1/17/2024 0 Comments Skyline drive canon city colorado![]() ![]() © Kathy Alexander/ Legends of America, updated February 2022. The entrance to Skyline Drive is on the west edge of Canon City off U.S. The residential street soon intersects with 5th Street, where signs point south toward U.S. The path makes its way along the ridge before descending down the other side via two switchbacks to a residential area. Towards the top, there are interpretive signs regarding the dinosaur tracks embedded in the cliff face. There are several pullouts to enjoy the view. The drive makes its way to the top of the ridge, as the landscape falls away hundreds of feet on both sides. There is no turning around if you change your mind. The asphalt road is very narrow, includes some steep sections, and there are no protections or guard rails along some parts of the route. The site is marked with interpretive signs. Though visible for years, they weren’t visible to the untrained eye. In 1999, dinosaur footprints were discovered along the ridgeline by a paleontology student. The entrance to Skyline Drive was built in 1933, photo by Kathy Alexander. Sadly, the amphitheater was washed away in a violent storm just a few years later and wasn’t rebuilt. The amphitheater was dedicated on June 12, 1934, with an opera performance with over 700 people in attendance. Prison inmates, using picks and shovels, dug out a 200-foot area that was named Skyline Bowl. The most ambitious undertaking was the city’s construction of a 1,4000 seat amphitheater on the east side of the ridge in 1934. The arch was built using a native stone from each of the 48 states in the union ( Alaska and Hawaii did not gain statehood until 1959.) In 1932, the stone arch at the entrance to Skyline Drive was built, once again utilizing inmate labor. ![]() Allen Bowen, another entrepreneur, once ran a snack shop in a small stone pavilion at the top of Skyline Drive. Using 14 teams of horses, the tour company picked up tourists at the major hotels and train depots, charging 25 cents per person for a ride along the scenic highway. In 1910, a local businessman named Bill Garton had launched the Tally Ho Tour Company which made trips over Skyline Drive in horse-drawn buggies. Tally Ho Tour Company on Skyline Drive, Canon City, Colorado. The stunning drive that gave residents and visitors 360-degree views, was soon featured in newspapers and magazines, as far away as New York. The Cañon City Record reported that the council had reservations about their decision because “horse and car conflicts have resulted in the narrow escape of topple over the mountain.” In time, the automobile overtook the horse-and-buggy in popularity and the ordinance was eliminated. However, after protests from the community, the council relented in 1907, allowing vehicles on Tuesday mornings and Friday afternoons. Cars were not allowed because they would scare the horses. When the road was opened in 1906, the city council declared it unlawful for automobiles to use the road, reserving it for horse-drawn carriages, bicycles, and foot traffic. Sunday more than 200 vehicles and probably more than 1,000 people viewed the beauties of this rich valley.” – Cañon City Record, February 1906 “Skyline Drive is about the most popular thing that ever happened. Skyline Boulevard was selected however, from the beginning, it was more often referred to as Skyline Drive. In the Fall of 1905, a contest was held to name the road and the Cañon City Record called for readers to submit their ideas. The inmates got 10 days off their sentence for every 30 days worked. The single-lane road was built in 1905 by 60 inmates working under the direction of Warden John Cleghorn. Skyline Drive, Canon City, Colorado by George Beam, about 1920. ![]()
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