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Acacia Park, part of the landscape of downtown
Acacia was the first Colorado Springs Park, dedicated in 1871
Nothing makes a downtown area more special than a park, and Acacia Park in Colorado Springs is part of the character of downtown Colorado Springs
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Acacia Park (115 E. Platte Ave.) is located in the heart of Downtown Colorado Springs. The park currently includes a band shell, horseshoe court, picnicking, playground, public phone, restrooms, shuffleboard, and the famous Uncle Wilbur Fountain.
According to the information on the Colorado Springs Government web site: “When Colorado Springs filed the original town plat in 1871, it included one city block as the first city-owned park. The park, known as North Park or Acacia Square is the site of the present-day Acacia Park.”. I absolutely love the idea that the founding fathers of Colorado Springs dedicated some of our parks back in the late 1800’s.
During the summer time, the park is the site for the Monday farmers market and Uncle Wilbur’s Fountain, a fountain with over 200 water jets, 52 of which are part of a play area where kids run and try to top the streams. Uncle Wilbur’s Fountain opened in 2001 and is owned by the City of Colorado Springs. It cost over $1 millon to build and was financed a local non-profit organization. Private donors funded the plaza and benches around the fountain, while the fountain’s upkeep is maintained by “Friends of the Fountain,” a non-profit group formed by the Smokebrush Foundation. If you would like information on how to donate time or money to the Fountain, the web site will give you the details.
There is currently a movement by HB & A Architects to gather ideas and concepts on how to continue to revitalize the park. If you have an interest in some of the concepts for the future of the park, here’s a link to Acacia Park Concepts.
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Kathy (719-287-1049) KTorline@msn.com
Neighborhood Profile, Historic Old North End in Colorado Springs
Homes in Old North End are in the Central Area in Colorado Springs
Search for Homes in Central Colorado Springs
Zip Code 80903 & 80907
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Single Family Homes in Old North End were primarily built from 1901 to 1981, with an average age built in the 1920’s. The majority of the houses are 2-stories and ranches, 2-3 baths, with 1 – 2 car garages, both attached and detached.
The Old North End housing market continues to be a BUYERS Market, as there is currently a 16 month of supply of homes on the market. A 6 month supply of houses on the market is considered a “NEUTRAL MARKET”. 
Here’s a quick summary of the 2010 Real Estate Market for Old North End
- Pricing increased by 41% from 2010 to 2009
- Number of homes sold increased by 41% from 2010 to 2009
- Days on Market increased by 53% from 2010 to 2009
- Price per FINISHED square feet increased by 6% from 2010 to 2009.
The area is located in Central Colorado Springs, between Fillmore and Uintah, East of Nevada. There are several parks in the area, including Monument Valley. The school District is District 11; and the majority of students to go Steele Grade School, North Junior High and Palmer High School. The neighborhood is close to Downtown Colorado Springs, Patty Jewett Golf Course, and Penrose Hospital.
There is also a townhome complex in the area, Wood Avenue. They were built in 1992 and the HOA’s are current in the high $200.00’s.
This Colorado Springs Real Estate report contains information on Single Family homes in Old North End.
This information is taken from the Pikes Peak Realtor Services Corp and is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
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Kathy (719-287-1049) KTorline@msn.com
Lights on or Lights Off
Colorado Springs budget cuts affect street lights
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- Stay away from these intersections
Colorado Springs, like many cities across the US, has had to make budget cuts to city services; and one of most controversial cuts has
had to do with street lights in the city.
More than 8000 lights were turned off the city in 2010, and now some residential street lights have now been added back in the budget for 2011. When the lights were originally turned, the city had a task force that included the Police Department and the City Utilities. They had several criteria they used to help determine which ones to turn off which included streetlights with the least efficient bulbs, streetlights in areas with high ambient lighting, and turning off half of the downtown streetlights. To put this in perspective, the city maintained over 24,000 street lights, so they turned off and one-third of them.
But part of the newest controversy is that some residents don’t want the street lights be put back on. They have gotten used to no lights, or they never liked the lights in the first place.
If residents want to keep their lights off, they must must call the City’s Traffic Engineering Division at (719) 385-2852 or send an email to: streetlights@springsgov.com by December 31. After the initial call is made, all necessary paperwork must be completed and received by the City no later than Feb. 15, 2011.
The traffic division will then looks at a 100 foot radius around the light and identifies residents who live within 100 foot radius of the light. 67% of the neighbors in the 100 radius must agree to keep them on or to keep them off.
To find out more information about Colorado Springs homes and real estate, Call ……
Kathy (719-287-1049) KTorline@msn.com
33 unique things to do in Colorado Springs — #1
Patsy’s Candies in Colorado Springs
Search for Homes in Manitou Springs
Wanting something to do in Colorado Springs when the weather won’t cooperate with other activities? How about a visit to Patsy’s Candies with its intoxicating chocolate aromas? It’s located at 1540 S. 21st, Colorado Springs, CO 
80904. They even offer tours of the factory and what a glorious place it is.
It all started in 1903 when Patsy Mahenney of Terre Haute, IN decided to bring his confectionery business to Manitou Springs after supposedly losing one of his recipes in a poker game. The winners named their company Cracker Jack and started mass producing this recipe and adding peanuts.
He started his business in front of Read the rest of this entry »
