterian Church, Colorado Springs was installed.The parsonage building to the right was built in the late 1890's, but is now used as an office, nursery and Sunday school. The church is made from stone gathered from the George Snyder quarry near Garden of the Gods. Snyder co-contracted with Angus Gillis. It predates the greenstone from the Yount Quarry, and is a style found throughout the Pikes Peak Region, strongly influenced by Dr. Bell, the English backer of Manitou Springs as a Western resort.The bell tower and Gothic door and window represent Bell's influences. The intricate strained glass windows against the dark wood exposed timber ceiling are magnificent.

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.

Community Congregational Church 1880

In 1910, local Manitou Springs physician H.M. Ogilbee convinced the Andrew Carnegie Foundation to donate $6,000 for a library. The City participated by purchasing properties at the current site and removing six previous buildings. The lot was purchased for $8,000. Ground was broken in 1910. The classical Italian Renaissance library, designed by architect Thomas McLaren, was opened February 22, 1911. The population of Manitou Springs at the time was less than 1400.Two Manitou contractors, Mulloy and Carnes, used gray pressed brick to construct the bungalow style structure of charming scale. The basement was leased to the city for the clerk's office, but was intended to be living quarters for the librarian. The center Romanesque arched window was removed to open a doorway to the clerk's office downstairs. The library also served as the meeting place for the town board for 30 years.The library building is presently closed for renovation to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The library contents and services have been moved to 515 Manitou Avenue. The Manitou Art Center (MAC) building, which is itself a historic Manitou building is highlighted in the Pikes Peak Auto Livery 1893 entry.

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.

Carnegie Library 1910

Jerome B. Wheeler and this clock signify much of Manitou's past. Wheeler was a millionaire seven times over, and his wife's intrigue with a similar clock in Italy is the reason it is here at all. Wheeler was Manitou's first banker and president of the once world famous Manitou Mineral Water Bottling Company. The clock was set in place to commemorate the construction of the bottling company's red stone and frame building just a hundred yards from here. The building was later demolished.The statue on top of the clock is the Goddess Hygeia, the daughter Aesculapius, the god of medicine. According to the Greek mythology, her role is to maintain health of the community. The wonders of medicinal mineral water, highly advertised and poorly supported, was enough reason for Wheeler to promote his company with this statue.The present four faces of the clock are not original. The 1890s faces had beautiful bronze Roman numerals on them. When the inner clock works wore out in the late 1940s, the city replaced them with four electric clocks. The four were again replaced in 1976. Through multiple grants from the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors and the City of Manitou Springs, and a great deal of dedication, members of the Manitou Springs Historic Preservation Commission restored the clock in 1983 to its original splendor, recreating stained glass faces from historic photos, recasting missing dolphin heads, and creating new interior works/illumination. New landscaping completed the little park.The Wheeler Town Clock is listed as contributing to Manitou Springs' 1983 National Register and 1980 Local Historic Preservation Districts.

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.

Wheeler Town Clock 1889

Leander Smith and Dr. Isaac Davis both came to Manitou for their health, set up successful businesses, and built their neighboring buildings within a year of each other in 1886 and 1887.SMITH BLOCK (102 Canon Avenue) – Leander Smith built the brick and Manitou White sandstone building on the northeast comer of Lafayette Road and Canon Avenue in 1886. He wished to relocate his grocery business from the south side of Manitou Avenue. Smith came to the region in the late 1870s for his health and stayed. Allegedly, Smith’s wealthy father was unhappy about the building’s location in the floodplain and threatened to disinherit his son for poor judgment. The Smith Block was electrified and wired for telephone in 1887. In the late 1880’s, Anna Chamberlain, one of the first female dentists in the area, leased an office in the building. Watermarks from Manitou’s 1927 flood are still visible inside the original butcher shop, which was accessed from the back of the building by way of a bridge across Fountain Creek. The butcher shop is now an artist studio. The Smith Block remained a grocery store for years and was operated by A.M. Wilson, Raymond Hiligoss, and Guy S. Boyd, among others. The Commonwheel Artists Co-op has been in this location since it’s founding in 1978.DAVIS BLOCK (10 Canon Avenue) – Dr. Isaac Davis built this three-story building on the southeast corner of Lafayette Road and Canon Avenue in 1887 to house his pharmacy. He was born in Somersetshire, England and fought in the Crimean War before coming to America. After being wounded in the Civil War fighting for the Union, Davis went to medical school in Pennsylvania. He practiced in Brooklyn, New York, before homesteading a 160 acre tract south of Manitou Springs.Inside his building, Davis installed an impressive soda fountain by John Matthews of New York. The building was wired for electricity aid telephone in 1887, and in April 1889, a Western Union Telegraph Office was added. Davis was one of Manitou’s first physicians and County Coroner for many years before his death in 1891. The Davis Block continued to house drug stores under several successive owners.

