The Will Rogers ~ Shrine of the Sun can be reached with a trip up the Russell Tutt
Scenic Highway, originally named the "Wonder Road"
after its miraculous construction. As you travel up
the mountainside, each turn reveals breathtaking views
of the Rocky Mountain Range and glorious vistas of the
city of Colorado Springs below. The
highway was constructed by Spencer Penrose in 1924 and
initially terminated 7.5 miles up at the summit of
Cheyenne Mountain.
Spencer Penrose, founder of the Broadmoor and Cheyenne
Mountain Zoo, along with a group of his associates
from Colorado Springs, formed the End of the Trail
Association. The End of the Trail Association acquired
property for the shrine and began construction in
December of 1934, and finished in 1937. The edifice's
design was commissioned by Colorado Springs architect
Charles E. Thomas, and at the time construction began
the tower had yet to be named. The shrine has an entry
gate with stone piers, an eighty foot high observation
tower, looks like a fortress with a stone turret, and
is built of 5,000 cubic yards of native Cheyenne
Mountain gray-pink granite quarried from a single
boulder. Anchored 28 feet into a solid rock buttress,
the entire structure, void of nails or wood, is bound
by 200,000 pounds of steel and some 30 wagon loads of
cement. The elevation of the shrine is 8,136 feet on
the top deck, and it provides spectacular views of
Colorado Springs and the Pikes Peak Region.
During the shrine's construction, Will Rogers, an
American humorist, was killed in an airplane crash in
Alaska. This tragedy inspired Mr. Penrose to honor his
close friend by naming the tower after him. Jo
Davidson, an artist in Paris, was commissioned to
sculpt a bronze bust of Will Rogers, which stands in
the ten-acre courtyard in front of the shrine. The
shrine was dedicated on September 6, 1937, in a
ceremony broadcast nationally on the NBC radio
network.
Inside the square sided, five-story shrine, the
Historical Room on the ground level displays murals by
New Mexico artist Randall Davey depicting early
development of the Pikes Peak Region. Included are
Native American scenes, Zebulon Pike's travels, gold
discoveries in Cripple Creek, and activities of
General William Palmer, founder and developer of
Colorado Springs. These murals were carefully restored
in 1993 by noted American artist and mural painter
Eric Bransby, an associate of Randall Davey's.
In the three rooms above, a photographic history of
Will Rogers’ life captivates visitors at the shrine.
The display begins with his early childhood in
Oklahoma and passes through the years when he gained
fame on stage, screen and radio as "America's
unofficial Ambassador of Good Will." The final
photograph is of Will Rogers and pilot Wiley Post
taken just before the fatal flight, which claimed
their lives at Point Barrow, Alaska, in 1935.
On the lower level of the shrine, accessible by a
separate entrance is a tranquil chapel where the ashes
of Spencer and Julie Penrose are interred along with
two colleagues of the Penroses from the Cripple Creek
gold rush days, Larry Leonard and Horace Devereaux.
The chapel is adorned with 15th and 16th century
European art objects indicative of the Penroses'
efforts to cultivate a refined character for the Pikes
Peak Region.
The crowning feature of the shrine is the set of
Westminster Chimes, which can be heard throughout the
Broadmoor valley as they strike the quarter hours each
day. Today, the Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun stands
as an everlasting monument to the cowboy who had a
special gift for making the world laugh at its own
troubles.
Spencer and Julie Penrose were married in 1906 and
were highly instrumental in the development of the
City of Colorado Springs. The Penroses are responsible
for the construction of the Pikes Peak Highway,
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and the Broadmoor Hotel. They
were also a moving force in regional cultural and
educational activities. They donated property for the
Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center and established the
El Pomar Foundation in 1937 to contribute to
charitable and educational nonprofit organizations in
Colorado.
