Colorado Springs, Colorado

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Colorado Springs, Colorado
Image:Us-co-cs.gif Flag
Nickname: The Springs
Location in the state of Colorado
Coordinates: 38°51′48″N, 104°47′31″W
County	El Paso
Government
- Mayor	Lionel Rivera
Area
- City	186.1 sq mi (482.1 km²)
- Land	185.8 sq mi (481.1 km²)
- Water	0.4 sq mi (1.0 km²)
Population (2005)[1]
- City	369,815 (city proper)
- Density	1,987.2/sq mi (767.25/km²)
- Metro	572,240
Time zone	MST (UTC-7)
- Summer (DST)	MDT (UTC-6)
Website: http://www.springsgov.com/

The City of Colorado Springs is the second most populous city in the State of Colorado and the 49th most populous city in the United States.^[2] The city is the county seat of El Paso County. Colorado Springs is located just east of the geographic center of the state and 63 miles (101 kilometers) south of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. At an elevation of 6035 feet (1839 meters), Colorado Springs is well over one mile above sea level, though some areas of the city are significantly higher. The city is situated near the base of one of the most famous American mountains, Pikes Peak, at the eastern edge of the Southern Rocky Mountains.

The United States Census Bureau estimates that in 2005 the population of the City of Colorado Springs was 369,815 (49th most populous U.S. city),^[2] the population of the Colorado Springs Metropolitan Statistical Area was 587,500 (84th most populous MSA),^[3] and the population of the Front Range Urban Corridor was 4,013,055.^[3]

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. In July 2006, Money magazine ranked Colorado Springs the best place to live in the big city category, which includes cities with 300,000 or more people. [1]

Colorado Springs also is not exempt from the problems that typically plague cities that experience tremendous growth: overcrowded roads and highways, crime, sprawl, and government budget issues. Many of the problems are indirectly or directly caused by the city's difficulty in coping with the large population growth experienced in the last 20 years and the annexing of the Banning Lewis Ranch area for 175,000 future residents. In 2004, the voters of Colorado Springs and El Paso County established the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority [2] and adopted a 1% sales tax dedicated to improving the region's transportation infrastructure. Together with state funding for COSMIX (2007 completion) and the I-25 interchange with Highway 16 (2008 completion), significant progress has been made since 2003 in addressing the transportation needs of the area.

A large number of religious organizations and churches make their headquarters here, particularly evangelical Christians. Several high-tech businesses have resided in the city, including a number of computer chip manufacturers (e.g. Intel, and the legendary chip foundary INMOS). The Mountain West Conference has its administrative headquarters in Colorado Springs.

Colorado Springs is also home to a large number of military installations and important national defense agencies. It is also home to the United States Air Force Academy.

Contents 1 History 1.1 General William Palmer, City Founder 1.2 Old Colorado City and the Pike's Peak Gold Rush 1.3 W. S. Stratton, early benefactor 1.4 Spencer Penrose, early benefactor 1.5 The End of the Colorado Gold Rush and the Start of Health Tourism 1.6 Latter 20th century military boom 2 Geography and climate 2.1 Geography 2.2 Climate 3 Demographics 4 Attractions and entertainment 4.1 Tourism and attractions 4.2 Orchestras 4.3 Choirs 5 Transportation 5.1 Attempts to ease traffic congestion 5.2 The "Front Range Toll Road" 5.3 Air travel 6 Sports teams 7 Economy 7.1 Defense industry 7.2 High-tech industry 7.3 Olympic Sports 8 Military 8.1 NORAD 9 Religious institutions 10 Education 11 Colorado Springs City Government 12 Colorado Springs in fiction 13 Notable residents 14 Trivia 15 Sister cities 16 See also 17 Notes and References 18 External links

[edit] History

[edit] 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 his flagship resort the Antlers Hotel opened, welcoming U.S. and international travelers 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's early days by making many grants or sales 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 late 1800s 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 a horse with one leg raised (denoting seriously being wounded in a battle that later in life caused death), 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.

[edit] Old Colorado City and the Pike's Peak 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 Pike's Peak 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, that still stands 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, major gold strikes were made 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 at the Golden Cycle Mill using Palmer's railroads. Colorado City was the location of a 1903 strike that spread to Cripple Creek and eventually led to the Colorado Labor Wars.