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.

Smith 1886 and Davis Blocks 1887

The St. Andrew’s Mission was formally organized in 1877, and in that same year, William Bell donated a lot in the center of Manitou Springs for the erection of the Episcopal church. Fundraising for the building began immediately, though by 1880, the congregants had raised only enough money for the erection of a temporary wooden structure on the site donated by Bell.To allow for the construction of a permanent stone church, in 1884 the original wooden church building at 116 Canon Ave. was relocated across the street, where it stands today. The economic downturn of the 1890’s hindered the economic growth of Manitou Springs, and the $15,000 fundraising effort for the new building was not complete until 1904. The Bell family contributed $6,000 to the construction fund, with the stipulation that the remainder be raised by the congregation. When construction finally began, the cornerstone for the new church was relocated from the original building, then was re-laid for (then Bishop) John Franklin Spaulding on January 10, 1905.

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.

Canon Avenue Bridge - Original St. Andrews Chapel 1880

Copper magnate C.M. Jaques and wife built the house in late 1899/early 1900 to serve as a summer retreat from their home in Lincoln, NE. They enjoyed it for one season, then made a tide profit selling it to Marth Tillitson for $5,000. Martha, wife of a local barbershop owner, insurance broker and real estate agent, resold the home in 1902 for $7,000 to the Hon. Charles W. Barker.Charles Barker lived here with his wife Nettie and daughter Florence from 1902 till his death in 1905. he must have appreciated the location with its fine view of his hotel, the Barker House. Mr. Barker had a long history as a successful hotelman in Manitou Springs, while also serving on the Manitou Springs Board of Trustees and local School Board. In 1885, he represented the area as a member of the Colorado House of Representatives.Dr. Basil Bernard Creighton and his wife Maud Rees Creighton bought the home in 1907 and raised one son, three daughters, and one grandson here. Born in 1864 in Cincinnati, OH, Basil Creighton led a long life full of adventure. Before attending Medical School in Cincinnati, he had already traveled to Manitou, homesteaded in the San Luis Valley, and visited Paris. After returning to Manitou Springs, due to tuberculosis, he helped locate Glockner Sanatorium, now Penrose Hospital, and became an official town physician in both Cripple Creek and Manitou. Know as the "walking doctor," he was a fierce advocate of ambulatory exercise over horse, buggy, or automobile. He also promoted the local mineral waters with many articles, pamphlets, and prescriptions. From 1912 to 1927, Creighton ran a popular pharmacy and soda fountain in downtown Manitou Springs. Dr. Basil B. Creighton died in 1966, just a few months short of his 102nd birthday. The family sold the house in 1984.

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.

Creighton House 1900

Dr. O.H. Ogilbee moved because he was one of the Canon Avenue owners who lost the part suite (across the street) to Dr. William Bell.Ogilbee was a true town doctor, making house calls on foot. He never wore a hat, even in the dead of winter. After his death in 1938, several doctors practiced in his office. Ogilbee's great granddaughter, Jean Garrity, still resided at the same location as her famous elder practiced, at 202 Canon.Of note is the added brick second story around 1885, with double slanted bay windows. The detailing on the bottom of the windows is indicative of the Gillis Brothers' architecture.

