
Starr Kempf's Kinetic Sculptures
Tucked into a quiet residential block near the Broadmoor, a private yard holds four to five surviving steel wind sculptures — 30 to 50 feet tall — built by sculptor Starr Kempf over nearly two decades starting in the late 1970s, each taking up to three years to complete. They spin and flex silently in the Colorado breeze, designed to look like enormous abstracted birds and weather vanes, with no gate, no signage, and no explanation for the uninitiated passerby. Kempf died by suicide in 1995 before the neighborhood wars that followed — zoning suits, court orders, a daughter's quixotic attempt to turn it into a museum — and around half the original dozen sculptures survive on the lawn where he built them. You won't find this on any Colorado Springs top-ten list; it hides in plain sight on a street where your GPS has no idea why you've stopped the car.
The move: Drive slowly past at dusk when the low light catches the spinning steel, then park and linger on the sidewalk — give it a few quiet minutes and the breeze will do the rest; pair it with a walk down Old Colorado City's Tejon Street for food and drinks afterward.
- 📍 Old Colorado City & the Westside
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: 2057 Pine Grove Ave, Colorado Springs, CO 80906
Hours: Added 2026-06-09 — confirm current hours before you go.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Proof: source 1 · source 2 · source 3 · source 4
Verified 2026-06-09.