Winks Panorama
Winks Panorama | |
 | |
   | |
| Nearest city | Pinecliffe, Colorado |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 39°55′16″N 105°27′25″W / 39.92111°N 105.45694°W |
| Built | 1925 |
| Architect | Wendall Hamlet |
| NRHP reference No. | 80000901 (original) 13001035 100009805 (NHL designation) (increase) |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | March 28, 1980[1] |
| Boundary increase | October 15, 2014 |
| Designated NHL | December 11, 2023 |
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]
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] On December 11, 2023, the United States Department of the Interior designated the lodge a National Historic Landmark.[5][6]
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