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Colorado Springs, Colorado
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Nickname: "The Springs" | ||
| Official website: http://www.springsgov.com/ | ||
| Location | ||
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 Location in the state of Colorado |
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| Government | ||
| County | El Paso | |
| Mayor | Lionel Rivera | |
| Geographical characteristics | ||
| Area | ||
| Total | 482.1 km² | |
| Land | 481.1 km² | |
| Water | 1.0 km² | |
| Population | ||
| Total (2004) | 369,363 (city proper) | |
| Density | 1,942.9/km² | |
| Coordinates | ||
| Time zone | MST (UTC-7) | |
| Summer (DST) | MDT (UTC-6) | |
Colorado Springs is a mid-sized city located just east of the geographic center of the U.S. state of Colorado. It has a population of 360,890 (according to the 2000 census) making it the second largest city in Colorado and is a large part of the metropoltian area of the Front Range. The capital of Colorado, Denver, is 68 miles to the north. At an elevation of 6,035 feet it's over a mile high, from sea level, and is signifigantly higher in other areas of the city. The city itself is situated near the base of one of the most famous American peaks, Pikes Peak, on the east side of the Rocky Mountains. The city is the county seat of El Paso CountyGR1.
Today, Colorado Springs has many features of a modern urban area such as parks, bike trails, urban open-area spaces, business and commerce, theatres and other entertainment. It was first established as a posh resort community and the tourist industry has remained strong and offers many activities and attractions.
The Springs also has its share of problems like overcrowded roads and highways, crime, and government budget issues. Many of the problems arising are indirectly or directly caused by the city's difficulty in coping with the large population growth experienced in the last 20 years.
A large number of religious organizations and churches make their headquarters here, particularily the Protestant religion. Many high-tech businesses reside in the city including a large number of chip manufacturers, such as Intel. Colorado Springs is also home to a large number of military installations and important national defense agencies including the missle defense agency. It is also the site of the Airforce's military academy, one of only four military academies in the entire country.
Contents |
History
Colorado Springs Founded
General William Palmer, City Founder
Colorado Springs was founded in August 1871 by General William Palmer, with the intention of creating a high quality resort community, and was soon nicknamed "Little London" because of the many English tourists who came. Nearby Pikes Peak and the Garden of the Gods made the city's location a natural.
Within two years the Antlers Hotel opened, welcoming U.S. and international travellers as well as health-seekers looking for the high altitude and dry climate, and Palmer's visions of a thriving, quality resort town were coming true. Soon after he founded and owned the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, a critical regional railroad. Afterwards he maintained his presence in the city by making many grants of land to many important civic institutions in the community. Palmer and his wife saw Colorado Springs develop into one of the most popular travel destinations in the United States.
The town of Palmer Lake and a geographic feature called the Palmer Divide (and other more minor features) are named after him, and a bronze sculpture of Palmer on his horse is prominently displayed downtown in the center of a busy intersection.
America the Beautiful was written by visiting English professor Katharine Lee Bates in August 1893, while she stayed at the Antlers Hotel after visiting the top of nearby Pikes Peak.
W. S. Stratton
In 1891, Winfield Scott Stratton discovered and developed one of the richest gold mines on earth in the nearby Cripple Creek and Victor area, and was perhaps the most generous early contributor to those communities and to Colorado Springs.
After he made his fortune he declined to build a mansion as the other gold rush millionaires were doing, instead in later years he lived in a house in Colorado Springs he had built when he was a carpenter in pre-gold days.
In Colorado Springs, he funded the Myron Stratton Home for housing itinerant childen and the elderly, donated land for City Hall, the Post Office, the Courthouse (which now houses the Pioneer Museum), and a park; he also greatly expanded the city's trolley car system and built the Mining Exchange building, and gave to all three communities in many other ways, great and small.
Unfortunately as Stratton's generosity became known, he also was approached by many people looking for money, and he became reclusive and eccentric in his later years.
Old Colorado City and the Gold Rush
Colorado Springs' present downtown location, where General Palmer first founded the city, is due to Palmer's dislike of nearby rough-and-ready Colorado City and its many saloons; Palmer ensured his new city stayed alcohol free by buying a huge tract of land to the east of Colorado City and in fact, Colorado Springs stayed dry until the end of Prohibition in 1933.
In its earliest days of 1859-1860, Colorado City was a major supply route of supplies for miners in the South Park, where a major strike in the Colorado Gold Rush was found. Routes further north from present-day Denver's area proved more effective, and as only a few very minor gold finds were made in the Pikes Peak region, commerce instead shifted towards serving the agriculture of Colorado's eastern plains. (Eventually General Palmer's Denver & Rio Grande Railroad would snake from Denver into the South Park.)
