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44-580: Homesteading on the mountain began in 1867 and the mountain was the site of resorts and retreats beginning in the 1880s. Spencer Penrose , who built The Broadmoor in 1918, bought many of the properties on the mountain and built the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo , Cheyenne Mountain Highway , Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun , a lodge on one of the mountain peaks, and a retreat at Emerald Valley. The site of

88-401: A fire, but Palmer wouldn't sell. Palmer had established Colorado Springs as a "dry city", and Penrose had different ideas for what would be offered at his hotel. In 1916 Penrose purchased a site outside the boundaries of the city for $ 90,000, from Prussian Count James Pourtales. Penrose commissioned architects to design the hotel of his dreams. After reviewing several designs, Penrose selected

132-682: A metallurgist for the Bingham Canyon Gold & Silver Mine, and was the chief engineer at the US Reduction Plant Company in Florence, Colorado. A survey revealed the Bingham Canyon ore deposit contained only 2% copper. After consulting both Jackling and geologist Richard Penrose, Spencer's brother, the men determined that the copper could yield high profits if they could efficiently extract the copper from

176-413: A nuclear exchange. The buildings are encased in steel, surrounded by granite, and the facility is behind blast-proof doors. It was designed to be the "nerve center" for NORAD. The NORAD center has been staffed by Canadian and United States military personnel to monitor North American air space for intercontinental ballistic missiles and incoming Soviet military aircraft. Locally, this military boom during

220-550: A potential gold rush in Cripple Creek, Colorado . Tutt had gone to Colorado Springs, Colorado in 1884, where he found initial success in real estate in the developing city. Tutt and Penrose had been childhood friends; both their fathers were doctors at the children's hospital. Tutt loaned Penrose the money to purchase a half stake in his Cripple Creek real estate business, which included the Cash on Delivery (C.O.D.) Mine. This

264-505: A series of trails and rest houses that led to The Sunshine Inn that he built as a health resort above Old Stage Road. The property was purchased by Spencer Penrose, who had the inn torn down. The Overlook Colony was started in 1911 by a group of Colorado College professors. It first started as a summer retreat for the educators, and grew to include musicians, doctors, artists, generals, oilmen, and an ambassador to India. The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

308-505: A suite for Penrose on the third floor, four guest rooms, and living quarters for servants. Visitors could make the trip up the Cheyenne Mountain Highway on the backs of elephants. The lodge closed in 1961. It was razed in 1976 following years of destruction by vandals. It is now the site of The Broadmoor's Cloud Camp lodge and cabins. Penrose developed the country's highest zoo at 6,800 feet (2,100 m) in elevation,

352-751: Is in Teller County . South Cheyenne Creek's source, also in Teller County, is Mount Big Chief, near St. Peter's Dome . The flows through Seven Falls in South Cheyenne Cañon . North Cheyenne Cañon Park was started when the city of Colorado Springs bought 640 acres in North Cheyenne Cañon from Colorado College in 1885. An additional 480 acres was donated by General William Jackson Palmer . That land included High Drive, Silver Cascade Falls, and Helen Hunt Falls . In 1909

396-624: The Broadmoor Casino beginning in 1918. It later offered service from The Broadmoor to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo . Service ended in 1974. In the 1920s, Penrose began to develop on Cheyenne Mountain property on the northern peak that he bought in 1915. He built the Cheyenne Mountain Highway in 1925. In 1926, the Cheyenne Mountain Lodge opened at the top of Cheyenne Mountain. It had a restaurant,

440-532: The Penrose House , it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places . Now it is owned and operated as a conference and meeting space. It is available at no charge to Colorado's nonprofit organizations. Together with his longtime partner Charles Tutt, Penrose completed a plan to build a road to the 14,115-foot summit of Pikes Peak , to promote tourism in the area. At a cost of $ 283,000,

484-514: The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (1926) on the mountain and Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun (1937) on the northern promontory of the mountain. The Cheyenne Mountain Highway was built for transport to the zoo, shrine, and top of the mountain. The Broadmoor built a ski area on Cheyenne Mountain in 1959. In 1986, the resort closed Ski Broadmoor, but the city of Colorado Springs and Ski Vail stepped in to keep it open. It closed in 1991. The land

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528-718: The Cheyenne Propagation Company. The City of Colorado Springs and Colorado State Parks purchased 1,680 acres of land to preserve the "southeastern flank" of the mountain and its wildlife habitat in 2000. The land, originally the JL Ranch, was slated for development of 2,500 houses. The land was purchased to create the Cheyenne Mountain State Park , which is the only state park in El Paso County. An additional 1,021 acres at

