Unfortunately, I never met Spencer Penrose. He died in 1939, and I was not born until 1941. Despite our paths never crossing, I know him well; back in 1892, he was the junior partner of my great-grandfather Charles Leaming Tutt. He also was godfather to both my grandfather, Charles Leaming Tutt II, and my father, Charles Leaming Tutt III.

My first exposure to Mr. Penrose’s Broadmoor hotel was in 1946. It and Colorado were love at first sight. I knew then, at 5 years old, that I wanted to someday make Colorado my home. Growing up in the overcast, dreary city of Flint, Mich. – in its heyday, I might add – made my decision easy.

Every year until the early 60s, we made the trek to Colorado Springs, each time better than the last. In the ’40s and early ’50s, we came by rail. We’d take the Grand Trunk Railroad (known in my family as the “Grand Junk”) from Flint to Chicago and then get on the Rock Island Line to Colorado Springs. I loved that old railroad.

When they shut the line down, a lot of their service and culinary employees ended up at The Broadmoor, and some were still there when I returned in 1975. Eventually, when we started to fly out, going from Denver to Colorado Springs was like riding a bronco at the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo. DC1s and DC3s, with summer heat, bounced more than they flew. You had to enter them from the back and climb a steep grade to get a seat. Soon as seated, I would grab a couple of barf bags since I would need them even before takeoff.

Initially in the ’40s, we would stay at Grandad’s house at 1205 N. Cascade (currently the Tutt Alumni House at Colorado College). There was plenty of room, but we spent most of our days at the hotel swimming in the indoor pool, where Café Julie’s is today, or riding horses around the foothills.

My first rodeo was in 1946 at the 10,000-seat Penrose Stadium, where Broadmoor West currently stands. I was enthralled and thought I’d grow up to be a cowboy, though I quickly outgrew that fantasy. It’s the second oldest event created by Spencer Penrose, operating continuously since Penrose built the original stadium in honor of his friend Will Rodgers in 1937. During the war years of 1942-45, the rodeo was suspended as the would-be-cowboys went to fight in WWII.

The rodeo was moved in 1974 to its current location at the Norris-Penrose Event Center and continues in its 78th year.

The oldest Penrose event, the Pikes Peak Hill Climb, was created in 1916 and continues to thrive, providing global recognition for Colorado Springs. My first “Race to the Clouds” was over Labor Day in 1946. It snowed; I loved it nonetheless. My brother, Charley, was president of the Hill Climb for several years, and I’m proud of his efforts to take the event to the next level.

Back to the indoor pool. It’s still there underneath Café Julie’s. It was never removed, just covered up. First, it became the Broadmoor Drug Store, complete with fountain, pharmacy, gift shop and barbershop. Next, it became the Broadmoor Signature Shop, and finally Café Julie’s, which opened several months ago and specializes in gelato. There was also a Turkish bath adjacent to the pool where the hotel’s executive offices currently reside. I remember the pool and baths to be very steamy; not unlike the latte foam that occupies the same space today.

The indoor pool went away when the outdoor pool was built in the 1950s on the lake near to where the Northeast Tower is today. In the ’40s, the hotel also had a public swimming area on the north end of the lake near a lovely island, which is now gone but has been replaced by the expansive infinity pool at the north end.

The hotel also had an outdoor pool at the golf club, which was removed when the original golf clubhouse/casino was torn down and replaced in the ’90s. There’s a good story about the pool. The hotel board of directors at the time argued about the desire for a pool at the club. My uncle Thayer Tutt was on the board and was the main proponent for building it, but the board voted it down. Thayer said, “unfortunately, ladies and gentlemen, you cannot do that.” When the board pushed him for his reasoning, he told them that he had signed the contract the day prior and construction had begun that very morning. They fired him on the spot.

When he did not show up for work the next day, my grandfather, Charles L. Tutt II, called him and said: “where in hell are you?” To which Thayer curtly replied, “I am at home because you fired me.” Grandad insisted it did not matter and that Thayer needed to “get his ass back here right now.” Well, the pool got built, Thayer regained his employment, and a few of the nongolfing members were happy.

I would be remiss if I did not mention the Broadmoor Zoo, now the independent and world-class Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. Spencer Penrose was an avid animal fan. At one point, he owned Turkey Creek Ranch, now part of Fort Carson. Its principal purpose was to grow vegetables for the hotel, but as time wore on, he started to acquire indigenous animals such as deer, goats, elk, etc., and he kept them at the ranch. As the menagerie grew, the animals began to eat more vegetables than the hotel guests did, so he moved them to where the No. 1 hole on the west golf course is today. That idea did not last long, as the animals were vocal at night and patrons did not necessarily enjoy being downwind.

As Spencer Penrose became more and more prosperous, he and Julie traveled a lot around the world and, as a result, acquired a number of exotic animals like Jiggs the cigar smoking chimpanzee and Tessie the elephant, who was the gift of the Rajah of Nanjpur. Well, not exactly. Apparently, the 40-year-old Tessie came from an old animal farm in Missouri, though that history naturally would not work for Penrose’s promotional purposes.

The animals were eventually moved to the site of the present-day zoo, which has matured, expanded and adapted to become internationally recognized.

I can’t leave you without commenting on The Broadmoor World Ice Arena, which was originally built in the ’30s as an indoor polo field near the current sight of the West Tower. Polo was very big at The Broadmoor in the early days. Some of the world’s best players, like the Devereux brothers (who brought President Teddy Roosevelt to play), called it home. They played mainly at The Broadmoor’s outdoor polo field, now a housing development. The indoor field did not last long as the popularity of polo waned and a European figure skater named Sonja Henie was charming the world. The Broadmoor wisely and quickly turned the arena into a skating facility. Eventually, five World Figure Skating Championships and a World Ice Hockey Championship took place there. In addition, Olympic and world figure skating champions like the brothers Hayes Alan Jenkins and David Jenkins and Peggy Fleming trained there.

The arena was very versatile, hosting ice skating shows, ice hockey tournaments, Colorado College hockey games and conventions over the years. A World Boxing Championship was fought there just before the classic old structure was razed and moved to its current location off Interstate 25 in south Colorado Springs.

All the events and activities and history I’ve mentioned, and The Broadmoor hotel itself, would not have been possible without the vision of Spencer Penrose. Though he was born and raised in Philadelphia on Spruce Street, a few houses away from my great-grandfather, his heart and soul were forever committed to the promotion and betterment of his adopted home, Colorado Springs.

God bless Mr. and Mrs. Penrose for putting Colorado Springs on the world map.

So here’s a hearty congratulations to the world-famous Broadmoor hotel, celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2018. A thousand words could never come close to capturing the mystic, grandeur and history of the world’s senior ranking Mobile/Forbes 5 star and AAA 5-diamond hotel. What a blessing that Spencer Penrose’s dream remains in incredibly good hands. I’m sure it will continue for years to come to be the global standard for elegance, service, charm and all those wonderful things that justify its many awards for excellence. Yes, there will probably be plenty of juicy, raucous and exciting stories to be told in the next 100 years, too, but I doubt I’ll be here to tell them.