The City of Colorado Springs is the Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of El Paso County, Colorado, United States. Colorado Springs is the second most populous city and the most extensive city in the State of Colorado. It is the principal city of the Colorado Springs, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area and is the second most prominent city of the Front Range Urban Corridor. It is located in east central Colorado, on Fountain Creek, 70 miles (113 km) south of Denver. At 6,035 feet (1,839 m) the city stands over 1 mile (1.6 km) above sea level, though some areas are significantly higher and lower. Colorado Springs is near the base of Pikes Peak, which rises 14,115 feet (4,302 m) above sea level on the eastern edge of the Southern Rocky Mountains.
The United States Air Force Academy opened just north of Colorado Springs in 1958. The city is home to 24 national sports governing bodies, including the United States Olympic Committee, the United States Olympic Training Center, USA Swimming, and USA Hockey.
The city had an estimated population of 478,221 in 2019, and a metro population of approximately 738,939,[11] making it Colorado's second most populous city, behind Denver, and the 39th most populous city in the United States.[12] The Colorado Springs, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area had an estimated population of 712,327 in 2016.[13] The city is in the Front Range Urban Corridor, an oblong region of urban population along the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and Wyoming, generally following Interstate 25.
The city covers 194.9 square miles (505 km2), making it the most extensive municipality in Colorado.
In 2020, Colorado Springs ranked #13 on the New York Times 52 Places to Go list and #10 in TripAdvisor's Top 25 Trending Destinations. In 2017 and 2018, Colorado Springs received several accolades. In 2018 U.S. News named it the most desirable place to live in the United States.[14] The previous year, Colorado Springs placed second on U.S. News's list of the 125 Best Places to Live in the USA.[15] The Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings found that Colorado Springs was the fastest-growing city for millennials.[16] Thumbtack's annual Small Business Friendliness Survey found Colorado Springs to be the fourth most business-friendly city in the country.[17] The Ute, Arapaho and Cheyenne peoples were the first recorded inhabiting the area which would become Colorado Springs.[18] Part of the territory included in the United States' 1803 Louisiana Purchase, the current city area was designated part of the 1854 Kansas Territory. In 1859, after the first local settlement was established, it became part of the Jefferson Territory on October 24 and of El Paso County on November 28. Colorado City at the Front Range confluence of Fountain and Camp creeks was "formally organized on August 13, 1859"[19] during the Pike's Peak Gold Rush. It served as the capital of the Colorado Territory from November 5, 1861, until August 14, 1862, when the capital was moved to Golden, before it was finally moved to Denver in 1867.[20] So many immigrants from England had settled in Colorado Springs by the early 1870s that Colorado Springs was locally referred to as "Little London."[21] In 1871 the Colorado Springs Company laid out the towns of La Font (later called Manitou Springs) and Fountain Colony, upstream and downstream respectively, of Colorado City.[22] Within a year, Fountain Colony was renamed Colorado Springs and officially incorporated.[23] The El Paso County seat shifted from Colorado City in 1873 to the Town of Colorado Springs.[24] On December 1, 1880, Colorado Springs expanded northward with two annexations.[25][26]
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The second period of annexations was during 1889–90, and included Seavey's Addition, West Colorado Springs, East End, and another North End addition.[25] In 1891 the Broadmoor Land Company built the Broadmoor suburb, which included the Broadmoor Casino, and by December 12, 1895, the city had "four Mining Exchanges and 275 mining brokers."[27] By 1898, the city was designated into quadrants by the north-south Cascade Avenue and the east-west Washington/Pike's Peak avenues.[26]:10. From 1899 to 1901 Tesla Experimental Station operated on Knob Hill,[28] and aircraft flights to the Broadmoor's neighboring fields began in 1919.[29] Alexander Airport north of the city opened in 1925, and in 1927 the original Colorado Springs Municipal Airport land was purchased east of the city.[29]
