Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College

Top choice in Colorado Springs


This expansive museum and 400-seat theater originally opened in 1936. The museum’s collection is surprisingly sophisticated, with some terrific Latin American art and photography, and great rotating exhibits that draw from the 20,000 pieces in its permanent collection. There is a strong focus on Native American, Hispanic and Spanish Colonial art. Check the calendar for live performances in the theater space.

Other pieces you can expect to see here include Mexican clay figures, Native American basketry and quilts, wood-cut prints from social-justice artist Leopoldo Mendez, and terrific abstract work from local artists such as Vance Kirkland and Floyd Tunson. The biggest and most famous work is Richard Diebenkorn’s Urbana No 4, an abstract that’s exhibited around the world.

The sculpture garden and vast lawn out back are great for lounging and occasional concerts. The Bemis School of Art is attached to the museum.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Colorado Springs attractions

1. Money Museum

0.04 MILES

Yes, museums dedicated to coin collecting do exist. This museum, operated by the American Numismatic Association, has gold coins from the early 19th…

2. Cornerstone Arts Center

0.1 MILES

Colorado College’s striking, $30-million LEED–certified arts complex sits across the street from the Fine Arts Center. You’ll see sculpture on the front…

3. Acacia Park

0.61 MILES

Home to the much loved Uncle Wilbur’s Fountain, a lifeguard-monitored pop jet fountain with over 200 water jets, 52 of which are part of a play area where…

4. Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum

1.07 MILES

Colorado Springs’ municipal museum is set in the old El Paso County Courthouse, built in 1903. The collection and exhibition of some 60,000 pieces sums up…

5. Old Colorado City Historic District

1.82 MILES

The neighborhood known as Old Colorado City is where the original town was founded in 1860. It's former Wild West dens of vice (21 saloons in four blocks!…

6. Old Colorado Historical Society

1.86 MILES

Located in a former Baptist church, this tiny museum and bookstore introduces visitors to the history of Old Colorado City and is a good way to add…

7. Memorial Park

1.88 MILES

Set just off downtown, with Prospect Lake surrounded by wide green lawns and ball fields, and Pikes Peak and the rest of the southern front range looming…

8. Bancroft Park

1.9 MILES

There's a small historical display in leafy Bancroft Park, which is set smack in the middle of Old Colorado City. The centerpiece is the Old Pioneer…