Glen Eyrie is an English
Tudor-style castle built in 1871 by General
William Jackson Palmer
William Jackson Palmer (September 18, 1836 – March 13, 1909) was an American civil engineer, veteran of the Civil War, industrialist, and philanthropist. During the American Civil War, he was promoted to brevet brigadier general and receive ...
, the founder of
Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...
. There are 17 guest rooms (12 Deluxe guest rooms and 5 premier guest rooms) in the castle, as well as 7 meeting rooms including the Castle Great Hall (2200-square-foot room that can hold up to 240 people) and 2 dining rooms (the Castle King James Hall has seating for 180 people and the Castle Music & Library rooms for seating for up to 58 people). This house was his and his wife's dream home, and is near Colorado Springs in the northwest foothills just north of the
Garden of the Gods
Garden of the Gods (Arapaho: ''Ho3o’uu Niitko’usi’i'') is a public park located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States. It was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1971.
Name
The area now known as Garden of the Gods was f ...
rock formations (now a city park). After building a large carriage house where the family lived for a time, Palmer and his wife Mary "Queen" Mellen built a 22-room frame house on the estate. This house was remodeled in 1881 to include a tower and additional rooms, and made to resemble a stone
castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
in 1903, reminiscent of those native to
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.
Queen Palmer, at age 21, opened the first public school in Colorado Springs in November 1871. The Palmers had three daughters, Elsie, Dorothy, and Marjory.
In 1880, Mrs. Palmer suffered a mild heart attack and was advised to move to a lower altitude. She and the girls moved to the East Coast and then to England where General Palmer visited them as often as he could. Queen died on December 27, 1894, at the age of 44. In sorrow, General Palmer went to England to return Mrs. Palmer's remains and the girls to Colorado Springs. At that time they decided to tear down their home and, in memory of his wife because she so enjoyed the feel of a castle home, they re-built the 33,000-square-foot castle.
Glen Eyrie's use today
Glen Eyrie is an English
Tudor-style castle built by General
William Jackson Palmer
William Jackson Palmer (September 18, 1836 – March 13, 1909) was an American civil engineer, veteran of the Civil War, industrialist, and philanthropist. During the American Civil War, he was promoted to brevet brigadier general and receive ...
, the founder of
Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...
. There are 17 guest rooms in the castle, as well as 4 meeting rooms, 2 dining rooms, and 24
fireplace
A fireplace or hearth is a structure made of brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a room. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, depending on the design.
...
s. The castle has several features that were advanced for its time, including a primitive
intercom
An intercom, also called an intercommunication device, intercommunicator, or interphone, is a stand-alone voice communications system for use within a building or small collection of buildings which functions independently of the public telephon ...
system and a two
chimney
A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are typic ...
system operated by a lever that would direct the
smoke
Smoke is a suspension of airborne particulates and gases emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwanted by-product ...
depending on what direction the wind was blowing to take the smoke out of the valley. And in case of fires there also were fire hose stations places throughout the castle. Glen Eyrie is on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
.
The castle is now owned by
The Navigators. It is open for public tours and events, and can be rented for private programs.
Events hosted at the castle include English and Victorian teas throughout the week and Christmas Madrigal Banquets beginning after Thanksgiving. Glen Eyrie also puts on marriage getaways, men's retreats, women's retreats, family conferences, and much more. To check on their upcoming programs and different retreats, visit thei
website
Glen Eyrie's location at the base of
Queen's Canyon leaves it vulnerable to flash floods, a risk that increased after the 2012
Waldo Canyon Fire. The fire did no damage to the Glen Eyrie grounds, but it stripped the vegetation from Queen's Canyon. Over a million dollars in flood mitigation has since provided two debris nets and a wider, deeper, concrete-and-cinder-block-reinforced creek bed, which allows water to flow at 2,000 cubic feet per second through the grounds at Glen Eyrie.
See also
*
References
External links
Navigators/Glen Eyrie official site
{{National Register of Historic Places
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Colorado
Castles in the United States
Buildings and structures in Colorado Springs, Colorado
Tourist attractions in Colorado Springs, Colorado
Houses in El Paso County, Colorado
Tudor Revival architecture in Colorado
National Register of Historic Places in Colorado Springs, Colorado
1871 establishments in Colorado Territory