Winks Panorama Explained

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.^[1]

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.^[1]

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.^[2] It is now owned by the James Beckwourth Mountain Club, which has undertaken restoration of the lodge as a conference center.^[3] Winks Panorama was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 28, 1980. On December 11, 2023, the United States Department of the Interior designated the lodge a National Historic Landmark.^{[4] [5]}

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Gilpin County, Colorado
• List of National Historic Landmarks in Colorado

Other African-American resorts included:

• American Beach, Florida
• Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts
• Idlewild, Michigan

References

External links

• Denver Urban Spectrum article on Winks Lodge and Lincoln Hills

Notes and References

1. Web site: Calloway. Bertha. [{{NRHP url|id=80000901}} National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form: Winks Panorama]. National Park Service. 2 May 2012 . Fly, Everette . Barbara Wigfall. 1980.
2. Web site: Winks Lodge (1928-1965). 2008-10-31. African-American History in the West. BlackPast.org.
3. Web site: Wink Hamlet's marvelous legacy. 2008-10-31. Gilpin County News.
4. . December 13, 2023 . Secretary Haaland designates 18 new sites of natural, historical significance . live . Washington, D.C. . U.S. Department of the Interior . https://web.archive.org/web/20231213163211/https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/secretary-haaland-designates-18-new-sites-natural-historical-significance . December 13, 2023 . December 13, 2023.
5. Web site: WEEKLY LIST OF ACTIONS TAKEN ON PROPERTIES: 12/8/2023 THROUGH 12/15/2023 . National Park Service. 2023-12-15.