Wonder Tower – Genoa, Colorado
Sometimes, when you are traveling, you really want to stop someplace, anyplace, which gives you a reason to get out of the car. That is the one thing that Wonder tower can offer, a reason to get out of the car for a few minutes to stretch your legs.
This “Tower” is said to let you see six states from the top, ok, so you can see six states from the top, maybe. It’s a little hard to see the state lines to see which state is which but if they say you can, then maybe you really can. The crowd of people that are all there are just creative fakes…not real people. They are pieces of wood with fabric wrapped around them to give the appearance of them being people from a distance. Creative, if misleading.
Seriously, Genoa’s Wonder Tower does stand sixty feet above the plains of Colorado on Hwy 24. It was built by Charles W. Gregory in 1926. Mr. Gregory was a railroad engineer with a creative mind and entrepreneurial spirit. He decided that this would be a great one stop for those traveling through the area so he built the tower, a motel, gas station and restaurant. It was even a Greyhound bus station and truck stop for awhile.
After years of neglect, following the death of Mr. Gregory, the motel, gas station and restaurant disappeared from the scene. The tower remained and still has people stopping to see what it’s all about. There is a “museum” inside the Tower which is filled with artifacts, animal monstrosities and just plain junk. But, it’s interesting junk, a good reason to take a break from driving. There are over 20,000 Indian arrowheads, fossils, bottles and insulators along with farm implements and other treasures in the museum.
You may be the only one visiting at the time you stop although it looks as if there are lots of cars when you are driving up. Most of them are rusting pieces of cars set to look, again from a distance, like cars filled with people. Good marketing idea, it gets people’s attention.
The Tower provides westbound tourists a visual of the Rocky Mountains, your first one so worth the look. In 1934 the tower’s peak was confirmed to be the highest point between Denver and New York City by the Geological Survey. To get to the top you will need to climb 87 steps, some of which are ladder-like stairs) to get to the rooms that are named after their colors.
In the basement is a Curio Shop for you to buy some things to help you remember your stop.
The Tower is now owned by an amateur archeologist, Jerry Chubbuck. He invites you to see the ruts of old stage routes where the Texas-Montana trails crossed, an old spring, a monument built entirely of petrified coal, a snake pit, wishing well and more. Take Jerry’s Quiz and test your knowledge of the bazaar
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Location: 30121 Frontage Rd
Genoa, CO 80818
Phone: (719) 763-2309
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