Entry No. 40 — the Colorado Springs file — filed under: kinetic-art
Starr Kempf's Kinetic Sculptures
“a street where your GPS has no idea why you've stopped the car”
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.
📍 Before you go It's on the south side near the Broadmoor and North Cheyenne Cañon — not Old Colorado City — at the corner of Pine Grove and Evans, so let your GPS land you there and then look up for the towering steel. This is a private residence: view only from the public sidewalk and stay respectful of the neighbors. There's no parking right out front, but there's a pull-off across the street and a small lot a short way down. A breezy day is what brings the sculptures to life, so aim for wind over stillness. Pair it with Cheyenne Cañon and Helen Hunt Falls just up the road; to see more Kempf works up close, three stand at the UCCS Ent Center.
- 📍 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.
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Further reading: Atlas Obscura · Roadside America · Tripadvisor · Yelp
last checked: 2026-06-09