Historic Colorado Estate + a Fascinating Backstory

Colorado is full of history, and luckily, many reminders of the state's past are still around to accompany the many stories that are part of said history.

Read More: Historic Colorado Stone Home + a Fascinating and Tragic History |

One of these places was a landmark that was part of the lives of the wealthier types, and its history tells stories of its numerous, well-to-do occupants as well as the fascinating connections to famous architects and builders of the time.

Colorado's Penrose House + a Fascinating History

The Penrose House was originally built at its current location of 1661 Mesa Avenue in Colorado Springs back in 1910. Grace Goodyear Depew, the land's owner at the time, commissioned a Spanish-style home to be designed and built with the help of renowned architects of the period -  Horace Trumbauer, Charles Thomas, and Thomas MacLaren.

Depew would marry, but marital bliss would be short-lived, and both she and her husband, Captain Ashton Howard Potter, would pass away roughly four years after the house was built.

Get our free mobile app

One notable part of the history of the Penrose House, then known as El Pomar, is that the landscaping was done by the Olmstead Brothers who were famous for also designing beautiful outdoor scenery around Central Park, University of California, Berkeley, Stanford University, Duke University, and Brown University, to name a few.

El Pomar would later be purchased by Spencer and Julie Penrose, the wealthy couple who also owned The Broadmoor, and the home would carry their last name to this day.

Keep scrolling to take a virtual tour of the historic Penrose House in Colorado Springs: