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Colorado Springs, Colorado



A large percentage of Colorado Springs' economy is still based on high tech and manufacturing complex electronic equipment. The high tech sector of Colorado Springs area has decreased its overall presence in the Springs' economy over the past six years (from around 21,000 down to around 8,000), notably in information technology and complex electronic equipment.[18] Due to the slowdown in tourism, the high tech sector still remains second to the military in terms of total revenue generated and employment. [9] It is projected by this trend that the high tech employment ratio will continue to decrease in the near future. [10] [11]

Because of Colorado Springs’ central U.S. location, available reserve of highly educated workers, and business friendly climate; several companies have plans to either expand their current operations in Colorado Springs or have considered Colorado Springs as a competitive area for relocating or opening a business.

High tech corporations with connections to the city include:

  • Verizon Business – Software development - Formerly WorldCom and MCI, has a fairly large engineering presence. At its peak during the mid to late 1990s, with over 5,000 employees, MCI was the largest private employer in El Paso County (Fort Carson and the City of Colorado Springs were ranked #'s 1 and 2, with MCI coming in 3rd overall).
  • Hewlett-Packard – Computing – large sales, support, and SAN storage engineering center. The location was built by Digital Equipment Corporation, renamed Compaq in the 1998 acquisition of Digital, and finally renamed Hewlett-Packard after the 2002 merger.
  • SNIA – Computing - home of the SNIA Technology Center
  • Agilent – Test and Measurement Manufacturing - In 1999, Agilent was spun off from HP as an independent, publicly-traded company.
  • Intel – Chip fabrication, built in 2000. Intel has put this facility up for sale, and plans to leave Colorado Springs. Local economist believes a loss up to 4,154 jobs possible if facility is not sold and shut down. [12]. As of December 15, 2007, Intel has ceased operations at this facility.[citation needed]
  • Atmel – Chip fabrication. Formerly Honeywell
  • Cypress Semiconductor Colorado Design Center – Chip fabrication R&D site
  • Sanmina-SCI Closing facility around December 2007 to January 2008 (800 jobs).[19]

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Military

AFSPC Headquarters, Peterson AFB, Colorado Springs.
AFSPC Headquarters, Peterson AFB, Colorado Springs.

The United States Military plays a very important role in the city. Colorado Springs is home to both Army and Air Force bases and their numerous support bases around the county.

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Fort Carson

Fort Carson is the city's largest military base, and until mid-2006 was home to the 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment, which relocated to Fort Hood, Texas. By 2009, Fort Carson will be the home station of the 4th Infantry Division, which will nearly double the base's population. Fort Carson is host to various training grounds for infantry, armor, and aviation units (specifically the OH-58 Kiowa Warrior). Fort Carson is also the headquarters of the second and third battalions of the 10th Special Forces Group.

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Peterson Air Force Base

The Air Force has critical aspects of their service based at Colorado Springs which carry on missile defense operations and development. The Air Force bases a large section of the national missile defense operations here, with Peterson Air Force Base set to operate large sections of the program. Peterson AFB is currently the headquarters of the majority of Air Force Space Command and the operations half of Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Strategic Command (SMDC/ARSTRAT).

Peterson is also headquarters for the United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM), one of the Unified Combatant Commands. USNORTHCOM directs all branches of the U.S. military operations in their area of responsibility which includes the continental United States, Alaska, Canada, and Mexico. In the event of national emergencies the President or Secretary of Defense can call upon USNORTHCOM for any required military assistance. Service members from every branch of US Military are stationed at the command.

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Schriever Air Force Base (formerly Falcon AFB)

Schriever AFB is home to the 50th Space Wing that controls warning, navigational, and communications satellites. It is the location of the global positioning system (GPS) master control station and GPS Operations Center and the US Naval Observatory Alternate Master Clock used to synchronize GPS satellite time. Schriever is also developing parts of national missile defense and runs parts of the annual wargames used by the nations military.