[edit] W. S. Stratton, early benefactor

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 children 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.

[edit] Spencer Penrose, early benefactor

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.

[edit] The End of the Colorado Gold Rush and the Start of Health Tourism

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. Because of the healthy natural scenic beauty, mineral waters, and extreme dry climate, Colorado Springs became a tourist attraction and popular recuperation destination for tuberculosis patients. The healthy waters in Colorado Springs contained so much natural fluoride, that some people’s teeth developed Colorado Stain. In 1909, Dr. Frederick McKay of Colorado Springs discovered the Colorado Stain connection and that a little fluoride added to water would prevent cavities. During this time, the city of Roswell was annexed and in 1917, Colorado Springs absorbed Colorado City and is now called "Old Colorado City.” This area still retains its 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.

[edit] Latter 20th century military boom

Colorado Springs saw its 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 preparation for the Second World War. It was also during this time that the Army began using at what was then and still is the Colorado Springs Municipal Airport. It was renamed Peterson Field and used as a training base for heavy bombers.

The Army then began expanding Camp Carson, a venture that increased growth in Colorado Springs and provided a significant area of industry for the city. After World War II 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 revitalized, along with many other parts of the Springs. In 1951, Ent Air Force Base (named for Major General Uzal Girard Ent, commander of the Ninth Air Force during World War II) was opened when the United States Air Defense Command moved to Colorado Springs.

After the Korean War, Peterson Field was renamed Peterson Air Force Base and was permanently activated. In 1954 Camp Carson became Fort Carson, Colorado Spring's first Army post. Later that same year, President Dwight D. Eisenhower chose, out of 300 other sites around the nation, Colorado Springs 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, Colorado Springs' growth was jump-started.

The military boom continued 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 greatly expanded due to increased revenue from various industries and the prevailing military presence in the city. In the mid 1970s, Ent Air Force Base was shut down and later converted into the United States Olympic Training Center. Military presence was further increased in 1983 with the founding of Schriever Air Force Base (formerly Falcon Air Force Base), a base primarily tasked with missile defense and satellite control. Fort Carson and Peterson are still growing and continue to contribute to the city's growth. Headquarters, Air Force Space Command, is located on Peterson AFB.

[edit] Geography and climate

[edit] Geography

Colorado Springs is located at 38°51′48″N, 104°47′31″W (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 (0.21%) is water.

[edit] 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. Due to unusually low precipitation for the past few years before 2006, Colorado Springs has had to enact lawn water restrictions. 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). Colorado Springs has relatively mild winters, with large snow accumulations in the downtown area relatively rare, a strong warming sun due to the altitude, and only occasional episodic periods of sub-zero cold snaps and blizzards from October 31 to March/April. 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. Colorado Springs is also one of the most active lightning strike areas in the United States. This natural phenomenon led Nicola Tesla to select Colorado Springs as the preferred location to build his lab and study electricity.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 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% 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. About 6.1% of families and 8.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.8% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Attractions and entertainment

[edit] Tourism and attractions

Much of the Springs tourism comes from the area it was built around, most famously Pikes Peak. The city is host to numerous trails and parks due to its 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 notoriety for its rock formations and other geological features, such as the Hot Springs Pool. The Largest all year round outdoor pool in the world. There are many attractions in the area, including:

• Academy Riding Stables
• American Numismatic Association
• The Broadmoor Hotel, a luxury hotel/resort rated Five-Star by Mobil and Five-Diamond by AAA, every year.[3]
• Buckskin Joe Frontier Town and Railway
• The Cliff House at Pikes Peak, a boutique luxury hotel located 10 minutes west of downtown.
• 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, 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
• Lon Chaney Theater
• Manitou and Pike's Peak Railway - ascends to the summit of 14,115 foot tall Pikes Peak
• Manitou Cliff Dwellings
• Michelle's, a 50+ year old ice cream parlor featured in Life Magazine
• Old Colorado City district
• Pikes Peak Center[4]
• Pikes Peak Library District [5]
• Pioneer's Museum
• ProRodeo Hall of Fame and Museum of the American Cowboy
• 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[6]
• United States Olympic Training Center [7]
• The Van Briggle Pottery, founded in 1899 and still operating, specializing in art nouveau vases and decorative tiles.
• The World Arena
• Theatreworks
• Bristol Brewing Company, an award-winning Microbrewery -- tastings and tours available

According to the Colorado Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau, the area attracts some six million visitors yearly.

