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This summer the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum will host the Annual Quilts and Fine Woodworking Exhibition, with a striking combination of contemporary quilts and woodworking created by regional artists. Each year this juried exhibition draws thousands of area residents, many of whom view the show several times. From August 30 through November 1, 2008 the gallery will be awash in color as traditionally pieced quilts mix with others incorporating digital manipulation and hand beading. The quilts are exhibited along side one-of-a-kind woodwork creations that combine such woods as walnut, bubinga, cherry or ash, to name just a few. "It's a delightful blend of textures, designs, colors, and techniques. Each year we are surprised by what the artists come up with," says Museum Director Matt Mayberry.
The CSPM is located in the historic El Paso County Courthouse, the city's architectural jewel. Designed by Augustus Smith in 1903, the building is beaux-arts style architecture constructed in Pikes Peak granite. Its design was intended to promote Colorado Springs as a sophisticated, prosperous and modern city. In the 1970s and 80s the structure underwent extensive restoration returning it to its original beauty.
Planned and developed by William Jackson Palmer in 1871, Colorado Springs may be Colorado's best planned city. As the focal point of the City's lovely downtown, the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum is centered in one of two signature downtown parks planned by Palmer and is surrounded by inviting green lawns, colorful flowers, outdoor sculptures, and a beautiful granite fountain.
Guided by a mission to collect, preserve, research, and interpret the history and culture of the Pikes Peak Region, the CSPM features permanent exhibits on the history of the region and changing exhibits on topics of broad interest. Additionally historic murals by local artist Eric Bransby depict the story of the Pikes Peak Region from early human occupation to the building of the Air Force Academy.
The Museum's holdings consist of over 60,000 objects including a nationally significant collection of quilts, Van Briggle art pottery, and a noted regional art collection. The Native American collection includes hundreds of items representative of the Ute, Cheyenne, and Arapaho cultures. A portion of author Helen Hunt Jackson's house is reconstructed in the Museum, furnished with her original possessions. Other collections relate to the founding of the City, the area's mining and agricultural history, its early prominence as a health resort, and its more recent significance as a center for military training and operations.
The Museum houses the Starsmore Center for Local History, an archive and research library, with materials related to the Pikes Peak Region. Included in these collections are: the Cragin Western History collection; photographic images of early Colorado; newspapers clippings, City directories from the 1870s; and many old diaries, scrapbooks, and photo albums. The public uses these materials for genealogical and historical research, films, books, articles, and school projects. Of particular significance to Colorado Springs are the personal papers of city-founder and railroad-builder General William Jackson Palmer.
Public programs range from scholarly presentations to festivals, and adult and student tours. The CSPM was a regional leader in the recent Zebulon Pike Expedition Bicentennial; hosting three major Pike-related exhibits and dozens of programs and events. The Museum also conducts a variety of public programs: lectures on local, regional and national topics, Hispanic and African-American celebrations, and antique auto shows. The exquisitely restored Division I Courtroom on the Museum's upper floor serves as a venue for classical music concerts, operas and plays, as well as lectures and mock trials. A community outreach program provides tours, speakers, presentations for schools, and other special programs. With a dedicated corps of volunteers, programs are provided to over 64,000 people who visit the museum annually.
The Museum is located downtown at 215 South Tejon Street. The Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. For more information about the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum exhibits and programs call (719) 385-5990.
Pioneers Museum's Hooray for History Day, Saturday, August 16, 2008, 10 a.m. to Noon At 10:00 a.m. join the Little London Winds for an old fashioned band concert in the park outside the Museum. Children's activities include sidewalk chalk art, a scavenger hunt, balloon animals by Magic Man Balloon Artist Gary Jones, and trick rope demonstrations by CowBoy Steve. Tours featuring the architecture of the 1903 structure housing the Museum begin at 11am. Free refreshments are provided by our hometown Sinton Dairy and the Friends of the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum.
FUN FACTS TO KNOW AND TELL
Has over 60,000 objects including Van Briggle Art Pottery, Plains Indian artifacts, and collections relating to founding of city, mining, agriculture and early prominence as a health resort.
OTHER PLACES TO VISIT
Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, designed by famed Santa Fe architect John Gaw Meem
OTHER WEBSITES
http://cspm.org
BEST TIMES TO VISIT
Going for the Gold: Pikes Peak or Bust!
Now through September 5, 2009
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