As UCCS continues to grow and create new stories, reflecting on its history according to the UCCS Website reminds us that the oldest architecture on campus is over a century old, and that it used to be a refuge for the sick.
The Cragmor sanatorium was built in 1905, mainly to treat patients with tuberculosis. The sanatorium was once the largest treatment center for TB in the United States. The building had expressional patient suites and a rooftop garden among other amenities.
The sanatorium suffered from bankruptcy and negligence during the Great Depression. To preserve the institution, the federal government set up a program with the director of the sanatorium, George Dwire, to offer healthcare to those suffering from TB in the Navajo tribe.
Due to new innovations in curing TB, the sanitarium was closed in 1962. It was sold by Dwire to the University of Colorado on Oct. 13, 1964 for $1. This was not the University of Colorado’s first schooling offer in Colorado Springs, as they offered several courses in various locations since the early 1920s.
The Colorado Springs campus was organized under an extension of Boulder’s academics called the Colorado Springs Center.
The library was opened in 1965 on the second floor of Main Hall with a 4,000-book collection, and then in 1968, the library was expanded to the first floor as the collection expanded to 17,000 books. Not soon after, the library was moved to South Hall, a now demolished building, where the books overtook the space in an unorganized fashion.
Dwire Hall was the first building built for UCCS. It opened in 1972 and was named to honor the director of the Cragmor Sanitorium. This space gave room to move the library once again the same year.
In 1974, UCCS was finally recognized as its own campus instead of being a division of the Boulder group.
In 1975, the University Center building was finished, providing students a space to meet. The UC consisted of meeting areas, the cafeteria and pub, student organization offices, conference rooms and a bookstore.
At this time, the construction of a new library began where it still is today. UCCS’ history shares that “a giant gravity conveyor belt system transported cartons of books and journals down the hill from Dwire across the upper plaza, then up and into the third floor windows of the new building.”
In January 1979, the Science Hall, now Centennial Hall, finished construction.
The next year, Austin Bluffs Parkway was completed, changing the address for the university.
The Engineering Building was constructed in 1985, and in 1988, the UC added on a gymnasium.
In March 1990, UCCS was given a $3.15 million grant from the El Pomar Institution in hopes of adding new technology to the campus. This grant grew the library building into the Colorado Institute for Technology Transfer and Implementation, now known as El Pomar Institute for Innovation and Commercialization.
The Heller Center joined UCCS’ collection in 1999 after Dorothy Heller passed away and donated her and her late husband’s house and artwork to the university in hopes of offering artistic learning opportunities. However, the entire center was not opened for the campus until 2011.
In 1996, the UCCS Library was renamed the Kraemer Family Library due to the $1 million donation by the Sandy and Dorothy Kraemer family.
Construction on the campus services building and Summit Village began in 1995, but the buildings were not completed until a year later in 1996. Summit Village’s first suites were Keystone, Breckenridge, Aspen, Monarch and The Lodge dining hall. The Vail, Steamboat and Telluride dorms were completed a year later.
Columbine Hall and the Family Development Center also finished construction in 1997, offering new academic buildings to the campus.
The latest remodel and final construction of El Pomar came in 2001, including the addition of the famous clock tower designed by architect F. Lamar Kelsey. The same year, UCCS purchased University Hall.
In 2002, Main Hall underwent almost a complete renovation with only the front facing wall and a few fireplaces remaining from the original Cragmor Sanitorium.
Two years later, Cragmor Hall reopened. Before its renovation, it was used for professor offices, with a few maintaining the 1950s style.
In 2004, Alpine Village’s Antero, Shavano and Crestone houses finished construction, and a year later in 2005, the parking garage finished construction.
Expanding to the west of campus, the Rec Center opened in 2007. It was a student-led project and renewable energy was used to heat the pool receiving the LEED Gold certification.
The Osborne Center for Science and Engineering opened in 2009, once called the Science and Engineering building.
The Events Center was opened in 2010, dedicated to the Gallogly alum family a few months later. After its opening, the original gymnasium in the university center became Berger Hall and was remodeled for conferences and indoor events.
The campus pub was renovated into Clyde’s Gastropub in 2010, updating to a modern style to serve as a social retreat for students.
Sister dorm buildings, Copper and Eldora, were added to Summit Village in 2013.
The Lane Center for Academic Health Sciences opened as a branch of the CU School of Medicine in 2014. The same year, the Academic Office building was opened, and Alpine Village began expanding to accommodate a dining hall.
In 2016, the Rec Center underwent major expansions for more recreational spaces and the addition of the Wellness Center. Clyde Way, called “the Spine” that connects the UCCS campus, did not become open until September 2019.
According to the Ent Center Website, the Ent Center opened in 2018 and became home to Theatreworks, founded in 1975, and the Galleries of Contemporary Art, founded in 1980.
Hybl Sports Medicine and Performance Center held their grand opening in May 2020, mostly through virtual means due to the pandemic.
Most recently, Anschutz Engineering opened their doors in April 2024. The space is dedicated to aerospace, electrical and computer engineering, computer science and game design.
Photo courtesy of the Colorado Springs Pioneers Musuem.