Colorado City was the county seat of El Paso County until 1873, when the courthouse moved to Colorado Springs.
Colorado City also briefly (and unofficially) served as Colorado's territorial capital starting on July 7, 1862. By this time the town's fortunes were already waning. The territorial legislature met in a log cabin on Colorado Avenue, and on August 14, 1862 the legislature approved an act which named Golden as the territorial capital. Colorado City was never recognized by the Federal government as the territorial capital.
In 1891, very major gold strikes occurred in Cripple Creek and Victor, on the other side of Pike's Peak from Colorado City and suddenly supplies were needed for this last major phase of the Colorado Gold Rush and the town's big boom was on. Eventually Colorado City was processing much of the gold ore as Palmer's railroads connected the areas. Colorado City became a booming town with a reputation for saloons, prostitution, and alcohol-fueled fun. Quite a contrast to General Palmer's more genteel community across the river to the east!
Spencer Penrose
Spencer Penrose also made his mark on Colorado Springs in its early years--though not until two decades after its founding. Penrose started as a ladies-man and an adventurer who made a huge fortune in the gold fields of nearby Cripple Creek in the 1890s, then married Julie Villiers Lewis McMillan, and settled down considerably.
Penrose used his vast amounts of money to invest in other national mineral concerns and financed construction of the Broadmoor Hotel, the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, the Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun, the Pikes Peak Highway, an important local hospital, and established the El Pomar Foundation, which still oversees many of his contributions in Colorado Springs today.
The End of the Rush
The flow of gold and silver ebbed as the decades passed, and Colorado City's economic fortunes faded with it; the miners and those who processed the ore left or retired and the town was absorbed by Colorado Springs in 1917. Then "Old Colorado City" became a quaint old Victorian and brick neighborhood in the west part of Colorado Springs, with National Historic District status and a bustling main street of businesses, tourism, antique shops, and Victorian charm.
Military Boom
Colorado Springs saw it's first military base in 1942 shortly after Pearl Harbor was attacked. It was during this time the U.S. Army established Camp Carson near the southern borders of the city in order to train and house troops in preperation for the WWII. It was also during this time that the Army, at this time, began using at what was then and still is the Colorado Springs Municipal Airport renamed as Peterson Field, which was used as a training base for heavy bombers.
The Army then started to expand Camp Carson a venture that increased much growth in Colorado Springs and provided a signifigant area of industry for the city. After WWII the military stepped away from the Springs and it seemed the city's military boom was over, Camp Carson was declining and the military was activating and deactivating Peterson Field irregularly. That all changed when the Korean War erupted and the declining Camp Carson of 600 was re-vitalized, along with many parts of the Springs.
After the Korean war, Peterson Field, renamed as Peterson AFB, was activated permanently becoming the city's first AFB and in 1954 Camp Carson became Colorado Spring's first Army post, as Fort Carson. Shortly that same year, President Dwight D. Eisenhower chose Colorado Springs, out of 300 other sites around the nation, to be the site of the Air Force's military academy. With a new and growing Army post, an Air Force Base, and the Air Force's military academy, the only in the nation, Colorado Spring's growth was jump started.
That boom remained with the city, and in 1963, NORAD's main facility was built in Cheyenne Mountain. It placed NORAD directly next to Colorado Springs and permanently secured the city's military presence. During the Cold War the city expanded greatly due to increased revenue from various industries and the prevailing military presence in the city. Colorado Spring's military presence was further increased in 1983 with the founding of Schriever Air Force Base, a base primarily tasked with missile defense.
Geography and climate
Geography
Colorado Springs is located at 38°51'48" North, 104°47'31" West (38.863443, -104.791914)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 482.1 km² (186.1 mi²). 481.1 km² (185.7 mi²) of it is land and 1.0 km² (0.4 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.21% water.
Climate
Colorado Springs averages 250 days of sunshine per year, and receives 15.42 inches of annual precipitation. Average snowfall for the area (included in the previous annual precipitation calculation) is 5.5" in November, 5.7" in December, 5.0" in January, 5.1" in February, 9.4" in March, and 6.3" in April. Average January low and high temperatures are 14°F/ 42°F (-10°C/ 5.5°C) and average July low and high temperatures are 55°F/ 85°F (12.7°C/ 29.4°C). The hottest temperature ever recorded in Colorado Springs was 101°F (38.3°C) on June 7, 1874 and the coldest temperature ever recorded was -32°F (-35.5°C) on January 20, 1883.
Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 360,890 people, 141,516 households, and 93,117 families residing in the city. The population density was 750.2/km² (1,942.9/mi²). There were 148,690 housing units at an average density of 309.1/km² (800.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 80.66% White, 6.56% Black or African American, 0.88% Native American, 2.82% Asian, 0.21% Pacific Islander, 5.01% from other races, and 3.85% from two or more races. 12.01% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 141,516 households out of which 34.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.5% were married couples living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.2% were non-families. 27.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.06.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.5% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 32.8% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 9.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 97.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $45,081, and the median income for a family was $53,478. Males had a median income of $36,786 versus $26,427 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,496. 8.7% of the population and 6.1% of families were below the poverty line. 10.8% of those under the age of 18 and 7.2% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
Attractions and entertainment
Tourism and attractions
Much of the Springs tourism comes from the area it was built around, most famousily Pikes Peak. The city is host to numerous trails and parks due to it's close proximity to the Rocky mountains, making the city a popular destination for its scenery. With the mountains as close as they are the Springs has also gained notority for it's rock formations and other geological features. There are many attractions in the area, including:
- American Numismatic Association
- The Broadmoor Hotel, a luxury 5 star hotel, reported to be one of the nation's finest.
- Cave of the Winds
- The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, billed as the nation's only 'mountain zoo,' is situated, essentially, on the side of Cheyenne Mountain.
- Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center
- Flying W Ranch [1], a cowboy ranch.
- Focus on the Family visitor center and tours of facilities
- Garden of the Gods, a collection of large red sandstone formations
- Glen Eyrie, home to William Jackson Palmer, the founder of Colorado Springs, now owned by The Navigators - tours available
- Manitou Cliff Dwellings
- Michelle's, a 50+ year old ice cream parlor featured in Life Magazine
- Old Colorado City district
- Pioneer's Museum [2]
- ProRodeo Hall of Fame and Museum of the American Cowboy (but is moving to Albuquerque, New Mexico probably in the summer of 2007)
- Security Service Field, home of the baseball club Colorado Springs Sky Sox, AAA affiliate of the Colorado Rockies
- Seven Falls
- United States Air Force Academy
- United States Olympic Training Center [3]
- The World Arena
According to the Colorado Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau, the area attracts some six million visitors yearly. Colorado Springs is served by the Colorado Springs Airport.
Sports teams
Sports teams
| Name | Sport | Founded | League | Venue | Logo |
| Colorado Springs Sky Sox | Baseball | 1950 | Minor league; Pacific Coast League | Security Service Field |  |
| Colorado Springs Blizzard | Soccer | 2004 | United Soccer Leagues; USL Premier Development League | Security Service Field |  |
| Colorado Springs Cricket Club | Cricket | 1999 | Colorado Cricket League |
- The local colleges feature many sports teams. Notable among them are the following nationally-competitive NCAA Division I teams: Air Force Academy (Fighting Falcons) Football and Hockey, Colorado College (Tigers) Hockey, and Colorado College (Tigers) Women's Soccer.
Orchestras
- Colorado Springs Philharmonic [4]
Economy, religious institutions, and education
These are some of the larger employers, military facilities, and commercial facilities:
Military
- United States Air Force Academy - Air Force
- Cheyenne Mountain Air Station - Air Force: a major military center, home of NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command), it is housed in Cheyenne Mountain, south of Pikes Peak.
- Peterson Air Force Base - Air Force
- Schriever Air Force Base - Air Force
- Fort Carson - Army
Industry
- MCI - Telecommunications - has a fairly large engineering presence
- HP - Computing - large sales, support. and SAN storage engineering center. The location was built by Digital Equipment Corporation, renamed Compaq in the 1998 acquisition of Digital, and finally renamed HP after the 2002 merger.
- SNIA - Computing - home of the SNIA Technology Center
- Agilent - Tech manufacturing - HP operated a large facility in the area that was later renamed Agilent in the spinoff.
- Intel - Chip fabrication - bought a fabrication plant from Rockwell International in 2000 and now run as Fab 23 making flash memory chips. Intel had plans for building a second location, but abandoned the idea due to the falling economy in 2001.
- Atmel - Chip Fabrication
Religious institutions
In recent years, Colorado Springs has attracted a large influx of Evangelical Christians and organizations. Evangelical groups with headquarters at Colorado Springs include Focus on the Family (a Christian organization active on many social and political issues), Compassion International, Promise Keepers, The Navigators, Youth with a Mission, Young Life and the International Bible Society. At one time Colorado Springs was counted to be the national headquarters for 81 different religious organizations, earning the city the tongue-in-cheek nickname "the Protestant Vatican".
The city and surrounding areas also host hundreds of churches and synagogues of many faiths and denominations, including a mosque.
