Manitou Springs Heritage Museum

01/17/2025

Let those fruitcakes fly!

Mark your calendars! The Great Fruitcake Toss returns to Manitou Springs on January 25, from 12-3 PM! 🚀🍰 Collin Street Bakery is proud to sponsor this quirky and fun tradition. Join us for a day filled with laughter, competition, and, of course, fruitcakes! Don’t miss it!
— https://bit.ly/4jfNmK7

01/07/2025

It was a scramble on scree to see this abandoned railroad grade. Around 1887 the Colorado Midland Railway had constructed eight tunnels on the west side of Manitou Springs, which remained in use until 1949. The longest of the open tunnels, Tunnel No. 4 which is pictured here, is 505 feet long. As you face east from the easterly portal of Tunnel 4, the hiker is awestruck by the ominous view of Cameron's Cone.

12/29/2024

AdAmAn Book Sale! One Hundred Years of Ice, Wind, and Fire celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the AdAman Club. It tells the stories of the brave dedicated people who have made the incredible journey up Pikes Peak every New Year’s Eve since 1922 to put on a fireworks show for the Colorado Springs community. Get a great deal on both the softcover and hardcover versions.

Softcover normally $60 - On sale now for only $45
Hardcover normally $100 - On sale now for only $60

https://manitouspringsheritagecenter.square.site/product/adaman-one-hundred-years-of-ice-wind-and-fire/293?cs=true&cst=custom

12/07/2024

We're proud to be hanging a historic Bell in our display window this Holiday season. It was given to the Kiwanis Club by the City of Colorado Springs and was used as a Christmas Street Decoration in Manitou Springs from 1934 - 1990. The weather took its toll on the Bell as it endured snow and cold for 56 years on Manitou Avenue, but now it has been lovingly restored. Stop by and see it. As we celebrate the 2024 Holidays, we hope this historic Bell gives you all fond memories of a simpler time. If anyone has photos of these Bells in service on our City streets, please share them here. We'd love to see them.

11/29/2024

11/01/2024

Our First Friday exhibit is one of the most insightful museum exhibits in the Pikes Peak region!

A new exhibit at the Manitou Springs Heritage Center and Museum will blend the past and present impact of Indigenous communities in the West.

10/06/2024

Join us in celebrating Manitou Springs Indigenous People's Day. October 12-13.

09/24/2024

Celebrate Indigenous People's Day in Manitou Springs. October 12-13

09/24/2024

October 12, 2024 through May 1, 2025•••Opening Ceremony Saturday, October 12 at 5-8pm•••“The Photography of E.S. Curtis and Roland Reed-Historic and Contemporary First Nation Images”

The Manitou Springs Heritage Center and Museum proudly announces its exhibit, “The Photography of E.S. Curtis and Roland Reed-Historic and Contemporary First Nation Images”.

Celebrate our town’s diversity and Indigenous communities during Indigenous People’s Weekend in Manitou Springs with this community-building exhibit that contrasts and compares historic and contemporary First Nation photography. Experience the iconic photogravures of Curtis and Reed and contemporary images as seen through the camera lens of indigenous photographers, Amanda Jones, Manny Hawkwing Pulido, Kenny Frost and world-famous filmmaker, photographer and lecturer Larry Cesspooch. Mr. Cesspooch will be leading the Opening Ceremony. These First Nation Images are representative of the photographers’ tribes, families, friends and the landscapes and depict their way of life and communities. See our collections of kachinas, fetishes, pottery and artwork of indigenous peoples living throughout the West.

Visit our newly renovated FREE museum. Manitou Springs Heritage Center and Museum 517 Manitou Avenue Manitou Springs, Colorado 80829. For more information, call 719-685-1454, email: [email protected] or visit www.manitouspringsheritagecenter.org Open 6 days (Closed Tuesday) Noon-4:00pm or by appointment.

09/16/2024

29TH ANNUAL GHOST STORIES OF OLD MANITOU WALKING TOURS

Tickets Here-
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/29th-annual-ghost-stories-of-old-manitou-walking-tours-tickets-947110351557?aff=oddtdtcreator

These eerie yet fun ghost tours will take you through Historic Manitou Springs where you will encounter ghosts of historical Manitou figures. The ghostly spirits come back this year to visit us in October (October 4,5,11,12 ,18, 19 and 25).

