Van Briggle made Colorado Springs an art pottery town

Near Monument Creek, west of the Colorado College campus, stands one of the quieter art landmarks in Colorado Springs. The Van Briggle Pottery building is not just an old factory. It carries the story of how the city became a place for artists, health seekers, and makers all at once.

Artus and Anne Van Briggle built the pottery business here in the early 1900s, after Artus came west for his health. The building opened as a working pottery plant, with rooms for sales, studios, kilns, and workshops under one roof. The design itself did some of the talking: the walls and details put ceramic art on display as part of the structure, not just the product made inside it.

That mix of work and craft fit a town built on more than railroads, mountains, and military posts. Colorado Springs grew an art streak alongside all of that, and the pottery sat near the center of it. Artus had come for the dry air, like many who arrived in those years, and turned a health move into a place that made things.

A walk near Monument Valley Park or Colorado College still passes close to that history, with the building holding its ground beside the creek. History Colorado and Colorado College each keep records of the company and the pottery it turned out, for anyone who wants the fuller account.