An App for History

I ordered my iPhone this weekend, and oh so excited am I.

When my husband and I went low-tech on our phones a few years ago, I canceled the data plan on my phone, and have seen nary an app since then.

But it’s time to rejoin the 21st century, and when my phone arrives, I want to check out a new app from the Old Colorado City Historical Society (profiled on local NPR station KRCC’s The Big Something).

You can download it too, it’s free on iTunes. My phone won’t be here until later this week, so tell me what you think!

Old School//New Artists

For any of you housestory readers that are local in Colorado Springs–there is a great new home for artist studios in town: The Old Midland School has been restored by local civil engineering firm Terra Nova Engineering, and is hosting an open house this weekend. It’s a beautiful old school, and you can tour the artist studios while you wander through and appreciate the architecture.

Read more about the school and the project in the Colorado Springs Independent.

 

housestory: On the Road

Summer is winding down for us now in Colorado Springs, and we spent the past few weeks on vacation. But now we’re back in town. And so at last…a new post!

I’m a sucker for those brown road signs. You know the ones, posted along American freeways and highways, designed to point the way to significant cultural sites and historic markers.

So when we stopped for the night in Rock Springs, Wyoming on a recent road trip between Colorado Springs and the Pacific Northwest, I just had to follow the signs to downtown Rock Springs.

Fallen Star

I first saw the large scale installations of Korean-born artist Do Ho Suh at the Henry Art Gallery in Seattle. And now, with the opening his Fallen Star in San Diego, it seems another West Coast trip may be in order…

I’ll let the photographs speak for themselves, but you can read more about Do Ho Suh and Fallen Star (which rests seven stories up, atop the University of California/San Diego’s Jacobs School of Engineering) here.

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Wildfire Relief Effort

It’s definitely been a rough week for Colorado Springs. The Waldo Canyon wildfire has destroyed close to 350 houses, and more than 30,000 were evacuated from their homes.

But here’s a way to help. Local designers have started an effort to design and sell wildfire t-shirts, with 100% of the proceeds supporting Colorado wildfire victims. Funds will benefit the Colorado branch of American Red Cross, local food bank Care and Share, Colorado Fire Relief Fund, and Immediate Local Wildfire Relief.

At this point, there are already 18 design choices, and each shirt sells for just $20. You can read an article about the program in the Colorado Springs Business Journal. Or go straight to the website to buy a shirt.

Hey Daisy

Because it’s summer time, and summer is all about bike rides, music and fun.

(And, because this was filmed in Colorado Springs’ Old North End neighborhood. Oh, and because I can’t believe how long this guy can balance without touching the handlebars.)

A Family of Mustachioed Men

This is the third in a series of Memorial Day posts recognizing some of the historic figures memorialized through sculpture in downtown Colorado Springs. See the first post here, and the second post here.

This guy had a great mustache. And from the look of things, he came by his facial hair naturally, bred in a family of mustachioed men.

Spencer “Spec” Penrose (1865-1939) didn’t arrive on the scene in Colorado Springs until 1891, but he made a splash when he showed up.  Penrose built the Broadmoor Hotel and the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, and had his hand in many other local landmarks as well.

tweet tweet

You may have noticed a new widget in my sidebar.

Housestory is now on Twitter. So if you’re on Twitter, just click on the widget to get my tweets. I love how silly that combination of words sounds, so I’ll say it again: Click on the widget to get my tweets.

A Latte for Zebulon

This is the second in a series of Memorial Day posts recognizing some of the historic figures memorialized through sculpture in downtown Colorado Springs. See the first post here.

It’s hard not to be cool when you have a name like Zebulon.

Lucky for Zebulon Pike, he led an adventurous life equal to his name.

An Inspiring Place for Play

I would love to have this playground in my neighborhood.

And yes, it is as it looks: a limited edition bronze sculpture designed as a functional playground!

Created by artist Tom Otterness, the piece above was commissioned as a private installation in Massachusetts. But, Otterness has done public playgrounds as well, including the Big Girl Playground in Yonkers, NY