[edit] Orchestras

• Colorado Springs Philharmonic or the Colorado Springs Philharmonic web page
• Colorado Springs Youth Symphony
• Pikes Peak Philharmonic
• Chamber Orchestra of the Springs
• Young Concert Artists of Colorado Springs

[edit] Choirs

• Colorado Springs Chorale
• Colorado Springs Children's Chorale

[edit] Transportation

Colorado Springs is served by an extensive bus system called Metro (short for Mountain Metropolitan Transit). Although the system serves much of the city and its nearest suburbs, it lacks service to many important areas and has only limited hours of operation. Taxicabs are available by phone or can usually be chartered at the airport or downtown.

[edit] Attempts to ease traffic congestion

Colorado Springs has the worst traffic congestion for a city its size.^[4] In order to combat the congestion the Colorado Department of Transportation is in the process of widening the Interstate 25 corridor throughout the city from four lanes (two in each direction) to six lanes. This project has officially been named COSMIX (Colorado Springs Metro Interstate Expansion) Ultimately, the plan is to make the interstate eight lanes through the city when funding becomes available.^[5] This plan is similar in nature to Denver's T-Rex expansion plan.

Because of the city's rapid growth and traffic congestion there have been several plans suggested for the development of a loop around Colorado Springs to allow people to pass around the city instead of through the middle where traffic is worst. Since 1964, Powers Boulevard corridor was designed for the development of a loop around the city and there were high hopes that it would be developed into one. In past years retail stores have secured sites adjacent to Powers Boulevard that have made it unlikely that the Powers loop will ever be completed as originally planned.^[6] With the annexing of the Banning Lewis Ranch area, which effectively doubles the area of Colorado Springs, makes Powers Boulevard the most likely new north-south “Main street” that could supplant Cascade Boulevard.

The transportation plan for the city is named the ITP (Intermodal Transportation Plan). This plan was revised in 2002 to include parts of the east-west mobility study that investigated the need as well as the viability of constructing or upgrading major east-west thoroughfares to ease the traffic flow across town. As part of the east-west mobility study it was suggested that Powers Boulevard be reconstructed as a six-lane limited access freeway from Interstate 25 north of town, south to Interstate 25 south of town. [8]

Other parts of the east-west mobility study include:

1. The widening of Woodmen Road to 6 or 8 lanes from Interstate 25 to Powers Boulevard and the construction of an interchange at Academy Boulevard. There is also the possibility of an express bus system or light rail along Woodmen Road.
2. Widening of Austin Bluffs Boulevard to 6 lanes from Interstate 25 to Stetson Hills, as well as connection via Stetson Hills and Barnes to Powers Boulevard.
3. Constructing a connection from Platte Avenue to the Interstate 25/Bijou Street interchange.
4. Upgrading the Martin Luther King, Jr. Parkway bypass to a six-lane limited access freeway from Interstate 25 to Powers Boulevard.

All of these upgrades would most likely be completed by 2020, many of them before 2015. [9]

Recently another study, the South Metro Accessibility Study, evaluated the improvements needed to the major thoroughfares on the south side of Colorado Springs. The studies suggested alternative includes:

1. Reconstruction of Drennan Road south of its current location as an expressway (Milton E. Proby Parkway).
2. Reconstruction of Academy Boulevard to expressway standards from Drennan Road to Pikes Peak Community College.
3. Construction of a Drennan/Academy interchange to allow free-flow of traffic.
4. Widening and upgrading of Academy Boulevard to expressway standards from Pikes Peak Community College to Colorado State Highway 115.
5. Construction of an extended south entrance to the Colorado Springs Airport to the expressway

Ultimately, when completed the idea is to improve Academy Boulevard to Expressway status from Highway 115 to Drennan Road, and along with Drennan, allow an express route from Highway 115 to the Colorado Springs Airport. The airport's role has been a major part of the design as city planners are hoping to improve the viability of the airport as an alternative to Denver International Airport by the construction of the expressways and improving accessibility to the airport from Interstate 25 as well as the southeastern part of the city. [10]

