I was recently on a business trip to Colorado Springs, CO and noticed a couple of curious things…any insight into these?
1-All the roads seem to be really wide - especially those near the military installations such as Peterson AFB…also, there are a limited number of traffic signals - with many roads (thinking specifically of Platte and Powers) having cloverleaf type interchanges instead of traffic-light controlled intersections. Is this because of military necessity? planning for lots of traffic? snow removal?
2-Colorado Springs seems to be a Bible Belt city…lots of “storefront” churches as well as lots of non-denominational Christian churches. “Focus on the Family” is headquarted here, and all up and down the radio dial are religious stations (including at least 3 high-powered slickly operated FM stations).
Why did a moderate-sized city in the middle of the rockies become a bastion of Christian Conservatism? Is it the military influence? The altitude?
About the first part of your Colorado Springs question- you were correct about wide roads being used for military purposes. Way back when I was in high school, my American History teacher explained that major highways were first built to give the military a quick and convenient road system that was large enough to let a tank travel on it.
The roads are extra wide because the springs that support the state (which give the town its name) are located right underneath the roads.
The military are there because having a shock-mounted state appeals to their sense of disaster-preparedness. They figure if a cataclysm (earthquake, nuclear bomb, 60s revival) hits California, they won’t be affected.
And the religious operations are there because they like the resonance that you get from a state that is supported by springs. The believers who pray together, sway together.
And that’s the truth. (pthwwwwbt)
Computers in the future may weigh no more than 15 tons.
-Popular Mechanics, 1949
Toonces: New Hampshire’s highway problems go back to Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Furniture Sales Boys. Ethan was having a Founders Day Sale and the Boys started complaining that his discounts were too deep; New Hampshire just couldn’t stand such deep discounts! Ethan (who originated the “I’m too CRAAZEE to be in business” broadsheets so popular in his day) replied that this was just the way things were going to be: "It’s MY furniture, I’M the boss, it’s my way or the highway!
The Boys rebelled, Ethan was banished to the no-mans-land of the Maine/Massachusetts liquor zone, and NH got its highway. But no New Hampshire springs. Maybe Mt. Washington was too big for the spring technology of its day.
Computers in the future may weigh no more than 15 tons.
-Popular Mechanics, 1949
As a Colorado Springs Native (born and raised, left for about 5 years to other parts of the state)
I am not positive as the reasoning behind the wider roads. That area, Platte and Powers recently has overgone an overhaul. Powers Blvd. has become a major artery over the years because driving down Academy Blvd. is a royal pain in the butt, especially during rush hour and the weekends (shopping centers in that area. Also, Powers has higher speeds which makes me believe that fewer traffic signals help keep people at those higher speeds.
Savage, Colorado Springs really doesn’t have any springs in the city proper, Manitou Springs does. C Springs had been mined for it’s coal reserves in various parts of the city, mostly in the north east sides of the city. Our city’s founders wanted to promote C Springs as a resort city and concluded that “Springs” would attract visitors.
Back to the wider streets, the city is also trying to prepare for the estimated 900,000 people that will inhabit our county within 50 years or so. We are estimated to have over 500,000 now, which reportedly makes us the largest population of any other county in the state. I believe that Denver county is 2nd at around 447,000 people. If you get back into town, go north to Arapahoe county (part of Denver metro area) and see how wide those streets are. County Road, Arapahoe Road etc are similar to Powers here in the Springs.
As for the amount of religious organizations here, (the highest amount of religious organizations per capita than any other city) there are a number of factors. Yes, C Springs is more conservative than the average city because of the enormous amount of military here. Our cost of living is lower than many place but our quality of living remains high. We have lower crime rates than other cities our size, our taxes remain lower etc. For some reason we have a lot of schools that focus on Christianity as well.
Savage, you were partially correct. Colorado used to have all kinds of springs under it, helical springs,spiral springs,flat wound springs even flat spiracal helically wound ones. The I know you will be saddened to learn that that all began to change in the mid 50’s. ( coincedencly right as the Interstate High way system was getting under way there,because,as you said, of the underlying springs)The Airforce began construction on the NORAD command center under Cheyenne mountain. Assignment there was definatly a feather in the cap of any officer on the fast track.But the officers weren’t getting the respect they thought they deserved,and conditions were not all that posh.Then in the 60’s the Af Acadamy opened in Colorado Springs, another choice plum for the more technically minded officers ( ask techchick).But again not very posh.That all changed one night when the airforce sent out black helicopters to collect all the springs in Colorado.The springs were mounted underneath the mountain and the acadamy. The officers finally had cushy jobs. If they had put NORAD under Mt Washington instead, then New Hampshire would have wide roads too instead of those narrow twisty things with furniture trucks barrelling along at ungodly speeds.Speaking of which ,the conservative Bible belt churches are explained by the presence of Garden of the Gods. When the Bible thumpers heard that the Gods were Gamboling in their garden( with squirels even) and getting up to all kinds of who knows what paganistic antics and carnal cavorts,they all set up churches to make sure they stayed in their garden. ( man,this savage is good wonder what he knows about right hand threads and FISH trucks?)Speakin of which,phouchg,where do you normally drive? I was recently in C.Springs and didn’t notice much the wideness of the roads.Except for some off to the west of the Mountain crest.Most of the logging roads I have been on are narrow rutted, maybe graveled, trails with huge logging trucks really traveling at ungodly speeds. Some of these roads were wide enough for 3 lanes and hard packed.Lots of “nondescript” vehicles just sort of slowly cruising around. I didn’t figure I really wanted to go see what was up those roads.
“Pardon me while I have a strange interlude.”-Marx
Did you know the “traditional bible belt” of Texas and other parts of the south are protesting the name “Garden of the Gods” because the name suggests there it is a plural God thing?
I mean come on…the Garden of the Gods was named by local Native Americans before our white culture took over and ran them out of their lands (trying hard to not get on the soap box here) The least we could do is keep the name as it stands and honor those that inhabited this land before we shoved them out!
James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, himself attributed the move of the ministry to the exorbitant taxes and cost of living in the state of California.
As a resident of that state, I’d have to agree wholeheartedly with his perspective.
It is likely that many of the other ministries in Colorado Springs made moves for similar reasons.
Keep in mind that such NPOs, if you will, are comprised of quite a number of support personnel, which are more likely to follow the enterprise in its exodous. The settling of such individuals in that community would undoubtedly have an impact on lifestyle in the community at large, as it existed in the late 1980s (IIRC, this was the timeframe of Dobson’s move). As a result, you will find that Colorado Springs has evolved from a city of New Age leanings to one of a more conservative bent–although the former is still to be found there.
–Kalél Common ¢ for all ages…
“Well, there was that thing with the Cheese-Wiz…but I’m feeling much better now!” – John Astin, Night Court
Some years ago a coastal Labrador community put in a municipal water supply, fed by a reservoir held in place by a dam. The road to the dam was called, naturally enough, “Dam Road”.
The local /DENOMINATION/ community protested this vehemently because it sounded so much like swearing.
Mind you, they still haven’t done anything about the nearby place called “L’anse au Diable”, which means “Devil’s Cove”.
