Ute Iron Spring (capped) (Manitou Springs, Colorado)

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The Ute Iron Spring, a former mineral soda water spring, now capped, is located under the floor of the Iron Springs Chateau dinner theater.

The Ute Iron Spring was one of the original natural iron-rich springs for which the neighborhood of Iron Springs was named. It was subsequently drilled to increase the flow, and eventually capped.

The name of the spring probably derives from its location along the ancient Indian trail over Ute Pass (the same route followed by the modern "Ute Pass Trail" hiking trail).

Three different open-air pavilions previously existed, in succession, over the spring.

The first pavilion, a small rectangular "summer house", was built in the 1870s by Dr. Strickler, the owner of the first Iron Springs Hotel.

Circa 1884, the company that owned the second Iron Springs Hotel replaced the summer house with a more elaborate octogonal pavilion with an enclosed northeast wing. This was the orginal "Chateau", from which the modern dinner-theater derives its name. A modern replica can be found in Seven Minute Spring Park.

In the late 1880s the spring and the Chateau were purchased by Joseph Gonder Hiestand, a mineralogist, taxidermist, and photographer who had previously operated a curio shop and "free museum" on Manitou Avenue across from the Shoshone Spring. The enclosed wing of the Chateau became his new shop/museum.

The enclosed wing was later expanded, then replaced with an even larger version. The old version was recycled as the second floor of a seperate building located a short distance away, which served as the office for the complex.

Circa 1890, Hiestand replaced the Chateau with a larger, rectangular pavilion with stone columns supporting an enclosed second floor, which he used as a photography studio. The enclosed northeast wing of the Chateau was retained, and later the original version it had replaced was attached to the end of it as an extension.

Later an open-air dancing pavilion was added. This was subsequently enclosed to form a northwest wing.

A fire in 1961 destroyed the pavillion's second floor and northeast wing. The stone columns and northwest wing survived, and were incorporated into the current building.

Historic photos:

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