Not all fairy tales end with a happily ever after.
Hi everyone, ken here, welcome to this house.
Today we are exploring the castle of a man who fought battles, got rich, and fell in
love, but never had any time for a fairy tale ending.
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house.
Born in 1836, William Jackson Palmer grew up to be an engineer, helping to design railroads.
At the outbreak of the American civil war, he shifted his focus and enlisted in the Union
Army where he would be promoted to Brevet Brigadier General, earning the Medal of Honor
for his service.
In 1867, he headed out west with Dr. William Abraham Bell and co founded the Denver and
Rio Grande Railroad to bring railroads through some of the mountains most treacherous passes.
Instead of purchasing supplies, they opened their own steel mill near Pueblo which allowed
them to quickly build in the most economical way.
The two men became very wealthy and William began to give back.
In 1871 he founded the city of Colorado Springs, a Quaker community which did not allow alcohol
within it’s borders.
Here He funded educational programs for freed slaves, donated money for schools, and founded
a hospital.
All the while, he and his wife, Mary Lincoln Mellen, more commonly known as Queen, began
to build their dream house, a simple frame house nestled between beautiful rock formations
in Colorado Springs.
But Queen had fallen ill.
William rented a manor house.
They moved into Ightham Mote, a manor in Kent England which had been built between 1340
and 1360.
The house was a sprawling tudor surrounded by a moat.
The interior was clad with centuries old wood paneling, stained glass, and hand stenciled
barrel vaulted ceilings.
Some rooms boasted intricate wall murals with ornately carved wooden fireplace mantles and
the grounds were spectacular with manicured gardens both for enjoyment and for supplying
the family with fresh vegetables.
The family did not live here long as Queen tragically passed away in 1894.
Upon her death, a heartbroken William returned to Colorado Springs where he began planning
a monument to commemorate his wife.
In 1901, he sold his company for 6 million dollars or the modern day equivalent of about
210 million dollars.
Now with more than enough money to realize his vision, he hired architect Frederick J
Sterner to design a 33,000 square foot, 67 room castle which would be named Glen Eyrie
Castle.
The façade was fashioned with locally quarried stones, and accented with limestone balustrade
and window surrounds.
The rambling composition was anchored on a 4 story tower with chimneys piercing the roof
in a seemingly random fashion, poetically akin to the natural rock formations surrounding
it.
Entering the tower, you would arrive in the octagonal stair hall, greeted by a floor to
ceiling fireplace directly across from you.
The wood paneling was laid out in a grid with larger rectangles towards the bottom of the
walls and smaller ones towards the top.
All of this was set below a Jacobean ceiling punctured by the grand staircase.
The Great Hall was tied in by wood paneling set between large windows with exposed trusses
appearing to rest on limestone corbels.
Traveling up the stairs, the windows at each landing offered breathtaking views of the
natural landscape.
The bedrooms were comfortably proportioned.
This one contained a fireplaces with a tile surround, wainscotting, and a sitting room
framed by wood panels.
William felt satisfied with the mansion he had built in honor of his wife, but he would
not enjoy it for long.
Just two years after its completion he was left paralyzed from a horrific horse riding
accident.
Complications from which lead to him dying just 3 years later in 1909.
His daughters attempted to donate the mansion to the city of Colorado Springs, but the cost
of maintenance was too high for the city to accept.
So the daughters sold the mansion and it changed hands a few times before being purchased by
Alexander Smith Cochran, the founder of Yale’s Elizabethan Club.
He spent most of his time in Brookholt, his Belmont mansion in New York, though he occasionally
visited Glen Eyrie Castle.
During his time there, he boarded up the castle and built a complimentary home known as the
Pink House which he spent very little time living in.
He died in 1929 while the great depression was in full swing and no buyers could be found
for the compound.
It sat empty for 9 years until George W Strake, an oil magnate from Texas, purchased the property.
He spent 200,000 dollars, or the modern day equivalent of 4.2 million dollars renovating
both mansions.
He moved into the pink house and opened the castle as a party venue.
He enjoyed this venture for a short time before selling the compound to a Christian Ministry
in 1953.
Today, it is still run by the same ministry as a retreat center.
The mansion has been meticulously maintained and many of its original features can still
be enjoyed both inside and out.
Which room was your favorite?
Let me know In the comments below
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