Nearly 100 years after it was completed, an effort is underway to restore what is known as the World’s Wonder View Tower in the eastern Colorado town of Genoa.
Situated in a town with an elevation of 5,741 feet, the tower was built by a railroad engineer named Charles Gregory and his partner Myrtle LeBow, who envisioned the structure as an alluring tourist attraction.
The highlight of any visit to Genoa, Gregory declared in newspaper advertisements, was the 87-step climb to the top of the tower which afforded sweeping views of not only the Centennial State, but also in the distance New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska.
Additional construction at the site eventually included the building of a gas station, trading post, and cafe.
The tower went into a long decline beginning with the construction of Interstate 70 in the 1960s, which bypassed Genoa. Since then, the building has seen a series of owners, with the last, Jerry Chubbock, passing away in 2013.
Listed by the group Colorado Preservation Incorporated as one of the state’s “Most Endangered Places,” the tower is now the subject of a rehabilitation effort. To that end a $250,000 grant has been awarded through the nonprofit organization History Colorado for restoration work which will include interior refinishing and restoration of the tower’s famous signage.
Earlier work at the site has seen the building of an electric charging station.
Supporters of the structure have maintained that its importance is not one of just being an unusual early 20th century roadside attraction, but also a place to stop and survey the vast surrounding countryside in all directions.
In a statement, Chandler Romero, treasurer of the Friends of Genoa Tower Incorporated Board, said the grant funding will “restore the tower as a must-stop destination for travelers who want to recharge not just their vehicles and phones, but themselves.”
February 11, 2025
By Garry Boulard
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