572-755: The Cold War included the establishment of the United States Air Force Academy , Peterson Air Force Base , and Fort Carson . After the Cold War, NORAD monitored objects orbiting the Earth and aircraft without flight plans. It is also known for monitoring the Christmas Eve orbit of Santa Claus. NORAD used to offer public tours, but due to security concerns they were suspended in 1999. The off-ramp on NORAD road has been staffed by Air Force Security Police since September 11, 2001. Most of

616-709: The Colorado-Philadelphia Reduction Company; by 1899 its plant was treating over $ 3 million worth of Cripple Creek ore annually. The three men would create a mining, milling, and real estate empire in the years that followed. As their interests in Cripple Creek dwindled, Tutt, Penrose, and MacNeill followed a suggestion of metallurgist Daniel C. Jackling , who believed that a massive copper deposit located in Bingham Canyon, Utah could be successfully mined. Jackling had been

660-607: The Glockner-Penrose Hospital (now Penrose-St. Francis Health Services). They founded El Pomar Foundation on December 17, 1937. With a mission "to enhance, encourage, and promote the future and current well-being of the people of Colorado," El Pomar Foundation continues as a grantmaking organization. From an initial combined gift of $ 21 million, the assets of the Foundation now exceed $ 600 million. Its grants have yielded more than $ 1.2 billion in results for

704-510: The Park Commission called it "by far the grandest and most popular of all the beautiful cañons near the city" for its evergreen trees, waterfalls, Cheyenne Creek, and rock formations. Moderate hikes in the canon include Mount Cutler and Columbine trails. The two creeks meet and form Cheyenne Creek near the intersection of North Cheyenne Canyon Road, South Cheyenne Canyon Road, and Cheyenne Boulevard. Two historic trails, only shown on

748-681: The Pikes Peak Atlas, lead to the summit top of Cheyenne Mountain: the unofficial and faintly visible Swisher and the MacNiel trails. At the top of the Swisher trail is a meadow and ruins of an old cabin. Spencer Penrose Spencer Penrose (November 2, 1865 – December 7, 1939) was an American entrepreneur and philanthropist. He made his fortune from mining, ore processing, and real estate speculation in Colorado and other parts of

792-540: The Southwest in Arizona , New Mexico , and Nevada . The works in Cripple Creek and Utah Copper generated an immense fortune for Penrose, which he brought with him to Colorado Springs, Colorado . Penrose returned to Colorado Springs as a successful entrepreneur. During this time, he met his future wife, widow Julie Villiers (Lewis) McMillan. Spencer and Julie met and became friends through overlapping social circles in

836-623: The Spanish-style villa constructed in 1910. The house was built on the site of the Dixon Apple Orchard, for which the estate was named El Pomar (colloquial Spanish for "the orchard"). The Penroses renovated the house, adding two stories, corona marble tiles, carved wood panels, and crystal chandeliers. They hired the Olmsted Brothers to design the surrounding grounds. Later the house changed ownership. Known as

880-536: The Utes. William Dixon, a rancher, claimed a homestead in the Cheyenne Mountain foothills in 1867. He built a tavern along a trail up Cheyenne Mountain and turned the trail into a toll road, now called Old Stage Road, to Cripple Creek. The road begins as a paved road and is then a dirt road through Pike National Forest. His homestead ultimately became part of The Broadmoor resort. The Cheyenne Mining District

924-614: The West. He founded the Utah Copper Company in 1903, and also established mining operations in Arizona , New Mexico and Nevada . He settled with his fortune in Colorado Springs, Colorado , where he and partner Charles L. Tutt had a road constructed to the top of Pikes Peak . They initiated an annual motor car race to the top. In 1918 Penrose opened an opulent resort hotel known as The Broadmoor , built outside

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968-467: The bottom of his class, but his ambitions were to travel west and make his career on the frontier, rather than as a doctor, lawyer or politician like his brothers. After Harvard, Spencer Penrose migrated to Las Cruces, New Mexico . He established several businesses, selling each for enough to cut his losses and try his next venture. In 1892 his brother, Richard – by then a successful geologist – and Philadelphia friend, Charles L. Tutt wrote to him about

1012-610: The center's operations were moved to Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs in 2006, then in April 2015, the Pentagon reported that a few operations would be moving back in. During the 1950s, an antenna farm was built on the middle peak of the mountain when Bert Swisher deeded ten acres to Bud Edmonds and several backers and Swisher signed a non-compete agreement. Edmonds, John Browne, and Buck Ingersoll agreed to replace