The Manitou Springs Heritage Center and Museum, along with our friends at THEATREdART, present a fun family experience. Each scene is staged in Historic Manitou Springs where you will be accompanied by a “Spirit Guide” who provides narration and guidance through the Spirit World! Seven new scenes with the characters you’ve grown to love. This not-so-spooky ghost tour is full of fun and entertaining for all ages. Along the way, you will meet the spirits of General Zebulon Pike, Soapy Smith and The Homicidal Hairdresser. Take haunted selfies with Dr. William Bell!

Tours depart from the Manitou Springs Heritage Center and Museum (517 Manitou Avenue Manitou Springs, Colorado) starting at 5:30 pm.

Children under 11 FREE (no ticket required). These 1 hour rain or shine tours always sell out, so reserve your tickets now-
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/29th-annual-ghost-stories-of-old-manitou-walking-tours-tickets-947110351557?aff=oddtdtcreator

09/13/2024

Saturday September 14, 2024 at 11am-“Places and People of the Pikes Peak Region: Exploring 14 Signature Sites” by Tanja Britton

The Manitou Springs Heritage Center and Museum proudly hosts local historian and author, Tanja Britton, as she discusses significant landmarks that have a connection to Manitou Springs, including our beloved Manitou Springs Heritage Center and Museum. Each chapter of her book explores a natural or manmade landmark in the Pikes Peak region, the person(s) for whom the chosen site is named, and the relevant historical context. From the Ute Pass and Pikes Peak to Van Briggle Pottery, Barr Trail and the Garden of the Gods, Ms. Britton’s presentation and book cover significant local history beginning with the Utes and culminating with the sesquicentennial of Colorado Springs in 2021.

Visit our newly renovated FREE museum. Manitou Springs Heritage Center and Museum 517 Manitou Avenue Manitou Springs, Colorado 80829. For more information, call 719-685-1454, email: [email protected] or visit www.manitouspringsheritagecenter.org Open 6 days (Closed Tuesday) Noon-4:00pm or by appointment.

09/09/2024

OCTOBER 6•••Sunday 1pm•••“The Mineral Springs and Geology of Manitou” by Doug Edmundson
The Cool Science Festival, The Manitou Springs Heritage Center and the Mineral Springs Foundation proudly announce a presentation, “The Mineral Springs and Geology of Manitou” by Doug Edmundson. Mr. Edmundson, who is the current president of the Mineral Springs Foundation, will talk about the mineral springs and the geology of Manitou Springs. He will tell us about efforts to preserve, protect and promote the mineral springs and our special geology that formed them.

For more information, visit the Mineral Springs Foundation’s website, https://www.mineralspringsfoundation.org/

Visit our newly renovated FREE museum. Manitou Springs Heritage Center and Museum 517 Manitou Avenue Manitou Springs, Colorado 80829. For more information, call 719-685-1454, email: [email protected] or visit www.manitouspringsheritagecenter.org Open 6 days (Closed Tuesday) Noon-4:00pm or by appointment.

09/07/2024

October 5 •••Saturday 11am "Nikola Tesla in Colorado Springs"
The Cool Science Festival and the Manitou Springs Heritage Center and Museum welcome Patric Ryan and his presentation, "Nikola Tesla in Colorado Springs.”

Pre-registration is required for this free event. Please register here-

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/nikola-tesla-in-colorado-springs-tickets-1000378538137

Learn about the advanced scientific work of Nikola Tesla, wireless telegraphy, wireless power transmission, his interplanetary communications and death rays. Many of Tesla’s experiments were conducted right here in Colorado Springs in 1899-1900. Mr. Ryan will discuss all these topics and the impact of Tesla on modern-day science. Also learn about his efforts in Colorado Springs to build a statue honoring Nikola Tesla.

This live presentation will be held at the Manitou Springs Heritage Center and Museum, 517 Manitou Avenue Manitou Springs, Colorado 80829. Visit our newly renovated FREE museum. For more information, call 719-685-1454, email: [email protected], or visit www.manitouspringsheritagecenter.org. Open 6 days Noon-4:00pm (Closed Tuesdays) or by appointment.