Manitou Springs is a home rule municipality located at the foot of Pikes Peak in western El Paso County, Colorado, United States. The town was founded for its natural mineral springs. The downtown area continues to be of interest to travelers, particularly in the summer, with many shops and restaurants, as well as a creekside city park. The main road through the center of town was one of the direct paths to the base of Pikes Peak. Barr Trail, which winds its way up Pikes Peak, is accessible from town. The subdivision Crystal Hills was added to the municipality in the 1960s.
General William Jackson Palmer and Dr. William Abraham Bell founded Manitou Springs in 1872, intending the town to be a "scenic health resort". Bell's home, Briarhurst Manor, is open to the public as a fine dining restaurant, which is listed on the National Register of Historic places. In 1876, the town was incorporated.[9] "Manitou Springs has been the quintessential tourist town since the 1870s, when visitors discovered the healing waters the Ute Indians had been drinking for years. Many of the town's mineral springs still function today and the water is free."[10]
In June 2012, the entire city was evacuated due to the Waldo Canyon fire nearby. Parts of western Colorado Springs were also evacuated. Manitou Springs did not suffer any fire damage, and the city was under evacuation orders from only 1:30 a.m. Monday until 8 p.m. the same day. There was no fire damage visible from Manitou Springs, and all businesses reopened.
[13]
Waldo Canyon flash flood
On the afternoon of August 9, 2013, the city was inundated by a flash flood entering the northern edges of the city via roadways and natural channels as it descended from the flooded-out US Hwy 24. Traffic was stopped in both directions as the highway barriers formed a river drifting several occupied cars down a runoff ditch. The strong current made a path down Manitou Avenue from Cavern Gulch, as well as Canon Avenue, meandering turbulently through streets, homes, businesses, and spillways, damaging 20 homes, 8 of them significantly. The flood water threatened buildings and parking lots along Fountain Creek, and closed a portion of Manitou Avenue, which reopened later that evening.[14]
Manitou Springs has a humid continental climate (Koppen: Dfb), categorized by four distinct seasons. Summertime is hot, and wintertime is cool, sometimes cold. Spring and fall are generally very pleasant.
Manitou Springs is managed by the elected mayor and six city council members. The mayor is elected to a two-year term. Council members are elected to 4 year, overlapping, terms. Three council members are "at large" members and three members represent one of each of the 3 wards in Manitou Springs.[18][19] Manitou Springs residents may attend the following meetings or working sessions held each month at the Council Chambers at 606 Manitou Avenue.[20]
1st Tuesday
2nd Tuesday
3rd Tuesday
4th Tuesday
City Council meeting
Working session
City Council meeting
Optional working session
City boards and commissions
The Manitou Springs City Boards and Commissions include:[21]
Business Improvement District sponsors events and promotions to encourage tourism and business within Manitou Springs. It was also formed to "improve the cleanliness, safety, and marketability of the Downtown Historic District."[22]
Planning Commission, with the objective of "guiding and accomplishing a coordinated, well adjusted and harmonious development of the City and its environs."[31]
Urban Renewal Authority Board to oversee the "redevelopment of the east end of Manitou Avenue."[32]
The Iron Springs Chateau Melodrama Dinner Theater, located on Ruxton Avenue, is a dinner theatre for families and adults.[34][35]
Manitou Cliff Dwellings,[36] a full-size replica of Anasazi Indian cliff dwellings, as well as a museum. The cliff dwellings were built in the early 1900s, using materials from ruined cliff dwellings in the Four Corners area.[37][38]
The Springsabouts Walking Tours, a tour of nine of the Manitou Mineral Springs sites offered by the Mineral Springs Foundation. People can also take their own tour of the springs by visiting The Manitou Springs Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau to pick up a free mineral springs brochure, content chart and a sampling cup.[42]
Parks, from east to west along Manitou Avenue, include Schryver Park, Memorial Park, Mansions Park, and Soda Springs Park. Fields Community Park is located on El Paso Boulevard. Seven Minute Gazebo is located behind Mansions and Memorial Parks.[43][44]
There are a total of eight springs throughout town, each with their own mineral properties.[45]
Manitou Incline, a former incline railway bed that rises over 2,000 feet above Manitou Springs is a popular hiking and fitness activity.
Barker House, (a private Residential Apartment building for many decades) was one of the first hotels in Manitou Springs and due to its long history, Barker House is on the National Register of Historic Places.[61]
Matt Carpenter, current resident of the city, the most successful male athlete in the history of the Pikes Peak Marathon, the outright record holder and winner of the marathon on eleven occasions.[62]
^Historic Manitou Springs, Colorado - 2013 Visitors Guide. The Manitou Springs Chamber of Commerce, Visitors Bureau & Office of Economic Development. 2013. pp. 19–24.
^ abcJanet Kolb. "Manitou Springs: Arts, history, entertainment founded on pure mineral water [July 21, 2002. Corrected 08/14/02]." Colorado Springs: The Gazette. 2002. HighBeam Research. Retrieved May 5, 2013.
^Historic Manitou Springs, Colorado - 2013 Visitors Guide. The Manitou Springs Chamber of Commerce, Visitors Bureau & Office of Economic Development. 2013. pp. 10–11, 40–41.
^Historic Manitou Springs, Colorado - 2013 Visitors Guide. The Manitou Springs Chamber of Commerce, Visitors Bureau & Office of Economic Development. 2013. pp. 13, 40–41.
^Historic Manitou Springs, Colorado - 2013 Visitors Guide. The Manitou Springs Chamber of Commerce, Visitors Bureau & Office of Economic Development. 2013. p. 13.
^ abcTravis Duncan. "Calendar Benefits Library; Work of 17 local artists is showcased in '09 'Historic Manitou Springs' calendar." Colorado Springs: The Gazette. September 28, 2008. HighBeam Research. Retrieved May 5, 2013.
United States
Colorado
