Palmer Lake Town Hall
El Paso County
The Palmer Lake Town Hall is Palmer Lake’s first and only town hall. Established in 1883 about 20 miles north of Colorado Springs, the town was an important supply and support stop for the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway and later became a tourist destination due to its appealing mountain setting. Following the rise of prominent hotels and summertime Chautauqua Assemblies, Palmer Lake grew in size such that a permanent home for town council meetings was needed.
Palmer Lake Town Hall
Completed in 1914, the Palmer Lake Town Hall hosted Town Council meetings and served as the town’s library from 1914 to 1917. Since the 1930s, the Town Hall has been the home of the annual local Yule Log hunt and celebration and the Palmer Lake Star chili supper and star lighting, annual events that have come to define Palmer Lake’s community traditions. The annual Yule Log celebration first took place in 1935. Lucretia Vaile, a librarian, arts patron, and co-founder of the Colorado Mountain Club, attended a Yule Log event in Lake Placid, New York, and was inspired to suggest Palmer Lake, a summer home during her childhood, create its own such event.
The Palmer Lake Town Hall is also a fine example of Craftsman style architecture. Character-defining features of the Craftsman style include its deep overhanging eaves with exposed rafter tails, use of cedar shakes and drop siding on the exterior walls, deep wrap-around porch, multi-light windows, and the distinctive window and door trim with battered profile.