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.

Ogilbee House 1870s

M.F. Yount owned the greenstone quarry and this structure is a superb showcase of the native Manitou Springs greenstone. The columns and tuck-pointing have been protected from the elements by the exposed timber gables overhead. Yount was a man of interesting tastes, putting a remarkable combination of Western, Alpine, and European flavor into this open air structure. The electric lighting fixtures, made of copper, are original as are the building's copper gutters and downspouts.Today, the arcade is a great attraction to take people of all ages if you are planning a visit to Manitou Springs. The arcade houses some of the first arcade games, offering a walk through arcade game history with over 20 different pinball machines to 30 different racing games. Many of the games date back to the 1930's if not earlier.

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.

Manitou Springs Arcade 1930

Nichols came to Colorado to recover from tuberculosis (like thousands of others). He liked the weather, and after four years bought Keener's building outright, but kept it as a summer hotel. Nichols successfully built on the tourism of the vacationing eastern city folk, first identified by William Palmer and Dr. William Bell in the 1860s. Just before the turn-of-the-century, E.E. Nichols, Jr. succeeded his father.Both Nichols Sr. and Jr. used two very busy local brothers, Archie and Angus Gillis, as contractors on the changing façade and constant interior remodeling. By 1920, the building contained 265 rooms. Capitalizing on his father's reputation, Nichols Jr. attracted the finest family names in America. Those we would remember today would be the Armours and Swifts. They brought entire trainloads of trunks and stayed at the Cliff House for the full summer season.In 1916, E.E. Nichols, Jr. opened the Cliff House year round. Thomas Edison, a distant relative of Nichols visited about then, just in time to see his invention--electricity--be put to use in the Cliff House.The architecture is a composite of styles and additions. It began as a simple hipped roof building, with two separate buildings added to the west and the east. At least half a dozen renovations took place over the five Nichols' decades. The stone first floor was topped by shake and clapboard siding on the second and third floors. It boasts bay windows with turreted towers on the ends and dormers brothers' restoration. Ballastered porches grace the first and second stories, creating a Victorian Queen Anne beauty.The Nichols family kept the Cliff House in operation until 1948 when it was sold and divided into apartments. The north wing was dismantled in 1968. A disastrous fire nearly destroyed the National Register building in 1982, however the fire departments from throughout the region answered the call. The second and third floors were reconstructed to a level to prevent further deterioration. The structure sat through the remainder of that decade vacant and in need of rehabilitation.

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.

The Cliff House 1874

One saloon was located in the Creighton building where Nolan ran a typical western saloon there with swinging doors. He even imbedded silver dollars in the floor, which were pried loose in the depression years. Nolan also owned the Buffalo Saloon at the corner of Manitou Avenue and Ruxton, where he hand finely carved sandstone buffalo standing out on the sidewalk.Even though a gambler and saloon owner, Nolan was well-liked and known as "Honest John Nolan." When he retired back east in 1935, he moved the stone buffalo to the Canon Avenue side of his house. Unfortunately, the stone buffalo was destroyed when it was being moved in 1976.With late 1800s eclectic styling, a Queen Anne window looks out on the first floor porch, which is a mixed with spindle work decorating the underside of the gabled dormer. This majestic building, owned by over a dozen people since Nolan's death is set off with a combination of Manitou greenstone and stucco, embellished with porch brackets and dentals. The turret has columns and a copper finial indicative of this area.The diamond window mullions were added later for weatherizing purposes. The house boasts six fireplaces with multi-flued chimneys. The gable on the west side of the house has a bulls eye pattern with a semicircular window.

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.

