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Manitou Cliff Dwellings Museum

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1906. .5 mile north of Manitou Springs on U.S. 24

Virginia McClurg, a grande dame of Colorado Springs, spearheaded designation of Mesa Verde as a national park in 1906. After a falling out with others involved in Mesa Verde's preservation, she used her considerable energies to construct this replica of native American cliff dwellings in a natural sandstone cliff. A viga-studded, Pueblo Revival structure houses employees, including native Americans who dance, make pottery and beadwork, talk with tourists, and pose for photos. Various Native American architectural styles are arbitrarily combined and used in this fake cliff dwelling in a town named for an Algonquin god of healing unknown to any Colorado tribe.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Thomas J. Noel
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Data

What's Nearby

Post Office
Manitou Arcade
Manitou Spa
Manitou Town Clock
St. Andrew's Episcopal Church

Citation

Thomas J. Noel, "Manitou Cliff Dwellings Museum", [Manitou Springs, Colorado], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/CO-01-EP82.

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