Spencer Penrose

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Spencer Penrose (middle) stands in a mining exchange in Cripple Creek, Colorado, 1895.

Spencer Penrose (November 2, 1865–1939)^[1] was a philanthropist in and around Colorado Springs at the turn of the 20th century. Penrose started as a ladies-man and an adventurer who made a huge fortune in the gold fields of nearby Cripple Creek in the 1890s. He married Julie Villiers Lewis McMillan and settled down.

He has contributed many of the most prominent landmarks in Colorado Springs and Penrose used his vast amounts of money to invest in other national mineral concerns and financed construction of the Broadmoor Hotel, the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, the Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun, the Pikes Peak Highway, an important local hospital, and established the El Pomar Foundation, which still oversees many of his contributions in Colorado Springs today.

Spencer and Julie Penrose are buried in the Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun on Cheyenne Mountain, overlooking the Broadmoor Hotel. Mr. Penrose was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 2002.

[edit] El Pomar Foundation

El Pomar Foundation was established in 1937 by Spencer and Julie Penrose to enhance, encourage and promote the current and future well being of the people of Colorado through grantmaking and community stewardship. The Foundation's name "El Pomar" is old Spanish for "the orchard", derived from the Penrose home situated on an apple orchard.

Based in Colorado Springs, El Pomar Foundation is one of the largest and oldest private foundations in the Rocky Mountain West, with assets totaling $500 million. El Pomar contributes more than $20 million annually through grants and community stewardship programs to support Colorado nonprofit organizations involved in health, human services, education, arts and humanities, and civic and community initiatives.