Recently a large group of developers has suggested another possibility for a loop freeway around the Springs. This loop would go through a newly suggested development known as Banning Lewis Ranch. The loop would be a toll road, at least initially. Because of the scope of the Banning Lewis project, no steps have yet been taken to secure the funds necessary to begin constructing the loop. This loop along with the Powers Loop are among several alternatives being investigated currently. It is likely one or both of these will be built.^[7]

If and when all of these projects are completed, the traffic flow in and around Colorado Springs ought to be greatly improved in the short-term.^{[citation needed]} However, most American cities have discovered that road expansion leads to population increases and sprawl which ultimately lead to a resumption of congestion.^{[citation needed]} Overall the new thoroughfares would include one (or two) loop freeways, a spur into the city connecting the main freeway and the loop, east-west expressway upgrades, and easier access to the Colorado Springs Airport.

[edit] The "Front Range Toll Road"

In addition there are plans to develop a "Front Range Toll Road", a privately-owned turnpike, which would begin south of Pueblo and end around Fort Collins. This toll road would allow rail and truck traffic to avoid the more highly travelled parts of I-25 along the Front Range. Initially, the project had support but has since been highly contested because of the need to condemn the land of many private citizens, through the use of eminent domain, to make room for the corridor^[8]

[edit] Air travel

Colorado Springs is served by the Colorado Springs Municipal Airport. It is the second largest airport in the state of Colorado in terms of passenger traffic (Denver International Airport is larger). The airport has experienced a higher recovery rate in the post-9/11 era than the rest of the country^[9] and is in the process of expanding its maintenance facilities, taxiways, and runways to accommodate future growth. In 2005 it served approximately two million passengers.^[10]

[edit] Sports teams

Name	Sport	Founded	League	Venue
Colorado Springs Sky Sox	Baseball	1988	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: United States Air Force Academy (Fighting Falcons) Football, Basketball and Hockey, Colorado College (Tigers) Hockey, and Women's Soccer.

• Colorado Springs hosted the 1962 International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships (together with Denver).

This nullifies a popular Canadian claim that the 2008 IIHF World Championships in Quebec City, PQ and Halifax, NS will mark the first time this event is organized on the American continent.

[edit] Economy

Colorado Springs' economy is driven primarily by the military, the high-tech industry, and tourism, in that order. While the main force behind the city's economy is the military, the city is not completely dependent on it. The city is currently experiencing some growth mainly in the service sectors and has been identified as one of the nation's top ten fastest growing economies.^[11]

On January 17, 2007. Steve Fehl, an Analyst at the Pikes Peak Workforce Center [11] announced that many of the better jobs being created in Colorado Springs (CS) are for service positions in the upscale insurance, support, and financial call centers. These large businesses find the quality and quantity of available college educated workers an incentive to locate in CS. Mr. Fehl also believes CS still remains a difficult market for job seekers outside the defense sector. With future growth in the defense sector expected when the approved funding is released to defense contractors, creating employment for those with active security clearances. This growth should offset some of the recent softening in information technology and complex electronic equipment manufacturing sectors.

[edit] Defense industry

The defense industry is a significant portion of Colorado Springs' economy with several of the largest employers coming from this sector.^[12] A large segment of this industry is dedicated to the development and operation of various projects of the missile defense agency. The aerospace industry also has had an influence on the Colorado Springs economy. The defense sector has planned several changes, moving in and out personnel, building and shutting down, over the next few years. Still, they are among the largest employers in the city and the overall trend is some growth.

Significant defense corporations in the city include:

• Northrop Grumman
• Lockheed Martin
• ITT
• L-3 Communications

[edit] High-tech industry

A large percentage of Colorado Springs' economy is still based on high tech and manufacturing complex electronic equipment. The high tech sector of Colorado Springs area has decreased its overall presence in the Springs' economy over the past six years (from around 21,000 down to around 8,000), notably in information technology and complex electronic equipment. [12](2006-2007 Southern Colorado Economic Forum Publication pg 18) Due to the slowdown in tourism, the high tech sector now ranks second to the military in terms of total revenue generated and employment. [13] It is projected by the trend that the high tech employment ratio will continue to decrease in the near future.[14][15] Besides the high tech sector, there are also several research and development firms located in Colorado Springs.^{[citation needed]}

Because of Colorado Springs’ central U.S. location, available surplus of highly educated workers, and business friendly climate; several companies have plans to either expand their current operations in Colorado Springs or have considered Colorado Springs as a competitive area for relocating or opening a business.

