COBWEB CORNERS: A restaurant with airplane wings

COBWEB CORNERS: A restaurant with airplane wings

By Mel McFarland

I collect a lot of short items for use here, and now and then I need to share them. Today we will see several short items placed for your enjoyment.
I have done several airplane-related stories over the years. My favorite is the photographer in

Manitou who could fix his pictures to make it look like you were flying over Pikes Peak.
       Then there was the Manitou airport. Did you know about the café near Adams Crossing that was built under the wings of an airplane? I do not have the exact location, but in 1937 city officials ordered it removed. It seems it was getting rather derelict, and they were afraid it would collapse and fall onto cars parked there. I have seen pictures of surplus WWII aircraft used like this.
       Next, did you know that Fountain Creek was moved in 1924? After floods in 1913 and 1921, the city was trying to stabilize it. The creek used to flow through present-day Motor City. Then it swung way north, so that its crossing under Tejon Street was north of Dorchester Park (nowadays it's south of it). East of Nevada Avenue, the creek curved south again to its present channel (north of I-25). In the 1935 Flood, Fountain Creek tried to move back to this path, but enough work had been done to prevent that happening. Since the construction of 1-25 in 1960, the raised roadway has acted as a retaining wall.
       Did you know there use to be a town along Las Vegas, near the famous Royer Street crossing of the railroad tracks? In the early days of Colorado Springs, this area was known as Leander.
       Well, that about clears my desk!

(Posted 1/4/17; Opinion: Cobweb Corners)

Editor's note: Local historian Mel McFarland has been writing his Cobweb Corners column in the Westside Pioneer since 2004. To see past columns, go to the Pioneer's Archives. Either look for desired articles under the Cobweb Corners category for any year, or search by keywords in the Find box.

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