1056-811: The city which was a "dry" community. In 1937 he and his wife Julie established the El Pomar Foundation , to support activities to improve Colorado. In 2001, Penrose was inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum . Spencer "Spec" Penrose was born on November 2, 1865, as the fifth of seven sons of a prominent Philadelphia family. The family traces its paternal line to immigrant ancestor Bartholomew Penrose, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1698. Spencer's father, Richard Alexander Fullerton Penrose,

1100-591: The city. Although Penrose had formerly pledged to stay a bachelor, he changed his mind. The two married in London , England, on April 28, 1906, and traveled in Europe for their honeymoon. Inspired by his stays in grand European hotels and resorts, Penrose returned to Colorado Springs intending to build his own hotel. A few years later, the Penroses bought the residence of their close friend, Grace Goodyear Potter, who had

1144-510: The design of the firm Warren and Wetmore , known for their work in New York City , including Grand Central Terminal . The contractors broke ground in April 1917 and a grand opening was held at the hotel on June 29, 1918. Its cost exceeded $ 3 million. The Broadmoor attracted numerous visitors. Targeting Midwesterners, Penrose placed advertisements in notable publications and invited celebrities to pose for photos and provide testimonials to

1188-709: The head of a dragon or horns. The peak is 9,200 feet (2,800 m) in elevation. The mountain's boundaries are Rock Creek , which flows from Mount Big Chief through Cheyenne Mountain to the town of Fountain , to the south and Cheyenne Cañon to the north. The western side of Cheyenne Mountain is in Pike National Forest , within the Pikes Peak Ranger District. Colorado Springs' skyline features Cheyenne Mountain and Pikes Peak . Other mountain peaks are Mount Arthur, Mount Baldy, Mount Rosa, Cameron's Cone, and Mount Garfield. Cheyenne Mountain

1232-711: The highway was completed on August 1, 1916. The same year, Penrose organized the first motor race to the summit; established annually, it is the second-oldest motor car race in the US. It still runs in the early 21st century, and is known as the Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb . Penrose began work on his project, The Broadmoor Hotel. He reportedly wanted to buy the Antlers Hotel from Colorado Springs founder William Jackson Palmer , who had it rebuilt in 1901 after

1276-511: The lodge has become a wilderness Cloud Camp and Emerald Valley is now the site of The Broadmoor's Ranch at Emerald Valley. Land on Cheyenne Mountain that had once been owned by The Broadmoor is now the site of luxury homes. A community, Overlook Colony, that began in 1911 still resides on the mountain. The two parks on and at the base of Cheyenne Mountain are Cheyenne Mountain State Park and North Cheyenne Cañon Park . A noticeable feature on

1320-475: The mountain in the middle of three valleys. Swisher's cabin was near the present site of the antenna farm at the top of the mountain, which was accessed by Old Stage Road. Cheyenne Mountain became a successful recreational and resort area when Spencer Penrose developed The Broadmoor resort in 1918. The Cheyenne Mountain Cog Railroad provided narrow gauge cog railway service to South Cheyenne Cañon from

1364-456: The opulence of the Broadmoor. The accompanying golf course also attracted wealthy visitors from across the country. Spencer and Julie Penrose were philanthropists, giving strong financial support to major civic projects in Colorado Springs. Their legacy projects include the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo , Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun , Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center , Pikes Peak Highway , and

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1408-487: The ore. Penrose formed the Utah Copper Company in 1903. He worked with others to design a mill to extract the copper at a rate generally considered impossible by other mining and milling experts. Their gamble paid off, and the men developed a fast-growing enterprise that mined and milled more copper than they had imagined was possible. Penrose's success in Utah encouraged him to invest and begin copper mining operations across

1452-652: The state of Colorado. El Pomar also operates community stewardship programs, including: Awards for Excellence, Regional Partnerships, and a two-year Fellowship for young leaders. The Foundation also operates two properties of the Penrose family: The Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun , where the Penroses are entombed; and the Penrose Heritage Museum, which showcases the Penroses' collection of carriages, as well as artifacts from their travels. Penrose died in 1939, two years after founding El Pomar Foundation. He

1496-513: The top and east side of Cheyenne Mountain were acquired from 2007 to 2009. The park is now a total of 2,701 acres, part of which is at the base of the mountain and part of which is on Cheyenne Mountain. It has 20 miles of trails. The 1,600 acre North Cheyenne Cañon Park , Starsmore Discovery Center , Seven Falls , and some of Colorado Spring's "most exclusive neighborhoods" are located in Cheyenne Cañon. The source of North Cheyenne Creek

