"On a hill across the river (R) looms the 75-ton CHRIST OF THE ROCKIES, dedicated in 1934, modeled in cream-white glazed porcelain, 52 feet from base to top, flood-lighted at night. A life-size figure of the dead Christ, guarded by two angels, reclines in the crypt at the base of the statue." page 392, Colorado. A Guide to the Highest State, 1941
This huge Christ the King statue was erected in 1933 as a gift from the Dower family. Since the statue is on private property, the above coordinates are of a pull-off area when the statue may be easily photographed. You may find a video if the statue here. (Note: this is not my video). Information about the camp may be found here.
"Another Catholic summer camp originated with the old resort of Cassells on the South Platte River. The resort had been launched as a stop along the Denver, South Park & Pacific Railroad by David N. Cassells, the agent there, in the 1880s. In 1930, J.K. Mullen's son-in-law, John L. Dower, and his wife, purchased the place, located 8.3 miles west of Bailey, from Cassells estate and gave it to Catholic Charities as a summer camp for underprivileged boys and girls between the ages of eight and fifteen. By 1931, the freshly rechristened Camp Santa Maria was offering three-week summer sessions, during which youngsters slept in the old Cassells hotel.
The landmark atop the hill behind the camp, a fifty-five-foot statue of Christ the King donated in 1933 by the Dowers, is supposedly second in height only to the famous statue of Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Although the old hotel and Cassells-Dower summer house have been demolished, Camp Santa Maria still delights young summer visitors to this mountain retreat along the upper South Platte River. Since the 1950s, the Mary Mullen Dower Benevolent Corporation has leased Camp Santa Maria to Catholic Community Services, which offers not only children's summer camping but also retreats and autumn camping for senior citizens." by Thomas J. Noel
"Further west beyond Bailey beside Highway 285 is Camp Santa Maria. It originated in the 1880s as Cassells, a resort on the South Platte River and a stop over point on the Denver, South Park & Pacific Railroad. The Dowers, members of the philanthropic Mullen family, purchased the property in 1930 and donated it to the Denver Archdiocese. Christened as Camp Santa Maria, it opened as a summer facility for underprivileged boys and girls ages 8 to 15. Kids came three-week summer sessions and slept in the old Cassells Hotel. A towering landmark was erected atop the hill behind the camp in 1933, a 55-foot statue of Christ the King donated by the Dower family.
As Camp Santa Maria grew, modern facilities replaced the old hotel. Catholic Community Services and expanded the camp in the 1950s with retreats and autumn camping for senior citizens. Jolene, now 34, remembers playing capture the flag with “so many good places to hide,” tubing on the lake, swimming in the pool, night-time campfires and long, mountain hikes. With her brother and a half-dozen younger cousins she enjoyed the camp for several summers; she went back as a youth counselor and even met her husband at Camp Santa Maria. The facility became a YMCA camp a decade ago, still offering adventure-based, co-ed summer fun.
The YMCA operates other vintage summer camps in Colorado. “Summer encampments” took place in the Rocky Mountain Region as early as the 1890s; in 1908 the “Y” established a permanent facility at Estes Park as a summer school to train YMCA workers. It expanded with family lodgings and family programs. As tourism increased in the 1950s and ‘60s, the camp expanded with new buildings. The site evolved into today’s year-round conference and family center. The Lula W. Dorsey Museum preserves and documents the history of the YMCA of the Rockies." Citation