A stroll back in time awaits those who visit the historic Miramont Castle, located at 9 Capitol Hill Avenue in Manitou Springs. Dating back to the late 1800s, the property provides an educational experience not only of the castle but the history of Manitou Springs, its indigenous people and artifacts.
“We hold a lot of Manitou history here, not just history of the castle,” explained employee Leah Blake. “It’s an educational tour as well as visual.” Blake is the manager of the castle’s tearoom and works as head baker.
Miramont Castle History
Currently owned and operated by the Manitou Springs Historical Society, the earliest deed dates for the property on which the castle sits date back to 1862. According to the website, the property has a long list of former owners, including Col. John Chivington who commanded the infamous Sand Creek Massacre of 1864.
The Castle was built in 1895 as a private home for Father Jean Baptist Francolon, a French-born Catholic priest. The website explains construction on the castle began in the fall of 1895 with inspiration and architectural ideas Francolon had collected in his early years of traveling the world. “Miramont, which means look at the mountains, had indoor plumbing and electricity when it was built,” according to the website.
Castle Archectiture
Castle visitors will enjoy a visual feast of nine styles of architecture. “Shingle-style Queen Anne, Romanesque, English Tudor, Flemish stepped gables, domestic Elizabethan, Venetian Ogee, Byzantine, Moorish and half-timber Chateau are used randomly throughout the four stories,” the website detailed.
The building, it said, stair-steps up the mountain with the front door being on the first level and the back door on the fourth. Miramont Castle is over 14,000 square feet in size and has over 40 rooms, including a solarium that was once used as a conservatory greenhouse. Unique in its design, there are eight-sided rooms, a 16-sided room, and very few rooms with four square corners.
The Miramont Castle Today
Blake has been employed with the castle for six years. She is one member of a very small staff that keeps this historic venue open and operating. Blake is responsible for event planning, menu planning, baking, serving in the tea room, and more. “I do a little bit of everything around here,” she explained. “The tea room is separate, and the castle is set up as a museum,” she explained. The tea room and the museum, she explained, complement one another in attracting visitors.
Blake said the Manitous Springs Historical Society purchased the castle in 1976 for $65,000. “It was completely in shambles,” she explained. “The city was ready to tear it down. The historical society did a lot of construction to get it to its original state and opened it as a museum six months later. It’s ongoing work to keep it in its original state.”
Individual pieces in the castle, Blake said, are not original to the castle but are original from the time. Visitors, she said, are equally divided between residents and tourists. The tea room does see repeat regular customers. The museum hosts on average 100 persons a day through tours and 50 per day in the tea room.
The Queen’s Parlour Tea Room
The Queen’s Parlour Tea Room is in the castle and offers tea packages along with a lunch menu of selections for purchase. The tea room offers modern takes on multicourse Victorian tea. It’s a glass-enclosed room with a wonderful view. The interior is “adorned with reproduction tin ceiling, period light fixtures and the original brick of the castle.”
Although there is no dress code, tea lovers have fun dressing up and borrowing fancy hats to wear during the experience. Private parties such as bridal showers, birthdays and group luncheons are available with advance planning. Tea room hours are limited, and reservations are necessary.
Miramont Castle and The Queen’s Parlour Tea Room play host to several monthly special events.
The castle is open year-round, seven days a week. It is closed for major holidays. Tours are self-guided with information along the way. Admission fees vary but admission is free for active-duty military, firefighters and children ages 3 and under. Advance reservations to tour are not required, except for groups of 10 or more. Dedicated parking is free of charge.
