North End and Central Springs landmarks

Van Briggle Art Pottery

During the short time Artus Van Briggle lived in the Pikes Peak region, he produced fine-art pottery that was revered around the world. Van Briggle contracted tuberculosis in Paris and moved to Colorado Springs in 1899 to recuperate. He began to experiment with local clay, and, working in William Strieby's chemistry lab at Colorado College and a small studio in the 600 block of North Nevada Avenue, perfected glazes that duplicated the velvety matte finishes of Chinese Ming Dynasty art pottery. The technique he re-created had been lost for 400 years.

Van Briggle's pieces won international acclaim at the Paris Exposition of 1900 and soon were in great demand.

He died in 1904, but his wife, Anne, carried on the tradition. Under her direction, a new plant was built at Glen Avenue and Uintah Street. It's now owned by Colorado College. After her death, the company chang-ed hands but continued making pottery using Van Briggle's designs. In 1955, it expanded into its present location in the former Colorado Midland Railroad roundhouse at 600 S. 21st St.

St. Francis Health Center

St. Francis has its roots in the Colorado Midland railroad. The railroad company bought two houses on what now is Colorado Avenue in 1887 to be used as a hospital for treating injured workmen. Dr. B.P. Anderson, who headed the hospital, asked the sisterhood of St. Francis Seraph of Perpetual Adoration to help care for his patients.

The small facility was overwhelmed when a construction train wrecked soon after the sisters arrived, and the decision was made to build a larger one on a hill overlooking the city. The sisters went door to door to raise funds for the building, and the hospital opened in 1888. Several additions enlarged the original over the next decade. Another addition, built in 1903, now is the main building that faces East Pikes Peak Avenue.

Glockner Sanatorium

Penrose Hospital began as the Albert Glockner Sanatorium for tuberculosis patients of modest means. Marie Glockner, whose husband died of the disease, bought a tract of land on North Cascade Avenue and established the sanatorium in 1889. Patients paid $1 a day.

The Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati took it over in 1893. Annexes were built in 1903, 1905 and 1908, and in 1917, a former dormitory at Colorado College was moved to the property.

The Penrose Pavilion was dedicated in 1941, and in 1949 the facility was renamed Glockner-Penrose Hospital. A 12-story building was added in 1959 and the name changed to Penrose Hospital.

Cragmor Sanatorium

Cragmor Sanatorium was a refuge for wealthy people who had tuberculosis. It was founded by Dr. S. Edwin Solly, an English physician who had come to the Pikes Peak region to cure his own tuberculosis. The name he chose evoked the junction of the bluff (crag) and the plains (moor). William Jackson Palmer donated the 100- acre site and $50,000 for the project, and architect Thomas Mac- Laren designed it. After 1952, the sanatorium treated American Indian patients under one of the first public-health programs of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. The building with the red-tile roof was transferred to the University of Colorado in June 1964, becoming Main Hall of the university's Colorado Springs branch.

Patty Jewett Golf Course

William Kennon Jewett and his wife, Patty, came to Colorado Springs from New York for his health in 1898. He became a vice president of the Colorado Springs National Bank; Patty did charity work and was a social leader. From 1901 to 1913, they lived at 1507 N. Cascade Ave. in a showplace home called Mira Flores.

They loved outdoor sports, especially golf. W.K. joined the Town and Gown Golf Club and helped organize and finance the Colorado Springs Golf Club in 1910 after the old club disbanded.

The Jewetts moved to Pasadena, Calif., in 1913, but returned frequently to Colorado Springs for visits. Patty Jewett died in Pasadena in 1917.

By then, W.K. Jewett had acquired the major interest in the golf club and in 1919, he presented the course to the city, to be named in honor of his wife. In 1926, he donated the wrought-iron gateway that frames the entrance to the grounds. He died in Pasadena in 1935.

Shooks Run

Brothers Peter and Denton Shook came west from Iowa in 1863 and first went to the Tarryall area to prospect for gold. But they were scared away by Indians and settled in the Pikes Peak region, acquiring a patent on 80 acres of ranchland at the confluence of Monument Creek and the little creek that ran through their property. Other pioneers started calling the smaller creek Shooks Run. The brothers reportedly returned to Iowa before selling their land in 1889, but the name stuck.

Copyright 2001
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