Colorado Springs’ Sesquicentennial Quiz

Last week we posted the Colorado Springs Sesquicentennial cartoon depicting all the wonderful people, places, things, and events we are celebrating during our 150^th birthday. But do you know all of them?

Test your Colorado Springs’ knowledge with our Colorado Springs Sesquicentennial Quiz. Compare the legend below to the cartoon above and identify the place, person, thing, or event. Do not cheat and jump to the answers right away – you probably know more than you think. Good luck and let us know how you did.

Quiz Answers:

1. Zebulon Pike, explorer for whom Pikes Peak was named.
2. General William J. Palmer, founder of Colorado Springs, July 31, 1871.
3. Lon Chaney, stage, and film actor, born in Colorado Springs on April 1, 1883, his parents founded the Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind.
4. Nikola Tesla, designer of the alternating current (AC) induction motor. Had a laboratory in Colorado Springs in 1899.
5. Charles E. Perkins owned a major portion of the Garden of the Gods. His heirs gave it to the city to enjoy free of charge.
6. Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, aka Cassandra Peterson, actor, writer, singer, and 1969 graduate of Palmer High School.
7. Artus Van Briggle, 1869- 1904, potter famous for his matte blue glaze. His studio is located at Uintah Street and I-25 and is part of the Colorado College campus. It was completed after his death in 1908.
8. Katherine Lee Bates wrote America the Beautiful after a visit to the top of Pikes Peak (1895).
9. Fannie Mae Duncan, (1918 – 2005) an African American entrepreneur, philanthropist and community activist who founded Duncan’s Cotton Club where a permanent sign in the window read: “Everybody Welcome.”
10. Cripple Creek prospector who became the first millionaire from that mining district. Thereafter, became a philanthropist. Most notably for the Myron Stratton Home (named after his father) for the “aged poor and dependent children.”
11. Helen Hunt Jackson,1830 – 1885, poet and novelist (Ramona). Helen Hunt Falls along Cheyenne Creek in North Cheyenne Canyon is named for her.
12. Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad developed by William J. Palmer in 1870.
13. Downhill Skier.
14. Snowboarder (there are two).
15. Greenback Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii stomias) found in the Bear Creek watershed near Jones Park.
16. Pikes Peak Hill Climb car.
17. Cartoonist’s preferred logo for Colorado Springs.
18. Alexander Aircraft Company’s Eaglerock plane. Charles Lindbergh checked into having the company build a plane for his transatlantic crossing.
19. Manitou Incline passenger car.
20. Pinecone
21. Buffalo
22. Hot air balloon from the Colorado Springs Labor Day Lift Off in Memorial Park.
23. Peggy Fleming, figure skater who trained in Colorado Springs under coach Carlo Fassi. She was the only American to win a Gold Medal in the 1968 Winter Olympics.
24. Penny-farthing, the first machine to be called a “bicycle.”
25. Prairie Schooner used to transport prospectors to the gold fields in Cripple Creek.
26. Statue of General William Palmer, founder of the city.
27. Columbine: Colorado’s state flower.
28. Starr Kemp’s kinetic sculpture.
29. Balanced Rock
30. Garden of the Gods
31. Chief Theater, formerly the Burns Theater, completed in 1911 and razed in 1973
32. Fine Arts Center, 1936, built and funded by Alice Bemis Taylor.
33. Glen Eyrie Castle, William J. Palmer’s Home
34. Antlers Hotel, razed in 1964.
35. U.S. Air Force Academy Chapel
36. Duncan’s Cotton Club, torn down in 1975.