Learn more about Incline's history
Learn about the history of the Manitou Incline at an exhibit and presentation by local history enthusiast Eric Swab.
The exhibit, "The Manitou Incline – From Utility to Attraction," opens at 5:17 p.m. Thursday at the Manitou Springs Heritage Center, 517 Manitou Ave., Manitou Springs. The exhibit includes photos and artifacts from 1903 to 2012.
Colorado Springs Utilities and the Incline Friends group made donations to present the exhibit, but community donations will be accepted.
Heritage Center hours are noon to 5 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Info: www.manitouspringsheritagecenter.org, manitouheritage@gmail.com or 685-1454.
Swab also will talk about the history of the Incline at 11 a.m. Friday at the Old Colorado City History Center, 1 S. 24th St., Colorado Springs. Doors open at 10:30 a.m. and seating is limited. Historical Society members can attend free of cost. Entry for others is $5.
Swab will share tales of the Incline's beginning as a vehicle to aid in the construction of a water pipeline from Engleman Canyon to the Manitou hydroelectric plant in Manitou to its days as a tourist attraction and, finally, extreme hiking trail.
You'll hear stories from people who worked on the Incline and see video from a 1936 ride up the Incline railway. Learn more about Friday's talk: 636-1225 or www.occhs.org.
Swab has completed three historical site surveys for the Pike and San Isabel National Forests. He is a member of the OCC Historical Society, Pikes Peak Posse of Westerners, the Pikes Peak Chapter of the Colorado Archaeological Society and the Historic Preservation Alliance.