Nolan House 1890

The United States post office is built upon the site of Jerome B. Wheeler's Windemere estate. The colonial style building is made of blocks of locally quarried reddish green sandstone. The post office opened in 1940 or 1941. At the time it was the only United States post office to be made with locally quarried stone. The building is a one and a half storied, rectangular structure. Instead of a basement, storage is available in the half story that runs along the west side of the building. One of the town's springs is located just south of the post office.In 1942, a Works Progress Administration mural title "Hunters, Red and White" was created inside the post office by Archie Musick. A plaque by the mural reads:Depression-era public art programs coincided with the heyday of Colorado Springs' art school, the Broadmoor Art Academy: Its students and teachers painted murals in federal buildings nationwide. For Manitou’s post office mural competition, my father, Archie Musick, depicted the legend of Manitou’s springs: "the God Manitou in a fit of rage clubbing a quarrelsome chief." His frieze of Indian-trapper life across the bottom of the submitted sketch was so popular with "the brass in Washington…they told me to dump the main design and blow up the frieze to fill the entire space." Painted when many federal murals were nationalistic – just months after Pearl Harbor – this mural’s ambiguity and unusual dry-pigment / glaze technique are distinctive: "Hunters Red and White" embodies some historical suggestions from his friend, author Frank Waters – Manitou’s first cabin, explorers Pike and Fremont – but mostly Archie’s own inspiration from fantasy, pictographs, artist friends (including Japanese-American artists sheltering here), and the beloved local rocky landscape.The Manitou Springs Post Office is on the National Register of Historic Places.

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.

Manitou Springs Post Office 1940 - Windmere 1882

Both the Park Avenue Bridge and the Canon Avenue Bridge, located at the intersection of Lovers Lane and Canon Avenue, are still in service. A Colorado Department of Transportation survey notes this bridge and the almost identical Canon Avenue Bridge are considered excellent examples of the only bridges of rubble arch construction in Colorado built by labor other than the Works Project Administration. Greenstone was quarried around Manitou Springs from approximately 1890 to 1940 and is found only in this area. Both bridges feature semicircular arches and decorative, recessed benches on each side. They remain architecturally and structurally intact and are still in use.

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.

Park Avenue Bridge 1907

In 1920, the Spa was built over the pool and took the place of the Manitou Bath House, considered an out-of-date facility. This Spa building included third floor private rooms, complete with hospital beds to authenticate the mineral bath medical facility. The second floor had several white tiled bathrooms, separate for men and women. Folks would come to get sprayed, soaked, massaged, and generally cured from whatever ailed them. The Mineral Springs Museum is located here.A park view of the Spa may be experienced from the west side, near some fine greenstone stairs. This side walkway is vintage 1920s Manitou, leading around the corner of the Spa to the arcade atmosphere introduced by Yount in the 1930s. In the front of the Spa building are some magnificent greenstone bridges, using cut stone arch construction. These preceded the Spa building.Originally, this entire northern bank of the Fountain Creek was intended by the founders as a city-length park. It began to give way to buildings however as early as 1885. The red stone Cheyenne Spring House near the street follows the original design of wooden huts over the springs, two built around 1872. A similar stone building house the Navajo Spring, not below Patsy's Popcorn stand near the Arcade.The red rocks, cut circular by the stonemasons, were quarried from the Snyder Quarry a few miles east of Manitou, an area to the south of the Garden of the Gods. In front of the Spa across the bridge is a boulder, marking the Ute Trail used by Indians for hundreds of years.The giant stone was placed here in 1912 by the El Paso County Pioneer's Association. They picked this Soda Springs' area because it was considered an Indian ceremonial spring. An early explorer named George Ruxton reportedly found beads and leather markers hanging from bushes around the spring. He assumed this was in reverence, although today's historians admit that the practice was as much to claim the area in the face of competing Indian tribes as it was to pay homage.Chief Buckskin Charley and his Ute tribesmen participated in the marker ceremony of 1912, placing a box of historic mementos underneath the stone.

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.