High tech corporations with connections to the city include:

• Verizon Business – Software development - Formerly WorldCom and MCI, has a fairly large engineering presence
• Hewlett-Packard – 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 Hewlett-Packard after the 2002 merger.
• SNIA – Computing - home of the SNIA Technology Center
• Agilent – Manufacturing - HP operated a larger facility in the area that was later renamed Agilent in a spinoff.
• Intel – Chip fabrication, built in 2000. Intel has put this facility up for sale, and plans to leave Colorado Springs. Local economist believes a loss up to 4,154 jobs possible if facility is not sold and shut down. [16]
• Atmel – Chip fabrication. Formerly Honeywell
• Cypress Semiconductor Colorado Design Center – Chip fabrication R&D site

[edit] Olympic Sports

Colorado Springs is home to the United States Olympic Training Center and the headquarters of the United States Olympic Committee. In addition, a number of United States national federations for individual Olympic sports have their headquarters in Colorado Springs, including:

• United States Fencing Association
• United States Figure Skating Association
• USA Basketball
• USA Cycling
• USA Hockey
• USA Swimming
• USA Shooting

The city has a particularly long association with the sport of figure skating, having hosted the U.S. Figure Skating Championships 6 times and the World Figure Skating Championships 5 times. It is home to the World Figure Skating Museum and Hall of Fame and the Broadmoor Skating Club, a notable training center for the sport. In recent years, the World Arena has hosted skating events such as Skate America and the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships.

[edit] Military

The United States Military plays a very important role in the city. Colorado Springs is home to both Army and Air Force bases and their numerous support bases around the county. Fort Carson, the city's biggest military base, was home to the 3rd ACR and will be home to 4th Infantry, boosting the city's population. The city is host to many various training grounds for infantry, armor, and attack helicopters (specifically the AH-64 Apache). Fort Carson is also the headquarters of the 10th Special Forces Group's second and third battalion, two of the three battalions of the 10th.

The Air Force has a few critical aspects of their service based at Colorado Springs which carry on missile defense operations and development. The Air Force bases a large section of the nation's national missile defense operations, with many parts such as NORAD and Peterson set to operate large sections of the program. Peterson AFB is currently the headquarters of the Air Force's major command Air Force Space Command, the highest level of command in the Air Force. Schriever AFB is the location of the global positioning system (GPS) master control station and GPS Operations Center and the US Naval Observatory Alternate Master Clock used to synchronize GPS satellite time. Schriever is also devolping parts of national missile defense and runs parts of the annual wargames used by the nations military.

[edit] NORAD

Colorado Springs is the site of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), a component of America's missile defense system. When it was built, at the height of the Cold War era, it caused much anxiety for the residents of Colorado Springs. NORAD still operates. Today it is primarily tasked with the tracking of ICBMs, but the military has recently decided to put Cheyenne Mountain's NORAD/NORTHCOM operations on standby and move operations to nearby Peterson Air Force Base. [17]

Military installations in and around the city include:

• United States Air Force Academy – Tasked primarily with training Air Force officers.
• 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 – Headquarters of Air Force Space Command and United States Northern Command
• Schriever Air Force Base – Air Force
• Fort Carson – Army

[edit] Religious institutions

In recent years, Colorado Springs has attracted a large influx of Evangelical Christians and organizations. 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". According to the 2006 DEX phone book, there are 84 separate categories under "churches" with hundreds of individual churches listed.

The city and surrounding areas also host hundreds of churches and synagogues of many faiths and denominations, including a mosque.

