Winks Panorama

Winks Panorama, also known as Winks Lodge, was a hotel near Pinecliffe, Colorado catering to African-American tourists during the early and middle 20th century. The lodge was built in the Lincoln Hills Country Club, which was at the time the only African-American resort in the western United States. The Lincoln Hills club was organized in 1922, selling lots with payments as low as $5.00 down and $5.00 per month. The lodge was built by Obrey Wendell "Winks" Hamlet in 1928. Hamlet had been involved in the original club project, and had been assembling land for a lodge since 1925. The Wall Street Crash of 1929 caused many lots in Lincoln Hills to be abandoned, but Hamlet promoted the lodge nationally through advertisements in Ebony and attracted a clientele from the eastern United States.[2]

Winks Panorama
Nearest cityPinecliffe, Colorado
Coordinates39°55′16″N 105°27′25″W
Built1925
ArchitectWendall Hamlet
NRHP reference No.80000901 (original)
13001035 (increase)
Significant dates
Added to NRHPMarch 28, 1980[1]
Boundary increaseOctober 15, 2014

The hillside lodge used local stone for the foundation, with a three-story shingled superstructure. The first floor was for service and storage, the second for dining and entertainment, and the third included six guest rooms and a shared bath. Several cabins surrounded the main lodge, including a honeymoon cabin and a tavern.[2]

Prominent guests included Count Basie, Billy Eckstein, Duke Ellington, Lena Horne, Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston.

The lodge operated until Winks' death in 1965.[3] It is now owned by the James Beckwourth Mountain Club, which has undertaken restoration of the lodge as a conference center.[4] Winks Panorama was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 28, 1980.[1]

See also
  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Gilpin County, Colorado

Other African-American resorts included:

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. Calloway, Bertha; Fly, Everette; Barbara Wigfall (1980). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form: Winks Panorama". National Park Service. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  3. "Winks Lodge (1928-1965)". African-American History in the West. BlackPast.org. 2008-10-31.
  4. "Wink Hamlet's marvelous legacy". Gilpin County News. 2008-10-31.


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