Spa Building (Manitou Bath House) 1920

Originally built in 1872 by artist Theodore Pine, Charles W. Barker purchased Pine Cottage in 1880. In 1882, he changed the name and began yearly additions. By 1890, it was a typical resort hotel with 110 rooms, Wilton carpets, Manitou's first hydraulic elevator, and one bathroom per floor. Barker created a homey atmosphere for guests, including "the Jersey Lily," renowned English beauty and actress Lily Langtree. Before moving here in 1877, Barker was a schoolteacher and Pullman Palace Car conductor. Once settled, he served as Colorado State Representative (1880 - 1888), Manitou Springs Mayor, and was active in the Grand Army of the Republic, a fraternal organization for Union Civil War veterans.In 1897, Barker lost ownership from remodeling debts but remained as hotel manager until his 1905 death. New owner, Mr. Pollen, changed the name to the Navajo Hotel. Eventually it became apartments. In 1984, the building was rehabilitated for senior citizens and renamed The Barker House.The Queen Anne-style structure is four stories tall and is build in a "u" shape. Notable features include two, four-story towers and twenty-three bay windows. The original Pine Cottage façade is visible around the center bay window. The Barker House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

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.

Barker House 1872

The original address across the street however was 197 Manitou Avenue, an unofficial numbering system that was begun just west of the now gone Denver and Rio Grande Railroad Depot a few blocks to the east. The J.B. Wheeler Banking Company was only one of the Wheeler's projects in the state. During the depression of the 1890s, Wheeler's bank in Manitou was damaged to the point of closing. As bank president, Wheeler accepted personal responsibility for keeping others afloat, to his own loss.The new bank at 814 was financed by J.F. Campbell and his wife, Besse, in 1908. They felt that an up and coming bank needed its own bank building. Several years later, the bank building was purchased by the bank's stockholders.

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.

Wheeler Bank Building 1888

In 1871, Welsh-born James homesteaded the canyon where the Cliff Dwellings Museum is now located. He was an early water commissioner for Colorado Springs and supplied the stone for this building from his quarry in Black Canon.James and his fiancée, Catherine Wood, were the first couple married in Colorado Springs' Grace Episcopal Church. They had seven children, including Arthur Manitou James. Tradition held that Arthur was the first non-native child born in Manitou Springs. he disputed this himself since he wasn't born until 1878 and the town was founded in 1872. During his life, Arthur James owned a transfer business, was was employed by the Midland Terminal Railway, and served as Manitou Springs' Chief of Police.The James House was built before 1878, making it one of the oldest existing structures downtown. The simple, stone construction was highlighted by a bay window in the center of the facade. Changes to the building included the removal of the bay window so a porch could be added. That porch was later filled in.The James House is listed as contributing to Manitou Springs' 1980 Local Historic Preservation District.

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.

James House 1878

In 1880, shortly after Manitou was formerly platted, the Episcopal community was only able to raise $1,000 for their church--not enough to build a proper church on this prominent spot. Instead a temporary wooden building was built. In 1884, it was moved to the northside of Canon Avenue near the creek after it was badly damaged by a flood. The community went to church there on Canon for several years before they built this existing church.The Mineral Water Company built the greenstone wall around the church property before the church was built. Not until 1904 was the idea revived of building that "proper" church, when the church raised $12,000.The building style is English Gothic. The exterior is the famous Ute Pass green sandstone know as greenstone. the slate for the rood was imported from England. The original slate was replaced with a simulated slate. One of the most intriguing aspects about the building is the stained glass windows imported from London. The three memorial windows just above the altar are designed in the likenesses of Mrs. W.A. Bell as St. Mary, Mrs. E.E. Nichols as St. Anne, and Bishop John Franklin Spaulding as St. Simeon. Inside houses a beautiful Vermont marble altar and baptismal font, and an ornate hand carved bishop's throne imported from England. Note the finely cut greenstone and convex masonry joints, characteristic features of Manitou Springs' fine stonework.With the exception of some remodeling of the Chancel and a general redecorating, St. Andrew's is much as it was nearly 95 years ago.

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.

