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Colorado Springs Directory
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Colorado Springs Background
Colorado Springs is a middle-sized city, located just east of the geographic center of the state of Colorado in the United States.
It has a population of 360,890 (according to the 2000 census) and is the second largest city in Colorado. At an elevation 6,035 feet,
it is situated near the base of one of the most famous American peaks, Pikes Peak, on the east side of the Rocky Mountains. The
capital of Colorado, Denver, is 68 miles to the north. The city is the county seat of El Paso County.
History
In August 1871, Colorado Springs was founded by General William Palmer, a veteran of the American Civil War. Its present downtown
location owes to the fact that Palmer disliked the saloons of Colorado City and ensured his city was alcohol free, keeping well
clear of the alcohol loving denizens just west of his newly founded city. After Prohibition ended in 1933 Colorado Springs became
open to alcohol sales and bars were established in its borders.
The former territorial capital of Colorado City just west of downtown Colorado Springs and east of Manitou Springs served as
Colorado’s territorial capital in 1862, meeting in a log cabin on Colorado Avenue on July 7, 1862. On August 14, 1862 the
territorial legislature approved an act which named Golden as the territorial capital. Colorado City was never recognized by the
Federal government as the territorial capital, and was some decades later annexed into the City of Colorado Springs. Colorado City
was known in its early days as a center of gold ore processing which came from nearby Cripple Creek. Saloons served alcoholic
beverages to the miners found there, while Colorado Springs, under the influence of Gen. Palmer, stayed dry in order to attract a
genteel type of resident in its early days.
In August 1893, visiting English professor Katherine Lee Bates wrote America the Beautiful from her Antlers Hotel room after visiting
the top of Pikes Peak.
Geography
Colorado Springs is located at 38°51’48" North, 104°47’31" West (38.863443, -104.791914)1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 482.1 km˛ (186.1 mi˛). 481.1 km˛ (185.7 mi˛) of it is land
and 1.0 km˛ (0.4 mi˛) of it is water. The total area is 0.21% water.
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.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there are 360,890 people, 141,516 households, and 93,117 families residing in the city. The population
density is 750.2/km˛ (1,942.9/mi˛). There are 148,690 housing units at an average density of 309.1/km˛ (800.5/mi˛). The racial makeup
of the city is 80.66% White, 6.56% Black or 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 are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 141,516 households out of which 34.0% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.5% are married couples living
together, 10.6% have a female householder with no husband present, and 34.2% are non-families. 27.0% of all households are made up of
individuals and 6.9% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.50 and the average
family size is 3.06.
In the city the population is 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 are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 34 years. For every 100 females there are 97.8 males. For every 100 females
age 18 and over, there are 95.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $45,081, and the median income for a family is $53,478. Males have a median income of
$36,786 versus $26,427 for females. The per capita income for the city is $22,496. 8.7% of the population and 6.1% of families are below
the poverty line. Out of the total population, 10.8% of those under the age of 18 and 7.2% of those 65 and older are living below the
poverty line.
Religion
In recent years, Colorado Springs has attracted a large influx of Evangelical Christians. Evangelical groups with headquarters at Colorado
Springs include Focus on the Family (a Christian organization active on many social and political issues), Compassion International, The
Navigators, Youth with a Mission, Young Life and the International Bible Society. 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".
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
Sports Teams
- The Colorado Springs Sky Sox baseball team, in the Pacific Coast League (AAA classification), a minor league affiliate of the major league Colorado Rockies.
- The Colorado Springs Blizzard soccer team, in the Premier Development League a division of the United Soccer Leagues
- The local colleges feature many sports teams. Notable among them are the following nationally-competitive NCAA Division I teams: Air Force Academy (Fighting Falcons) Football and Hockey, Colorado College (Tiger) Hockey, and Colorado College (Tiger) Women’s Soccer.
- Colorado Springs Cricket Club represents the city in Colorado Cricket League. Formerly called One World Cricket Club, they have won the state championship twice and been in the top four teams in the state for last 3 consecutive years.
- Pikes Peak International Raceway is nearby.
Trivia
- The events depicted in the Emmy Award-winning dramatic television series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, starring actress Jane Seymour, were set in this town.
- Kelsey Grammer’s sister was murdered after leaving a Red Lobster in Colorado Springs, Colorado [1].
- Lon Chaney was born in Colorado Springs on April 1, 1883. The Lon Chaney Theatre is named for him.
- Cassandra Peterson (a.k.a. Elvira, Mistress of the Night) attended Palmer High School in downtown Colorado Springs. She graduated in the class of 1969.
- Leeann Tweeden worked briefly as a waitress at a local Hooters in the 1991-1992 timeframe.
- Bobby Unser was born in Colorado Springs on February 20, 1934.
- 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.
Source: wikipedia.org
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