Editor’s note: This month, as Colorado Springs gears up for its 150th birthday on July 31, The Gazette has prepared a series of articles on the history of our city. Check back for fascinating glimpses into the people and events that have shaped Colorado Springs into the landmark it is today.

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“Does anyone remember …” begin many of the posts on “Old Pics of Colorado Springs,” a Facebook group that city native Alexandra “Allie” Frank started in December 2014.

The next word could be Conway’s Red Top, Michelle’s, Nemeth’s or some other shuttered restaurant.

The rest of the sentence could refer to a former hangout, like the old Homer’s Odyssey or the Cotton Club.

It could harken back to a demolished building, perhaps the Burns Theatre, which became the Chief Movie Theater, or a defunct business, such as Chrissy Fowler Lumber.

“It reminds people of a time that no longer exists,” Frank said. “It reminds them of the ‘good ol’ days.'”

Old restaurants and businesses, tourist attractions such as the Manitou Incline, Garden of the Gods, Balanced Rock and the summit of Pikes Peak, and vintage cars and houses in neighborhoods are among frequent post topics.

“This is one of my favorite groups, top three,” member Kris Klinge recently wrote. He joined the group the week it started seven years ago.

The time machine to the past has become so popular, Frank and her two moderators — her best friend and her daughter — are fielding a couple hundred requests a day to join. They’re at 36,400 and growing.

After vetting that an inquiry is a real person and not a bot, moderators grant admission.

Interest used to primarily come from current residents, then people who previously lived here, perhaps when their families were stationed at one of the city’s military installations, Frank said.

Member William Briscoe recently shared that he lived in Colorado Springs from elementary school through college, moved away, then came back and served in the Army at Fort Carson and was married here.

“We have been all over the world, and there is no place that offers as much as this wonderful place — so many great memories,” he wrote. “This site keeps me in touch with those memories.”

Now, Frank said, people who have just a smidgen of a connection to Colorado Springs seem to love what she loves: looking at old photos and reading the stories behind the treasured images.

“I was surprised so many other people shared my interest,” she said.

Frank’s fascination with history began in utero. Her mom was pregnant with her, and her parents were living at the Cliff House apartments in Manitou Springs when the building caught fire in March 1982 and burned.

Hearing the story as a child piqued her curiosity about the past.

“I’d always ask my parents when I was little what old buildings used to be,” she said.

Frank, who manages Hot Rod Tattoo and Body Piercing, admits the Facebook project, which was unique at the time, started as a “selfish hobby.”

But the online group has turned into a community of sorts — one in which people cherish as much as the black-and-white or faded color photos from years gone by.

“This group helped me get through some of my deepest moments of depression,” member Jenna Walters wrote recently.

“It may sound strange, but each post would give me something to connect with. I love trying to place the ‘then’ pictures to a today’s location,” she said. “It inspired me to feel something other than negative or numb. It gave me little breaths of life.”

Walters said she was having a hard time coping during the pandemic shutdowns but is doing much better now and still enjoys exploring and connecting with others.

“I’ve shared ‘fun facts’ with locals and new folks that intrigue them,” she wrote. “I love this group!”

Some people post “then” and “now” photos of familiar landmarks or unusual places.

Most people enjoy looking at old photos for nostalgic reasons, said local photographer Mike Pach, who has an exhibit of “then and now” photos on display at Library 21c, 1175 Chapel Hills Drive, through August.

“They like seeing how people lived in the past or reliving fond memories,” he said.

Colorado Springs native Regina Rae wrote on the page that she used to live on Montebello Drive when there were fields with horses behind her back yard.

“It’s changed a lot, and I love to reminisce, especially because half my family is gone,” she said.

When Pach started doing research for the project, he said he realized he was most interested in photos with people.

“I wanted to know their stories,” he said, “and as a photographer, I have a special interest in how the photos were made.”

Photos people post “bring back images of places and times almost forgotten,” wrote member Geri Guwang, who said she was born at Memorial Hospital but hasn’t lived in Colorado for years.

“But the Springs will always be home to me,” she said.

Frank’s group has the iconic bronze statue of city founder Brig. Gen. William Jackson Palmer in the center of Nevada and Platte avenues as its anchor shot. Two similar Facebook groups have emerged in recent years, one of old photos of Manitou Springs and another for Colorado Springs that features many pictures from collections of the Pikes Peak Library District and the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum.

Frank said both creators contacted her before starting their pages. She thought more groups would be a good thing.

Pach said he hopes that through his project people learn something about the city’s rich history that they didn’t know and realize how amazing the community is.

“I also hope that people see the importance of recording our history through photographs and that they think about how their pictures will be preserved for future generations by either handing down collections to family members or donating them to organizations,” he said.