St. Andrew's Episcopal Church 1905

Located at the western end of Manitou Avenue and privately owned, there are “no trespassing signs” dotting the fence and property. Remnants of the decaying old water bottling plant remain in the backdrop. Fences surround the compound. The waters are dried up and no longer flow. Others say it was shut down several years ago because of safety concerns. When it did flow, the artist’s sculpture font was popular depicting a Native American male taking of the waters (created by Steve Titus) and promoted the symbolic usage of the waters.The Ute Chief Mineral Springs bottling works was founded by Jacob Schueler. When the water was flowing, users described its taste to be similar to that of “Perrier” mineral water. It had the lowest mineral content in town, though 2 1/2 times lower than the minerals found in “Perrier” hosting a TDS of 1,200. In 2003 the bottling plant was purchased by a Korean pharmacist named O Yoon Kwon living in New York City. It began shipping water in 2006, primarily to Korea, but shipping, business, and economics made it difficult although it was nicknamed the “World’s best water”. The Manitou Springs Foundation offered to take over the spring and refurbish the location, but the owner didn’t go with the proposal.

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.

Ute Chief Bottling Plant 1947

Son of a wealthy and aristocratic French family, Father Francolon bought a lot next to a site where the Sisters of Mercy were building their Montcalme Sanitarium. Father hired Angus Gillis to build his home, describing features he remembered from childhood travels with his diplomat father. He shared his home with his mother, Marie, and named it "Miramont" after her.By 1895, the main part of the castle was completed. But in 1900, the Francolons left unexpectedly. Mrs. Francolon died within months of returning to France. The priest's will was offered for probate in New York City in December 1922. The Sisters of Mercy, with Dr. Kneipp, took over the place offering Kneipp's water cure. It required drinking and bathing in Manitou's mineral waters several times a day. In 1907, the Sisters' adjacent building burned and they moved their patients into Miramont. The Sisters' renamed the castle Montcalme and it remained 1976. The castle was purchased by the Manitou Springs Historical Society in 1976 through a matching grant from the Centennial-Bicentennial Commission.The architecture is eclectic, a combination of nine styles: Gothic, Romanesque, English Tudor, Flemish stepped gables, Shingle-style Queen Anne, Elizabethan, Venetian Ogee, Byzantine, Moorish and half-timber Chateau. Significant features are the corbels, the upper story ramparts, the bracketed gables, the gothic windows and the lozenge windows on the third story. The exceptional use of cut greenstone as the predominant building material largely sets this building off as a castle.

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.

Miramont Castle 1896

Our Lady of Perpetual Help was founded in Colorado City in 1860 to minister to the first settlers in the area. On July 30, 1882, Bishop Joseph Machebeuf dedicated a Catholic Church in Manitou Springs. The new church, built by the Gillis brothers at 218 Ruxton Ave., was dedicated on August 1, 1889, with Fr. Frederick Bender as pastor. A small rectory was built that same year. Four years later, Fr. J.B. Francolon became the pastor and built Miramont Castle. On August 3, 1903, the original church was destroyed by fire. A new structure was built and dedicated by the following October. Two years later, Fr. Michael P. Callanan added the Lourdes Grotto on the property.In 1926, the Oblates of Mary Immaculate took charge of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, serving it as a mission from the expanded and now renamed Sacred Heart Parish in Old Colorado City. The Congregation of Holy Cross assumed pastoral leadership in 1984.

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.

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church 1903

In 1891, the first train arrived at the summit. The slant of the engine was to level the engine as it climbed grades up to 25%. It grabbed onto cogs or teeth as it methodically chugged up to the top of the peak thousands of feet above timberline. These trains were replaced and there have been several other replacements since then, constantly upgrading the train's capacity. Yet even today, the train is a cog style, climbing to the top. It travels over bridges and culverts still standing structurally sound since the railway company built it.Across the street is the only remaining vestige of a livery in Manitou Springs: The Hutchinson and Swain 1872. This building now houses the city's road equipment.

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.

Manitou Springs Historical Walking Tour

Briarhurst Manor 1873

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information