If you have ventured east on I-70, just past Limon, you may have noticed a unique building to the north with the words “See 6 States”.

This is the World’s Wonder View Tower, a roadside attraction associated with the age of automobile travel across the United States. You may notice it is more than just a Tower. The whole building / complex extends in a curved form. The imagery above perhaps makes it easier to see that there were once several separate structures on the site that were connected over time by additions and alterations.

Form + Works has been working on the project since 2017, beginning with an Historic Structure Assessment. Following the assessment and preservation planning phase, we prepared the rehabilitation documents, followed by the first phase of construction for the Tower Building Rehabilitation. The Owner group identified early on that getting the Tower Building back into use would re-activate the site and be a catalyst for the remainder of the facility.

Here are some fun historic photos we’ve gathered over the years working on the project.

As you can see from the historic images, the Tower once stood alone, but it eventually connected to the rest of the complex with a hallway and a “wedge” addition. The hallway blocked, not only one of the original front doors, but also exterior windows on two sides of the south rooms. Through discussions with History Colorado and the Owner Team (Friends of the Genoa Tower, Inc.) the period of significance for the project was determined to be when I-70 was constructed, this became the determining factor on the project approach.

The Tower construction began in 1926 by owners Charles Gregory and Myrtle LeBow. In 1933 the property was featured in Ripley’s Believe It or Not, claiming that six states could be seen from the top platform of the Tower: Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, South Dakota, Kansas and New Mexico. There is a lot of lore surrounding this. Supposedly they had people holding torches at the borders of these states and someone at the Tower looking….but the general consensus today is that it’s an example of the “Or Not” part of Ripley’s Believe It or Not.

In 1942 Charles Gregory died and the property was purchased by Bill Stone. When the Tower was constructed, highway 24 ran along the north side of the site, with the railroad tracks. Visitors entered the site from the northeast and were greeted by the monument sign and the front doors of the Tower.

It became a stop for cars, and the railroad, but it also became a community asset, with a gas station, lunch counter, theater, outdoor stage, hotel rooms and lots of oddities to see (a rattlesnake pit, a two-headed calf, etc.). Allegedly during WWII, the building was open 24 hours a day to accommodate soldiers traveling from coast to coast. When I-70 was constructed to the south of the site, visitation declined.

This gives you an indication of the basis for the Period of Significance determination, aligned with the building’s heyday when travelers were coming to the site from highway 24 and visitation was highest.

In 1955 William Jennings Bonner and Evelyn Lowery Coats purchased the site and began to restore the property. In 1969 Jerry Chubbuck purchased the property and in 1972 alterations were made to reorient the building to I-70. The Jerry Chubbuck ownership era is when the majority of the connecting structures are thought to have been introduced. The Tower was listed on the Colorado State Register of Historic Places in 1995. In 2013 the building was closed to the public and in 2016 it was added to Colorado Preservation, Inc’s Most Endangered Places List. This same year, the Friends group was formed to save the Tower.

Using historic post cards and Geoff’s skill of identifying cars (see above), we found evidence that the Tower was still a freestanding building after I-70 was completed. Working with History Colorado, the Team determined the first phase would remove the later additions/connections.

The Owner Team has secured grants and funding through many sources, including several from History Colorado, the State Historical Fund. They are also leveraging historic tax credits, as well as continually hosting fundraising efforts to make the project happen. Spectrum General Contractors has been the general contractor for this first phase of the building, working through multiple seasons to bring it all together.

Here are photos before construction compared to the project at substantial completion.

The mural was repainted by Some Girls and a Mural. Note the original list of the six states

Design Team Credits:

Civil Engineers – JVA, Inc. Kevin Huemann and Kevin Vecchiarelli

Structural Engineers – JVA, Inc. Ian Glaser, Christine Britton, Matthew Dinsmore

Mechanical & Plumbing Engineers – 360 Engineering, Inc. Denise Dihle, Spencer Rioux, James Komperud, Jonathan Garber

Electrical Engineers – enLighten Engineering, LLC. Layne Webber and Kay Bathke

On May 1st, we celebrated the Tower ribbon cutting (Check out this video compilation put together by Jason on our instagram). It was wonderful to celebrate with everyone who supported this project and who worked diligently for many years to make it happen. For those who have never had the opportunity to see it, it’s time to plan your trip! (Please check with the Friends Group on when the Tower will be open prior to making the trek)

The rest of the Wonder View complex will remain closed as funding and phasing allows, but the Owner Group intends to reopen the Tower with a Museum / Gift Shop, Art Displays, a Podcast Studio, and much more.