1540-412: The top of one of Cheyenne Mountain's peaks is an antenna farm with transmitters for cellular phone, radio, television, and law enforcement purposes. Cheyenne Mountain has three peaks. The southern peak is Cheyenne Mountain's summit at 9,200 feet (2,800 m) in elevation. It was formerly called Mount Albrecht. The antenna farm sits on the middle peak. The northern peak, The Horns, may look to some like

1584-525: The trails to the area with a real road, which was opened in 1960 by the Cheyenne Propagation Company. There are 700 cell phone, television, radio, and law enforcement transmitters on the antenna farm. The Cheyenne Mountain radio site 145.160 repeater covers south central and southeast Colorado along the Interstate 25 corridor from Monument nearly to the New Mexico border. In 2002, it was operated by

1628-508: The trip between Cripple Creek and Colorado Springs by 1905. It transported coal, mined ore, and passengers. Also at that time, a carriage road went to Seven Lakes and the summit of Pikes Peak from Cheyenne Mountain. Grace Lutheran Church built a retreat in Emerald Valley in 1904. It is now The Broadmoor's Ranch at Emerald Valley. In 1905, Dr. August McKay homesteaded on 120 acres on the east slope of Cheyenne Mountain. He developed

1672-551: Was a doctor, who in 1854 founded the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia . Spencer's mother, Sarah Hannah (Boies) Penrose, promoted a simple life of austerity for her family. The first son died in infancy, leaving Boies Penrose , Charles Bingham , Richard Alexander Fullerton Jr., Spencer, Francis Boies, and Phillip Thomas. The Penrose men attended Harvard University , and Boies, Charles, and Richard graduated from there with high honors. Unlike them, Spencer graduated from Harvard at

1716-474: Was an underground city operated by the Air Force. Popular Science wrote in 1965, before the dedication of the facility, that Cheyenne Mountain would be the only mountain to have buildings constructed within its interior. It was built to withstand being bombed: eleven multiple-story buildings stand on coil springs to absorb the shock of a blast, and care was taken to make sure that up to 800 people could survive

1760-561: Was built just below and the Will Rogers Shrine built just above this community. Residents manage the Overlook Colony Mutual Water Company that governs water conservation, maintenance, and testing of the water supply from deep within the former Little Susie gold mine. Bert Swisher and Thomas Dixon homesteaded on Cheyenne Mountain in 1917. Dixon resided with his family in a cabin near the top of

1804-689: Was located on Cheyenne Mountain. The Little Suzie gold mine was built by a group of prospectors in the 1870s. Silver and minerals were mined on Cheyenne Mountain in 1883. Towns or resorts built on Cheyenne Mountain included the original Bruin Inn (1884), Watsonville (town named in 1884) and Wade City, also called Wade's Resort, (1885). The first mining claims granted for El Paso County were for the Manganese and Rio Grande lodes on Cheyenne Mountain by January 31, 1885. The Colorado Springs and Cripple Creek District Railway (Short Line) traversed Cheyenne Mountain during

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1848-505: Was named for the Cheyenne people. Native Americans found that Cheyenne Mountain was a good source of wood for teepee poles. It was visited by Cheyenne and Arapaho people, who may have sought spiritual inspiration from the mountain's waterfalls. Cheyenne Mountain was used by Ute Native Americans to cross from the plains and benefit from the "steep slopes and hidden valleys" to safely travel from enemy tribes that had their horses stolen by

1892-719: Was sold to the Broadmoor Resort Community Association. Land that had once been owned by The Broadmoor on the mountain was sold and is now the site of luxury homes. In the 1950s, during the Cold War , the interior of the mountain became a site for the operations center for the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). The center, deep within Cheyenne Mountain, was completed in 1966 after spending $ 142 million and using 500 tons of explosives. The result

1936-787: Was the beginning of a long-lasting partnership between the two men. The C.O.D. Mine was one of the most successful in Cripple Creek but, as Penrose and Tutt continued their partnership and operations, they began to realize the value of opening a new business in ore processing . Tutt and Penrose sold the C.O.D. mine in 1895 for $ 250,000 and invested the money in their new venture: the Colorado-Philadelphia Reduction Company, an ore-processing facility in Old Colorado City . The two men knew they would need someone with expertise in ore processing, so they brought on tenured miner and miller, Charles Mather MacNeill . The new partnership among Tutt, Penrose, and MacNeill resulted in increased business at

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