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NORAD and Cheyenne Mountain Air Station

North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), a component of America's missile defense system, is located in Cheyenne Mountain Air Station. When it was built at the height of the Cold War it caused much anxiety for the residents of Colorado Springs. Although NORAD still operates, today it is primarily tasked with the tracking of ICBMs, but the military has recently decided to place Cheyenne Mountain's NORAD/NORTHCOM operations on standby and move operations to nearby Peterson Air Force Base. [13]

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United States Air Force Academy

The north end of the city is home to the vast United States Air Force Academy grounds, where cadets train to become officers in the Air Force. The campus is famous for its unique chapel and draws visitors year round. The Air Force sports programs belong to the Mountain West Conference and they consistently compete for championships in football (including the Commander in Chief's trophy) and basketball.

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Religious institutions

Focus on the Family is one of many major religious organizations based in Colorado Springs.
Focus on the Family is one of many major religious organizations based in Colorado Springs.

In recent years, Colorado Springs has attracted a large influx of Evangelical Christians and Christian Organizations. At one time Colorado Springs was counted to be the national headquarters for 81 different religious organizations, earning the city the tongue-in-cheek nickname "the Evangelical Vatican". According to the 2006 DEX phone book, there are 84 separate categories under "churches" with hundreds of individual churches listed.

The city and surrounding areas also host hundreds of churches and synagogues of many faiths and denominations, including a mosque.

Religious groups with headquarters at Colorado Springs include:

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Education

Doolittle Hall on the campus of the United States Air Force Academy.
Doolittle Hall on the campus of the United States Air Force Academy.

Universities, colleges and special schools include:

The city's public schools are divided into several districts:

Private schools:

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Colorado Springs city government

City Hall.
City Hall.

The city is a Council-Manager government, with a City Council and Mayor that meet regularly to approve budgets and projects, while the city manager deals with the day-to-day aspects of running the city.

Organizational Chart of Colorado Springs City Government

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Area Medical Facilities

There are two main hospital systems in the City of Colorado Springs. They are Memorial Health System and Penrose-St. Francis Health Services. Memorial is owned by the City of Colorado Springs and has two locations: Memorial Hospital Central which is located downtown and Memorial Hospital North which is located off Briargate Parkway. Penrose-St. Francis Health Services has two Hospitals, Penrose Community on Academy Boulevard and Penrose Main off I-25. They are in the process of building St. Francis Medical Center on Powers and Woodmen Road on the city's northeast side. This will open in August 2008 and will be the only full-service acute care facility in the northern part of the city.

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Notable residents

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Sister cities

Sister cities of Colorado Springs include:

Colorado Springs' sister city organization began when Colorado Springs became partners with Fujiyoshida. The torii gate erected to commemorate the relationship stands at the corner of Bijou Street and Nevada Avenue, and is one of the city's most recognizable landmarks. The torii gate, crisscrossed bridge and shrine, located in the median between Platte and Bijou Streets in downtown Colorado Springs, were a gift to Colorado Springs, erected in 1966 as a token of friendship between the two communities. A plaque near the torii gate states that "the purpose of the sister city relationship is to promote understanding between the people of our two countries and cities". The Fujiyoshida Student exchange program has become an annual event.

To strengthen relations between the two cities, the Colorado Springs Youth Symphony regularly invites the Taiko drummers from the city to participate in a joint concert in the Pikes Peak Center. The orchestra played in Bankstown, Australia, in 2002 and again in June 2006 as part of their tours to Australia and New Zealand.

Also, in 2006, the Bankstown TAP (Talent Advancement Program), performed with the Youth Symphony, and the Colorado Springs Children's Chorale, as a part of the annual In Harmony program.

A notable similarity between Colorado Springs and its sister cities are their geographic positions, three of the six cities being located near the base of a major mountain or range. [15]

