Wheeler Bank - Manitou Springs, CO
Posted by: 
Outspoken1
N 38° 51.427 W 104° 54.918
13S E 507349 N 4300924
This building was the first bank in Manitou Springs and cost $25,000 to build in 1888-89.
Waymark Code: WMCNTC
Location: Colorado, United States
Date Posted: 09/26/2011
Views: 1
This building was the first bank in Manitou Springs built by mining baron and financier Jerome B. Wheeler. Wheeler had made his fortune in the Aspen area using Manitou Springs as a health resort for his wife and summer vacation area.
"Throughout the American West, every mining community has one or two individuals who become highly successful. One of Aspen's most notable entrepreneurs was Jerome B. Wheeler.
Mr. Wheeler, unlike others seeking to make their fortune in Aspen, would merely add to his own.
As half owner of New York City's Macy's Department Store, he moved to Manitou Springs, CO for his wife's health. At the time, Manitou Springs was known as "The Newport of the Rockies."
Not content with resort lifestyles, Jerome began investing in businesses and mining properties, including some in Aspen. It is estimated that he invested $500,000 in mining properties, buildings and most important, the completion of a critically needed smelter in Aspen.
Today, Wheeler remains an Aspen icon, not so much for his mining activities, but rather for the three buildings [in Aspen, Colorado], still standing, which bear his name—the Wheeler Opera House, The Jerome Hotel and the Wheeler/Stallard Museum, the later of which is now the headquarters of the Aspen Historical Society." (from (
visit link) and historic plaque)
Today, the building houses several small businesses and has living quarters upstairs.