Colorado Springs Vintage Homes Blog
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Colorado Springs is on THE List
America’s Fastest Recovering Cities
Good news for Colorado Springs
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For a Free Colorado Springs Relocation Guide, Email Kathy Torline at KTorline@msn.com
I love it when I come across a national article giving Colorado Springs postive recognition. This morning, I happened to see an article
from Forbes about America’s Fastest Recovering Cities.
According to the article, the list was formed by compiling statistics from the 100 largest Metropolitan areas, and the statistics included unemployemnt, housing prices, GMP, Foreclosures, and sales rates.
Heres a link to the complete list; Colorado Springs is #14, Read the rest of this entry »
New FHA limits increased again for 2009 in El Paso County
FHA has new loan limits
One of our favorite guest writers, Harry Venick sent me an email yesterday stating that the FHA has increased the loan limits for El Paso County!
According to Harry, “FHA loan limits have been increased for 2009 again: El Paso County $ 325,000(1unit ), $ 416,050 (2units), $502,900 (3units), and $ 625,000 (4units).”
Harry Venick is a Sr. Loan Officer with Adams Mortgage, LLC. He can be reached at (719) 955-3674 or his cell is: (719) 338-3879.
If you’ve been holding off because you haven’t been able to get a large enough loan with the FHA, it might be a great time to revisit Read the rest of this entry »
Resources for building a Green Home
Green Homes
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Are you considering building the home of your dreams this year? The newest trend is to build green by using materials that are environmentally friendly, designing your space to use energy 
more efficiently, furnishing your home with Energy Star rated appliances, avoiding waste and using natural resources as much as possible.
There’s also the advantage of doing your bit to help the environment while cutting back on your own utility bills.
Here are a few websites that offer help while you’re in the planning stages of building green: Read the rest of this entry »
Make a difference in Colorado Springs on January 19,2009! King Day of Service
Make A Difference
For a Free Colorado Springs Relocation Guide, Email Kathy Torline at KTorline@msn.com
A wonderful characteristic of the people of Colorado Springs is their willingness to serve others. Tomorrow, people of all ages and backgrounds will be donating their time and talent to benefit a great many churches, 
schools and other community nonprofit causes. These actions are critically important because volunteering today is a necessary aspect of meeting the many needs facing us and our country.
On Monday, January 19,2009; Martin Luther King, Jr. Day thousands of Americans across the country will commemorate his legacy through service, instead of just another Monday holiday. Will you help in Colorado Springs? You may ask yourself, how can I help? Check out this site to make a difference here in Colorado Springs. Read the rest of this entry »
Some free or inexpensive things to do this week in Colorado Springs
With just nine days left till Christmas, you may be wanting to find some fun things to do without spending much. Here’s a list of some of them that might interest you.
December 15 (and 16): Air Force Academy Band will be performing at the Pikes Peak Center. It starts at 7 pm and best of all, its free! Go to The World Arena, Pikes Peak Center or any of the ENT Federal Credit Unions for tickets. Its fun for the whole family.
December 17: Want to learn to dance? The downtown YMCA is hosting 4 weeks of ballroom dance lessons from 7:30-8:30. $85 per couple. You too, can be a magnificent dancer by New Years! Call 329-7242 for more info.
December 18: Sacklunch Serenade at The City Auditorium. Read the rest of this entry »
History of Ft. Carson part II
Fort Carson History
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Please check out the part 1 post if you haven’t read: An early history of Ft. Carson
Part II starts in the early 1960’s and will go through 2004. I’ll deal with Ft. Carson today in another article that will also give some great websites if you’re being transferred here in the near future.
look for the statue of Kit Carson also located by the main gate
During the early 1960’s, Ft. Carson was home to only one major unit and was on McNamara’s list of potential base closings. This was not known at the time but the Cuban Missile Crisis and Berlin blockade was enough for the Army to reactivate two more divisions, including the 5th Infantry which formally reactivated in early 1962. The 5th was the Army’s first mechanized Infantry division to be organized. The problem was the need for land. Tanks need lots of room to roam and so in 1965, the base acquired almost 25,000 acres of state land (remember it was originally leased in 1942). They traded the land with some federal land owned at the time close to Lowry near Denver. Also, in 1965 and 1966 they purchased almost 79,000 acres south of the original base for around $3.5 million. All this brought Ft. Carson up to its current size of 138,523 acres, though Ft. Carson officials and the Army have recently been trying to acquire more land which has been met Read the rest of this entry »
VanBriggle Pottery set to move
Van Briggle
Newsflash! Van Briggle Pottery Company has sold the old Midland Roundhouse which they’ve occupied since leaving the downtown area last century has sold the building and hopes to let the public know in the next two weeks where they’ll be relocating. Stay tuned.
