Entry No. 92 — the Colorado Springs file — filed under: art-nouveau
Van Briggle Memorial Pottery Building
Most people drive past this 1907 building near Monument Valley Park without realizing they're looking at one of the great Art Nouveau tile works in America. Artus Van Briggle was a brilliant young potter who died of TB at 35; his widow Anne built this as a working pottery and a memorial to him, sheathing the walls in more than 5,000 of her own glazed tiles and crowning it with two massive bottle-shaped kiln chimneys covered in terra-cotta flowers. Today it quietly houses Colorado College's facilities department — a gorgeous, half-secret monument to grief hiding in plain sight.
The move: Stroll over from Monument Valley Park and circle the building slowly — hunt the conjoined-AA logo tiles, the floral terra-cotta, and the two great bottle kilns — then read each other the story of the widow who built it. Time it for the fall festival if you want to get inside.
📍 Before you go It's a working Colorado College office building — the draw is the exterior, free and anytime. Inside is open to the public only during the fall festival; don't disturb staff otherwise.
- 📍 Westside / Monument Valley Park
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Low-key
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: 1125 Glen Ave (SE of W Uintah St & Glen Ave, by Monument Valley Park), Colorado Springs, CO 80904
Hours: Exterior viewable anytime (now CC offices). Interior tours only during the annual fall Historic Van Briggle Pottery Festival.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: coloradocollege.edu · Wikipedia · coloradoencyclopedia.org
last checked: 2026-06-27