For More Information
Contact: Kitty Clemens
Economic Development Director
719-685-9741
CELL (719)-321-8561
September 15, 2005
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Manitou Springs Dedicates Shoshone Plaza With Art And A Newly Restored
Spring
(Manitou Springs, Colorado) After more than 2 years of planning by numerous community groups, Shoshone Plaza, the new pocket park in downtown Manitou Springs, is ready to enjoy. Mayor Marcy Morrison joined representatives from the El Pomar Foundation, Gay and Lesbian Fund for Colorado, the Manitou Springs Economic Development Council, the Manitou Springs Art Commission and the Manitou Springs Mineral Springs Foundation to officially dedicate Shoshone Plaza in the heart of downtown.
With a traditional blessing of the spring conducted by Austin Box of the Ute Nation , the city can cross one more action item off their list as they work to recapture Manitou’s past as a walkable community. Manitou Springs was founded before the advent of the automobile as a visitor destination. In the summer months the streets and sidewalks were full of people walking from spring to spring to partake of healthful spring waters and purchase items from diverse downtown shops. As the community evolved, accommodating automobiles took center stage along Manitou Avenue and the streets were converted into a 4 lane configuration that allowed cars to travel at a high rate of speed through the historic shopping and dining district. In November 2003, voters overwhelmingly approved a bond to fund a massive overhaul of the streetscape. In early 2004 Dan Burden visited the community to conduct a walkable audit. His vision of how Manitou Avenue could be reconfigured to reclaim the streets for people was incorporated into a final streetscape design based on Manitou’s approved master plan entitled the Avenue Plan. Virtually every community group in Manitou Springs elected a representative to work with the Colorado Department of Transportation to get the multi-year project off the drawing board.
The dedication of Shoshone Plaza marks the completion of phase one construction and adds a new dimension to visiting downtown Manitou Springs. Included within the park is a new sculpture garden and the cornerstone of a new “wayfinding” program. The “wayfinding” program, created by the Manitou Springs Art Commission, will allow visitors to follow a Native American symbol for water marked on the sidewalks to all of the Mineral Springs in downtown.
Because Manitou Springs is small and runs on a lean budget, the multi-million dollar effort to revitalize downtown is working because everyone is “pitching in.” Funds from the El Pomar Foundation and the Gay and Lesbian Fund for Colorado enabled the community to complete a public space that will be enjoyed for generations to come.
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Manitou Springs Ahead is a citizen driven
volunteer effort to implement the Manitou Avenue Master Plan. Citizens from
numerous community groups formed Manitou Springs Ahead to submit
charitable grant requests, solicit individual legacy gifts and work with
government agencies on final design and construction in historic downtown.
Progress updates can be found at
www.manitouspringsahead.com.