Cheyenne Spring
DETAILS
During the 1870s, Cheyenne Spring was part of the then-larger Soda Springs Park which encompassed the springs of Navajo, Cheyenne, Shoshone, and Manitou (now located inside the Spa Building). Twenty years later, the current spring-house was built over the naturally-carbonated, artesian soda spring by the Manitou Mineral Water Company. The red-orange Lyons sandstone was sourced from nearby Kenmuir Quarry, now Red Rock Canyon Open Space. Other expressions of the Lyons sandstone can be found in Garden of the Gods Park, northeast of Manitou Springs. Inside the spring-house, a copper-clad, carbon-dioxide gas collector sits in the center of the cistern. The mineral water company claimed to be the first in the world to capture natural gas emitting from the source and reinsert it during the bottling process to produce ever-popular sparkling beverages.
Mineral Content
| Mineral | Amount |
|---|---|
| Alkalinity | 2,010 mg/L |
| Calcium | 437 mg/L |
| Chloride | 243 mg/L |
| Copper | 0.08 mg/L |
| Fluoride | 3.40 mg/L |
| Iron | - |
| Lithium | .671 mg/L |
| Magnesium | 76.3 mg/L |
| Manganese | 1.25 mg/L |
| Potassium | 67.8 mg/L |
| Silica | 40.9 mg/L |
| Sodium | 445 mg/L |
| Sulfate | 205 mg/L |
| Zinc | .105 mg/L |
| Total Dissolved Solids | 2,500 mg/L |
The Font Artist
Paul Rogers
The cast-bronze font was designed and fabricated by sculpture artist Paul Rogers. Mr. Rogers holds a BFA from the University of Oklahoma, with minors in Design, Sculpture, and Art Education. He also studied Design and Sculpture at San Francisco Art Institute, City College of San Francisco, and did post-graduate studies in Ceramic Design at Redlands College, CA. Manitou Springs is proud to have Paul Rogers’ work exhibited locally at the Commonwheel Artist Co-op Gallery at 102 Cañon Avenue.
Website: Commonwheel Coop Artist Paul Rogers
Font History
Historic Manitou Springs
Cheyenne Spring is at the lower-left, with the Manitou Spring pavilion directly behind. Navajo Spring is behind the trolley car, and the Cliff House is in the background. Circa 1900. Denver Public Library, Western History Collection, X-1785.
Cistern
Carbon-dioxide gas collector and cistern. The blue-green patina on the gas collector results when mineral water and carbon-dioxide react with copper.
Sandstone
Kenmuir Quarry, now Red Rock Canyon Open Space, source of the red-orange Lyons sandstone used to construct Cheyenne’s spring-house.