In the meantime, the old Midland Roundhouse , which is on the National Registry of Historic Places will be home to a very tough gym aimed at extreme sports enthusiasts. They also hope to put in some retail shops and will build some new entrances as well as some extensive renovations, including a new roof. Look for it to open sometime in 2009. Read the rest of this entry »
Adam’s Mountain Cafe in Manitou Springs, a MUST for any visit to Manitou
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The other day, Kathy and I decided to go to Manitou Springs for some much needed R & R. While we were soaking in the scenery and taking pictures of the building and mineral water locations, we decided to stop in at Adam’s 
Mountain Cafe, located in the historic spa building, for lunch. Four mineral springs are within 50 yards of the café include the Cheyenne, the Navajo, the Wheeler and the soon to be operating Soda Spring.
Located in the heart of Manitou Springs, its definitely a favorite of the locals in both Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs. Its quirky decor of eclectic tables and chairs around floor to ceiling windows offers an unbelievable view. Its menu is Read the rest of this entry »
What can $1,000,000 buy in Colorado Springs?
Market Report for homes priced over $1,000,000
Search for Luxury Homes in Colorado Springs
Here’s some information about the most expensive home sales in the Colorado Springs Area
Overall, there were 4 sales topping $1 million during September 2008.
September’s MOST EXPENSIVE SALES
Single Family Detached Homes:
772 Long Timber Lane in Monument
- 6165 square feet
- Sold on 9/30/08
- $1,000,000
- Days on Market: 155
According to the description in the MLS: SPECTACULAR, TRULY MAGNIFICENT HOME! AWARD WINNING Read the rest of this entry »
33 Unique things to do #6 Colorado College Hockey
Tonight the new season starts for CC Hockey and I was given tickets! Yahoo!! I love CC hockey and if you want something fun to do, attend a game and support our TIGERS!!! CC Hockey is actually a Division 1 sport so its a joy to watch with lots of excitement.
The Tigers, who open the season tonight with an exhibition contest at the World Arena against the University of Alberta, climbed from fifth to third in the second USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine rankings of the season.
Colorado College Hockey got its start in Read the rest of this entry »
High Altitude Adjustment for living in Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs is located in a high altitude
For a Free Colorado Springs Relocation Guide, Email Kathy Torline at KTorline@msn.com
Must Read Articles
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- Radon poses a threat to Colorado Springs Homes
and this requires adjustments when making your favorite recipes!
Love your Grandma’s chocolate cake or love to bake bread? If you’ve recently moved 
to Colorado Springs and tried to make your favorite tried and true recipes, you may have found they didn’t meet your expectations. If the bread didn’t rise or the cake didn’t turn out or even if the beans wouldn’t ever get done, its probably due to the fact that living in Colorado requires some adjustment to your lowland recipes, especially when baking. Even when making a boxed mix or a pasta dish be sure and follow the high altitude directions. You’ll find that beans, pasta and brown rice all need longer cooking times as the water boils at a lower temperature here.
I hope you find these adjustments helpful: Read the rest of this entry »
Hiking and Biking Delight
In the mood to enjoy this beautiful fall weather? How about a hike, walk or bike tour through one of our wonderful trails in Colorado Springs. We have 105 miles of urban trails and 160 miles of park trails. To see them all would take a long time so you can pick a different one every day or just go to your favorite one to check out the differences during the seasonal changes. Some are easy day hikes while others are for the hearty campers.
It’s sometimes nice to know the difference in the trails so you can pick the ones that fit into your needs. Colorado Springs breaks their urban trails into three tiers. Urban trails are not only used for recreational purposes, but also provide residents Read the rest of this entry »
The End of an Era in Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs History — Palmer’s Legacy
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By 1901, with the population of Colorado Springs about 25,000, General Palmer was ready to take it easy as he entered his later years in life.
Antlers Hotel in Colorado Springs – burned to the ground
In 1898, a huge fire threatened all of Colorado Springs. Read the rest of this entry »
Colorado Springs celebrates Fallen Firefighters in Memorial Park
Firefighters Memorial
For a Free Colorado Springs Relocation Guide, Email Kathy Torline at KTorline@msn.com
Yearly ceremony to be held Saturday at The International Association of Fire Fighters Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial. The memorial located in Memorial Park in Colorado Springs contains names of firefighters killed in the line of duty. This year 137 names will be added. The ceremony starts at 1:00pm Saturday with bagpipes and a procession of fire vehicles and motorcycles from far and wide culminating in the dedication of the new names added to the wall. Family members as well as their fellow firefighters will be in attendance. If you see one of these brave firefighters, please take a moment and thank them for their service; don’t forget to thank the families as well. Remember, they gave up their most precious loved one so others could live.
The IAFF Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial Foundation was founded in
Relocate to an Award Winning City in the Colorado Rockies
Colorado Springs
Awards, Awards, and more Awards ……
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#1 by Money Magazine for best big city in the nation to work and live – Money Magazine August 2006
- #1 by Forbes for most Pet Friendly city – 2007
- #1 Winner of DogTown USA, most dog-friendly city – 2008
- #2 in population for percentage of veterans #3 by Forbes for best, fastest, growing, most business friendly metro
- #3 by MSNBC for best places to live in U.S.
- #4 by Frommer’s for best cities ranked and rated April 2007
- #4 Smartest City by BizJournals.com
- #5 by Kiplinger’s in “Best Cities to Live, Work and Play”
- #6 among top cities in Read the rest of this entry »
