Miramont Castle: Exhibits & High Tea … and a Mural-Wander Around Manitou Springs

Thursday, 2 July 2015 (Part II)
Peregrine Pines FamCamp; USAFA, Colorado Springs — Colorado

In addition to being an interesting historic venue to tour, Miramont Castle is a museum-within-a-museum kind of place, with several exhibits housed in rooms on the property.  In my previous post, I wrote a bit about the history of the castle and took you on a virtual tour of the rooms that are open to the public.   Now let’s briefly visit the exhibits.

The recommended way to tour the castle is to start with the basement where the Manitou Springs Volunteer Fire Department (MSVFD) Exhibit is housed.  We left this one to the end of our visit when a family with three kids headed there first as suggested, but I’ll begin this post here anyway.

Open since 2010, the exhibit features vintage fire fighting equipment and some fun memorabilia from around the Pikes Peak Region.  The central feature of the exhibit is an antique hose cart … dating back to 1880, it is the oldest piece of fire fighting apparatus owned by the MSVFD.

Left: Muffin bells were used in the 1800’s to alert the town to a fire.

Right: a foot-operated Tube breathing apparatus would pump oxygen through
a hose into the mask of firemen before oxygen tanks were available.

Miniature firemen in action.

Until 1886, when “Mr. Weniger kindly offers the company the use of his horse to pull machines to
fires day and night,” … the firemen pulled the hose cart themselves … they did so for 5½ years.

Left: Fire plugs date to the 1600’s.  Fire fighters would dig down to the wooden water
mains, bore a hole, and let the water create a temporary well.  Water was transported
via bucket-brigades, or later, hand-pumped fire engines.  These holes were then
plugged with stoppers.  The location of the plug would be marked for re-use.

Right: Fire grenades came into popular use by 1870.  Filled with carbon
tetrachloride or salt solution, they were intended to be thrown
into a fire where they would break and extinguish the flames.

Also in the basement we found a display entitled Little London Miniatures … so named because in the late 1800s CoS was known as Little London.  Tucked behind glass separated with wood frames, it was near impossible to get a decent shot of these hand-crafted representations of Victorian CoS.  The various scenes were made by and donated to Miramont Castle by Doris Crawford.

The latest exhibit at Miramont is one entitled the Nürnberg Exhibit.  John C Young was a prominent lawyer in the area who later served as the Chief Justice of the Colorado State Supreme Court.  At the end of WWII, he was asked to go to Germany to preside over the 12th and final Nürnberg [Nuremberg] War Crimes Trial.  In addition to his law library, which is in the chapel foyer, the exhibit includes an office display and original photographs from the Nürnberg High Command Trial.

The law library in this cabinet was donated to Miramont Castle by Judge Young.

Judge John C Young’s office display is part of the Nürnberg High Command Trial exhibit. …

… as is this guard uniform and trial photos, which he brought back with him from Germany.
The photo on the left shows the cells and catwalk inside the Palace of Justice prison.

Marked up photo of a Nürnberg High Command Trial.

In one of the rooms that used to be part of the guest bedroom suite is the Spoils of War Exhibit. 

The Spoils of War Exhibit features authentic uniforms and some grim souvenirs.

In the foyer of Fr Francolon’s apartment we found the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb Display.  There’s more information here about what is described as the second oldest motor sports race — dubbed the Race to the Clouds.  First run in 1916, this year the race celebrated its 99th run.  We saw signs for the race all along the Pikes Peak Highway when we drove up to the summit on June 17 (post here).  I just read that this year’s event was … well, eventful … two checkered flags in different locations along the course.  From what I saw on the news, the results and decisions that were made on race day are going to have to be adjusted.  Ooops!

The cardboard cutout in the corner is one of Colorado Springs’ favorite
sons — Nick Sanborn; five-time champion of the Pikes Peak Hill Climb.

Near the PPIHC display was another exhibit — probably better described as a collection of memorabilia than a true exhibit.  In one display case were shelves filled with bottles of Manitou Springs sparkling water; in another were mementos from the cog railway, and a few from the Colorado Midland, the first standard gauge railroad built over the Continental Divide in Colorado.

Can I find the exact bottle?	Yes, I can!

Wildflower excursions — $1 for a 115-mile trip to gather wildflowers.

We wrapped up our visit to Miramont Castle with lunch in the Queen’s Parlour Tearoom.  It’s a small place; just a single room really, in what used to be the castle’s greenhouse.  Reservations are required for High Tea, but not for lunch.  In fact, there were only a few tables occupied when we stopped in to get a bite to eat just before noon. 

Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world
earth revolves — slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future.
Thích Nhất Hạnh … Zen Buddhist monk, peace activist, and author

Mui ordered a sandwich — specifically, the Father Francolon … a chicken salad sandwich with onion, celery, dried fruit, secret spices, and mayonnaise.  I was going to follow suit, but I couldn’t resist the three-course Light Victorian Tea consisting of scones, assorted finger sandwiches, and a dessert platter of castle-made sweets … it came with a bottomless pot of tea, which I shared with Mui.

Waiting for my tea to be served.

As one might expect in a teahouse, there was a separate tea menu … I selected the Lady Lavender … described as having her “… roots in Earl Grey tea with an added sprinkle of lavender, vanilla, orange peel, and other citruses.  Sweet, well-rounded, and full-bodied with a lift and twist, the black tea base provides a nice background that doesn’t overpower the other flavors.”  I loved it and will be ordering some from the shop whose name our waiter was kind enough to share with us.

Left: Cherry scone with a selection of toppings … honey/thyme infused
butter; strawberry jam; and clotted cream with an essence of almonds.

Center: finger sandwiches … chicken curry salad; cucumber and cream cheese;
blue cheese topped with walnuts; cream cheese and avocado, garnished with bacon.

Right: dessert platter … patriotic strawberry; peppermint tea patty
dipped in dark chocolate; cream cheese brownie; pecan pie bite.

Mui’s Father Francolon sandwich comes with a choice of soup or salad; he gets the latter.

Facebook followers know that we had a bit of fun during lunch.  The tearoom has a collection of hats that patrons are welcome to don for the “experience.”  We didn’t notice them until our waiter asked a young girl having tea with her grandparents if she wanted to put one on.  I guess he didn’t want the “old girls” in the room to feel left out, so he encouraged us to follow suit.  Mui was the instigator who had us playing along ;-)

Left:  Having a “hat of a fun” lunch at Queen’s Parlour.

Right: While I enjoy my dessert platter, Mui orders an Atlantic Beach lemon pie.
He was on the fence about ordering it until our waiter described it as being similar to key lime pie.

Our visit to Miramont concluded quite satisfactorily, we drove back into the heart of Manitou Springs.  It was crowded, but we found a metered spot ($1/hour) for a quick walk-about.  The sidewalks were filled with people who had come out to enjoy the “late-to-the-party” sunshine.  Too crowded for me, but I lasted long enough to walk up and down the main drag, photograph a few murals … and pick up a “Kokopelli” pendant that caught my eye in one of the shops.

There’s great detail in the image to the right; but difficult to make out … click for larger photo.

This last mural — signed by an M. Beenenga — we found when we took a wrong turn to get out of Manitou Springs … sometimes a mistake pays off handsomely.

Lots of beautifully executed small details.

With the 4th of July long weekend just around the corner, and our departure date closing in after that, this will likely be our last outing outside USAFA.  We really enjoyed CoS and look forward to returning on future trips with the Phaeton.

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