Evangelical groups with headquarters at Colorado Springs include:

• Compassion International
• Focus on the Family
• International Bible Society
• Association of Christian Schools International
• The Navigators
• Young Life
• Christian and Missionary Alliance
• National Association of Evangelicals
• Family Research Institute

[edit] Education

Universities, colleges and special schools include:

• The Colorado College, founded in 1874
• The Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind, 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, vocational training.
• Colorado Technical University, established in 1965
• Colorado State University - Pueblo, Citadel Campus
• DeVry University, established in 1931

The city's public schools are divided into several districts:

• Academy District 20 in the north-west corner
• District 11 in the center of the city
• Falcon District 49 on the east side
• District 8 on the south side
• Harrison District 2 in the sout-east corner

[edit] Colorado Springs City Government

Organizational Chart of Colorado Springs City Government

[edit] Colorado Springs in fiction

• Clive Cussler sets a chapter of his thriller "Cyclops" in Colorado Springs, featuring an action scene between the President's personal investigator and a man supposedly involved in a top secret colony on the moon.
• 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).
• The Incident(1990) movie was filmed in the courtroom exhibit at the Pioneer's Museum (formerly the El Paso County Courthouse).
• Strangeland (1998) filmed in Colorado Springs.
• 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.
• 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.
• The movie Independence Day makes reference to the destruction of NORAD.
• 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 film WarGames featured the NORAD facility quite prominently, even though only exterior shots were actually filmed on location.
• The film The Prestige includes Colorado Springs as the home of inventor Nikola Tesla, played by David Bowie. Also includes a facade of The Cliff House at Pikes Peak.

[edit] Notable residents

• Silent film star Lon Chaney was born in Colorado Springs on April 1, 1883. The Lon Chaney Theatre is named for him.
• Nine time MLB All-Star pitcher Goose Gossage was born in Colorado Springs on July 5, 1951, and graduated from Wasson High School. Retired from baseball, he currently lives in Colorado Springs.
• Cassandra Peterson (also known as Elvira, Mistress of the Night) attended General William J. Palmer High School in downtown Colorado Springs. She graduated in the class of 1969.
• Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton was born in Colorado Springs.
• Model Leeann Tweeden worked briefly as a waitress at a local Hooters in the 1991-1992 timeframe.
• Automobile racer Bobby Unser was born in Colorado Springs on February 20, 1934.
• Actors Michael Boatman and Chase Masterson are from Colorado Springs.
• Serbian-born American physicist Nikola Tesla built a laboratory in Colorado Springs 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. The site of the lab is now a residential area. The address is the intersection of Foote and Kiowa streets.
• Professional kickboxer, wrestler and actor Bob "The Beast" Sapp was born in Colorado Springs and attended Mitchell High School.
• WWE Superstar wrestler Bobby Lashley is from Colorado Springs.

[edit] Trivia

• Kelsey Grammer's sister was murdered after leaving a Red Lobster in Colorado Springs, Colorado [18].
• Many locals believe that if World War III started that Colorado Springs would be one of, if not the first, cities destroyed. This is based on primary target information, the large military presence of vital importance to the national military infastructure (USNORTHCOM, AFSPC, NORAD and Schriever AFB operations), the presence of a large contingent of up and coming Air Force officers at the United States Air Force Academy, and the acknowledged military practice of not striking a country's leadership (Washington, DC) so that there is someone to negotiate a surrender with.
• The concept of water fluoridation to prevent cavities was discovered by Dr. Frederick McKay, a local doctor in 1909.

[edit] 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 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. The orchestra played in Bankstown, Australia in 2002 and again in June 2006 as part of their tours to Australia and New Zealand.

Also, in 2006, the Bankstown TAP (Talent Advancement Program), performed with the Youth Symphony, and the Colorado Springs Children's Chorale, as a part of the annual In Harmony program.

A notable similarity between Colorado Springs and its sister cities are their geographic positions, three of the six cities located near the base of a major mountain or range.

[edit] See also

• Keith Lockhart, former conductor of the Pikes Peak Symphony
• The Broadmoor Hotel, a 5-star hotel and resort in southwest Colorado Springs
• The Cliff House at Pikes Peak, a Four Diamond luxury boutique hotel located 10 minutes west of downtown.

[edit] Notes and References

[edit] External links

• City of Colorado Springs government site also at [19]
• Official Site of the Greater Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce
• Official Site of the Colorado Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau
• Early Capitol and Legislative Assembly Locations
• Denver & /Rio Grande/Colorado Springs, CO
• The Greater Colorado Springs Economic Development Corporation
• Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center
• Fort Carson
• Peterson Air Force Base
• Schriever Air Force Base
• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 38.863443° -104.791914°
  • Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
  • Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
  • Topographic map from TopoZone
  • Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
• 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
• Colorado Springs Community Guide

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