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In popular culture

  • Clive Cussler sets a chapter of his thriller "Cyclops" in Colorado Springs, featuring an action scene between the President's personal investigator and a man supposedly involved in a top secret colony on the moon.
  • Robert A. Heinlein, noted sci-fi writer during the genre's Golden Age, lived in Colorado Springs during part of his career. His novel The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress featured at one point the rebel moon government raining rock-filled grain canisters down on NORAD's headquarters inside Cheyenne Mountain, incidentally destroying Colorado Springs because of the great amount of kinetic energy released on impact.
  • Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz lived briefly in Colorado Springs in 1951, on North Franklin Street. Linus and Lucy Van Pelt were neighbors of his, for whom he named characters. He painted a wall of his home with some Peanuts characters. The wall was removed from the home in 2001 and donated to the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, California.
  • Several scenes of Perry Mason: The Case of the Sinister Spirit (1987) were filmed at the Broadmoor Hotel. Several courtroom scenes in the Perry Mason movie series were filmed in the courtroom exhibit at the Pioneer's Museum (formerly the El Paso County Courthouse).
  • The Incident (1990) was filmed in the courtroom exhibit at the Pioneer's Museum (formerly the El Paso County Courthouse).[citation needed]
  • Strangeland (1998) was filmed in Colorado Springs.[citation needed]
  • Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, an Emmy Award-winning dramatic television series starring Jane Seymour, was set in this town. Though there was some historical accuracy, the character was based on a woman from nearby Cripple Creek and the majority of the events and settings were fictional, and actual filming was done at the Paramount Ranch near Agoura Hills, California.
  • "Stargate" Fountain
    "Stargate" Fountain
    The TV series Stargate SG-1 has several episodes which at least partially take place in Colorado Springs; additionally SGC is based out of nearby Cheyenne Mountain, and most of the team members are shown to reside in Colorado Springs. The new Julie Penrose Fountain and two Egyptian style obelisks (in background) located in the America the Beautiful park in Colorado Springs bears a remarkable resemblance to a Stargate.
  • The movie Miracle shows Herb Brooks interviewing for the head coaching job for USA Hockey in Colorado Springs.
  • In the movie The Sum Of All Fears the Russian president asks a military adviser how many people live in Colorado Springs, as he weighs the ramifications of the use of nuclear weapons against the city. This highlights the strategic importance of the military-centered city.
  • By including Colorado Springs as the home of inventor Nikola Tesla, played by David Bowie, the film The Prestige dates itself to the years 1899 or 1900, when Tesla used the city for a series of electricity experiments. The Cliff House at Pikes Peak in nearby Manitou Springs is the basis for the hotel used in the film.
  • Under the fictional name of Cody, Colorado, the 2006 movie "Fast Food Nation" features a fictional meat packing plant set to a number of panoramic shots of Colorado Springs, including Pikes Peak, Cheyenne Mountain, the Front Range, as well as the McDonald's located on Academy Boulevard and San Miguel Street.
  • In the second Allied mission of Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2, the player is required to recapture the United States Air Force Academy from Soviet forces. It is within Colorado Springs' range.
  • The titular characters' home in the Adult Swim cartoon The Venture Bros. is located in Colorado Springs.

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See also

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References

  1. ^ a b Active Colorado Municipalities (HTML). State of Colorado, Department of Local Affairs. Retrieved on 2007-09-01.
  2. ^ Colorado Municipal Incorporations (HTML). State of Colorado, Department of Personnel & Administration, Colorado State Archives (2004-12-01). Retrieved on 2007-09-02.
  3. ^ ZIP Code Lookup (JavaScript/HTML). United States Postal Service. Retrieved on [[September 7]], 2007.
  4. ^ Find a County. National Association of Counties. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  5. ^ a b Table 1: Annual Estimates of the Population for Incorporated Places Over 100,000, Ranked by July 1, 2005 Population: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2005 (CSV). 2005 Population Estimates. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division (June 20, 2006). Retrieved on December 13, 2006.
  6. ^ http://www.springsgov.com/units/planning/COMPPLANREVIEW/Annual_Report2007/PopulationEmployment.pdf
  7. ^ Estimates of Population Change for Metropolitan Statistical Areas and Rankings: July 1, 2007 to July 1, 2007
  8. ^ http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2006/top100/bigcities.html
  9. ^ a b Rankings for Metropolitan Statistical Areas: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2005 (CSV). 2005 Population Estimates. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division (June 21, 2006). Retrieved on December 13, 2006.
  10. ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  11. ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  12. ^ COSMIX Project Home Page
  13. ^ Powers freeway debate restarts | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs) | Find Articles at BNET.com
  14. ^ http://www.nosuperslab.org/crap/how_to.html
  15. ^ a b Colorado Springs Airport - News Releases
  16. ^ Magazine calls Sacramento a fast city - Sacramento Business Journal:
  17. ^ Colorado Springs Gazette
  18. ^ [1](2006-2007 Southern Colorado Economic Forum Publication pg 18)
  19. ^ Sept 2007, Tammy Fields, Colorado Springs Economic Development Corporation

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External links

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