Since 1883 every photo or painting of downtown Colorado Springs seems to focus west along Pikes Peak Avenue to include the mountains. And that view has had one other feature, the Antlers Hotel. And what a history it has had.
More than 12 years earlier, Gen. William Jackson Palmer had been pulling together plans for his city and quickly needed a utilitarian — yes, plain and boring — Colorado Springs Hotel for the earliest workers and city builders near the railroad depot. By 1883 it was clear that something much nicer was needed for all the newcomers arriving by train, and the first Antlers Hotel was built adjacent to the D&RG railroad depot.
Stepping off the train, arrivals could walk through a landscaped area and right into the lobby of an attractive, west-facing hotel on what is Cascade Avenue…