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A view of Colorado City with the Colorado-Philadelphia Reduction Works, Red Rock Canyon, and Pikes Peak in the background, from about 1900. (Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum)

Colorado City, now known as Old Colorado City, was our region's first permanent settlement. Founded in August 1859, it served as a supply camp for eager miners headed up Ute Pass to the gold camps. After the 1890 Cripple Creek gold discovery, the town evolved to become a center for processing gold ore, including at the Colorado-Philadelphia Reduction Works shown here in the background. Colorado City voters approved annexation by the City of Colorado Springs in 1917.

Old Colorado City is located between downtown Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs. Once slated to become the capital of Colorado, this historic neighborhood has grown a lot from its gold mining roots, while retaining the charm of days past with Victorian houses and businesses lining Colorado Avenue. It is the perfect blend of historic character, small-town charm and all the fun and excitement of a classic western town.

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Major renovations to Bancroft Park were completed last summer after the park's band shell was destroyed in a fire in 2017. A truly fantastic community effort resulted in a re-imagined park that reinvigorated the heart of Old Colorado City.

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Old Colorado City, present day

Old Colorado City's commercial district, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982, is filled with restaurants, boutiques and charming local art galleries that make for a perfect day of exploration and soaking up the atmosphere.

As for OCC residents, they hold a strong pride for their west side neighborhood that borders the Mesa, Midland and Pleasant Valley neighborhoods.

For more information about the rich history of Old Colorado City's visit OCChs.org.

This neighborhood highlight is part of a series of neighborhoods that will be highlighted leading up the Sesquicentennial Celebration or 150th anniversary of Colorado Springs on July 31, 2021.

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