Colorado Springs, founded in the valleys of Pikes Peak in the early 19th century, is arguably one of the most historic cities in all of Colorado. Surrounded by four military bases and institutions, catering to the Olympic Training Center and hoards of hiking and biking fanatics, the Springs is nothing shy of adventurous. Colorado Springs was founded because of adventure, yet it seems keeping up and preserving our history is something we have yet to prefect.

In the beginning ages of Colorado Springs history, General Palmer moved to the Springs bringing innovation and the Antlers Hotel with him. With the addition of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, came funding from the government and an influx of people and businesses. The small town turned towards resort area as the vast amount of English tourists, earning the nickname of “Little London.” The construction of the Burns Theater and the Fine Arts Center brought counterparts to the Antlers Hotel.  The Colorado Springs Gazette wrote in 2011, “The new Burns Theater, just west of Pikes Peak Avenue and Tejon Street, represented everything grand about Colorado Springs. On opening night, a Russian symphony played to an audience of 1,500. Patrons sat in seats upholstered in olive-green velvet, and sweeping balconies floated across the main room, supporting the exterior walls without pillars. The ceilings were impossibly high and painted with cherubs.”

“Little London” featured wide streets and Pikes Peak as a site line with many stores and large sidewalks for people to visit the city. Colorado Springs with all of its charm, fell victim to a string of modernization in the 1970s, leading to the destruction of many buildings from the original quaint town to replace them with new and more ‘modern’ ones. The Urban Renewal phase may have been started with positive intentions, destroyed key parts of the city’s history. The Burns Theater housed Colorado Commerce and many performances needed $3.5 million in repairs, leaving the city to tear it down. Though the Antlers Hotel stands today, it is not the original; the 13 story building stands where General Palmer’s hotel once stood. These buildings put up in the 1970’s were considered high tech, something ahead of the times, yet almost 50 years later, they are out of date and will be hard to bring back up to the 2017 standards, with green and environmentally friendly. 

The downtown center that once bustled took a toll after the 1970s renovations, but it does look like it might come back to the area it might with tons of shops, restaurants, and small businesses surrounding Acacia Park and lining the streets of Nevada, Tejon and Colorado.