The architectural style of the building has been called neo-classicism or Renaissance-Revival, a mixture of elements evident in the combination of Ionic porticoes and American Indian portrait keystones over the second-story windows. Notable inside the building are the copper-gilded birdcage elevator and handsome stairways with wrought metal panels. The marble-like columns are actually scagliola, an Italian process of paint, marble dust, and hand-rubbed wax covering plaster and wire, an embellishment technique very popular in the nineteenth century. The CSPM Collection contains an invitation to the May 16, 1903 opening day ceremonies as well as a handful of photographs documenting the interior and exterior of the building in the early nineteenth century. Among these are images of the early artifact collection of the El Paso County Pioneers Association displayed in the lobby of the courthouse. Those objects formed the nucleus of the collection of what later became the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum. It is interesting to think about how the objects “came back” to the 1903 El Paso County Courthouse, the permanent home of the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum since 1979. Be sure to visit the courtroom later this summer to learn more about the building and its rich history in The Story of Us. Program for opening 1903 MUSELETTER MAY 2018| PG 9
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