Education
Universities, colleges and special schools include:
- The Colorado College, founded in 1874
- The Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind[5], also founded in 1874
- The United States Air Force Academy, established upon its present site in 1958
- The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (UCCS), established upon its present Cragmor grounds in 1965
- Pikes Peak Community College
- Nazarene Bible College
- Remington College[6]
Trivia
- Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, an Emmy Award-winning dramatic television series starring Jane Seymour, was set in this town. Though there was some historical accuracy, the majority of the events and settings were fictional, and actual filming was done at the Paramount Ranch near Agoura Hills, California.
- Kelsey Grammer's sister was murdered after leaving a Red Lobster in Colorado Springs, Colorado [7].
- Lon Chaney was born in Colorado Springs on April 1, 1883. The Lon Chaney Theatre is named for him.
- Cassandra Peterson (a.k.a. Elvira, Mistress of the Night) attended Palmer High School in downtown Colorado Springs. She graduated in the class of 1969.
- Leeann Tweeden worked briefly as a waitress at a local Hooters in the 1991-1992 timeframe.
- Bobby Unser was born in Colorado Springs on February 20, 1934.
- Actors Michael Boatman and Chase Masterson are from Colorado Springs.
- The TV series Stargate SG-1 has several episodes which at least partially take place in Colorado Springs; additionally SGC is based out of nearby Cheyenne Mountain, and most of the team members are shown to reside in Colorado Springs.
- In the movie The Sum Of All Fears the Russian President asks a military advisor how many people live in Colorado Springs, as he weighs the ramifications in the use of nuclear weapons against the city. This highlights the strategic importance of the military-centered city.
- The movie Independence Day makes reference to the destruction of NORAD, located in the city.
- Serbian-born American physicist Nikola Tesla built a laboratory in 1899 for his experiments in the wireless transmission of electrical power. Reportedly he shot lightning from his lab back into the sky during a lightning storm.
- Robert A. Heinlein, noted sci-fi writer during the genre's Golden Age, lived in Colorado Springs during part of his career. His novel The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress featured at one point the rebel moon government raining rock-filled grain canisters down on NORAD's headquarters inside Cheyenne Mountain, incidentally destroying Colorado Springs because of the great amount of kinetic energy released on impact.
- Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz lived briefly in Colorado Springs in 1951, on North Franklin Street. Linus and Lucy Van Pelt were neighbors of his, for whom he named characters. He painted a wall of his home with some Peanuts characters. The wall was removed from the home in 2001 and donated to the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, California.
- Several scenes of Perry Mason: The Case of the Sinister Spirit (1987) were filmed at the Broadmoor Hotel. Several courtroom scenes in the Perry Mason movie series were filmed in the courtroom exhibit at the Pioneer's Museum (formerly the El Paso County Courthouse).
- Profesional kickboxer, wrestler and actor Bob "The Beast" Sapp was born in Colorado Springs and attended Mitchel High School.
Sister cities
Sister cities of Colorado Springs include:
Fujiyoshida, Japan (1962)
Kaohsiung, Taiwan (1983)
Smolensk, Russia (1993)
Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (1994)
Nuevo Casas Grandes, Mexico (1996)
Bankstown, Australia (1999)
Colorado Springs' sister city organization began in when Colorado Springs became partners with Fujiyoshida. The torii gate erected to commemorate the relationship stands at the corner of Bijou Street and Nevada Avenue, and is one of the city's most recognizable landmarks. The torii gate, crisscrossed bridge and shrine, located in the median between Platte and Bijou Streets in downtown Colorado Springs, were a gift to Colorado Springs, erected in 1966 as a token of friendship between the two communities. A plaque near the torii gate states that "the purpose of the sister city relationship is to promote understanding between the people of our two countries and cities". The Fujiyoshida Student exchange program has become an annual event.
To strengthen relations between the two cities, the Colorado Springs Youth Symphony regularly invites the Taiko drummers from the city to participate in a joint concert in the Pikes Peak Center.
See also
- Keith Lockhart, former conductor of the Pikes Peak Symphony
- The Broadmoor Hotel, a 5-star hotel and resort in southwest Colorado Springs
Sources and external links
- Early Capitol and Legislative Assembly Locations
- Denver & /Rio Grande/Colorado Springs, CO
- The Antlers Hotel/history: where Katherine Lee Bates penned America the Beautiful (click on "History" on the top left hand corner of index to access page)
- City of Colorado Springs government site also at [8]
- Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center
- Fort Carson
- Peterson Air Force Base
- Schriever Air Force Base
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps or Yahoo! Maps
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
- Satellite image from Google Maps or Windows Live Local
- Federal Lands mapping system
- Colorado City Historical Society See especially "early history" and "mining"
- Victor, Colorado History W. S. Stratton's history
- Walk Through Colorado Springs History
- Will Rogers Shrine Of The Sun Read about the Penroses
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