Might as well admit it – I’m addicted to historic preservation. Born in 1940, I grew up in a house in the 1500 block of North Tejon Street. In those days, it was a somewhat shabby middle-class neighborhood. Our neighbors were lawyers and doctors, young families with lots of kids, apartment dwellers, investment advisers, booksellers, cranky old folks and bored teenagers.
In retrospect, it was paradise. Most of the houses dated from the late 1890s, doors were never locked and we kids walked or rode our bikes to school (Steele, North Junior and Colorado Springs High School (now Palmer).
There was a degree of economic sorting – rich people lived on Cascade and Wood avenues while working families lived farther east on Nevada Avenue, Weber Street and Wahsatch Avenue. Yet the Great Depression and World War II changed the North End, as mansions were converted into apartment houses and post-war prosperity brought more young families into our staid neighborhood.
Thanks to generations of historic preservationists, Tejon Street north of Colorado College is much as it was when I lived there. It’s aspirational now – the house that my parents bought for $2,100 in 1941 would now bring $1 million or so.
But never mind – we’re happily ensconced in our Westside Victorian, in a wonderful 19th century neighborhood that has been defended and championed by preservationists for decades. Sallie, Welling, Dave, Don, the Organization of Westside Neighbors and everyone else: Thanks!!
Colorado Springs is all about growth and change. The sweet little downtown that I remember so well from my childhood was capriciously destroyed by real estate owners, business people and politicians who believed that old buildings were just “bulldozer bait.”
We lost the old Antlers Hotel, the Chief Theater and scores of downtown commercial buildings to the wrecking ball. More than half a century later, the half-block bordered by Pikes Peak, Cascade and Colorado avenues is still a parking lot; the owners are in no hurry to build anything. But they’d better watch out – voters might agree to downtown height limits.
It’ll be our Parthenon, our Acropolis.
We preservationists have lost a lot of battles, but we’ve won many more – often thanks to persistent, fearless and unstoppable leaders.
Without Dave Hughes, Old Colorado City’s 19th century buildings might have been razed or abandoned. Without Don Ellis, Red Rock Canyon Open Space would be an upscale suburb. And without Lee Milner, Corral Bluffs might have become a motorcycle park.
Yet there are always battles to be fought. Consider the City Auditorium, a grand and wonderful building that needs complete renovation.
Then-Mayor Bob Isaac and I (then a member of the City Council) conspired to stop the city from tearing it down 40 years ago, but where’s the money to fix it? Full restoration could cost $100 million or so, and even the most generous billionaires have other priorities – and rightfully so.
Dave, Don and Lee are all gone now, as is Mayor Bob. The formidable Linda Weise did her best to restore and revivify the Aud but couldn’t quite pull it off. It’s an insoluble conundrum – we’ll never tear it down, and we’ll never fix it up.
Let’s leave it alone, let generations go by, and in a thousand years it’ll be our Parthenon, our Acropolis, defined by its inscription, a plaque above the stage inscribed “Usui Civium Decori Urbis” (“For the use of the people and the glory of the city”). Learned sages in 3024 may argue about its apparent Greco/Roman origin, and wonder whether gladiators fought on its stage.
Alas, there were no gladiators, but the Tucker Torpedo automobile was first unveiled there to bewildered citizens in 1948. And yeah, we’ve had some concerts, including Black Sabbath, the Beach Boys, John Prine, The Temptations, Willie Nelson & Waylon Jennings, Little Richard, The Coasters, Tommy James & the Shondells, REO Speedwagon and Paul Revere & the Raiders.
An illustrious past – a questionable future. Of the five great historic buildings that define downtown Colorado Springs, three are fine (The Pioneers Museum, City Hall and the Mining Exchange Building) while the Post Office and the Aud are problematic.
Future preservationists, arise!