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Sunnycrest, the Story of the Cheyenne Cañon Inn

A thickly carpeted runner laid down on the hardwood risers of the grand staircase
connected the main floor with the suite of bedrooms on the second level. Every
bedroom was equipped with a silent buzzer that rang in the kitchen and alerted
the staff where service was needed. Many of the bedrooms had a private
balcony that faced canyon views or looked towards the Broadmoor. Some even
had a private bathroom outfitted with the latest fixtures. Altogether, there were
seven bathrooms in the new Sunnycrest, a fact that enhanced its stature in an
era when many of the other Cheyenne Canyon resort houses did not yet have
indoor plumbing. A final amenity was the large coal furnace in the basement.
This insured that every room would have constant heat and there would be lots
of hot water .

A NEW BUSINESS FOR SUNNYCREST: 1921-1928

Although the new Sunnycrest was a grand house, it turned out to be a different
kind of home. By now most of the Casey family had grown up and began to
leave. Two of the sons moved to California and one returned back East. The
fourth son stayed in Colorado to work at a sawmill, but not the same one where
Lillian and her father were formerly employed. Even Lillian's life changed. She
got married to the sheriff of nearby Manitou Springs and changed her name to
Lillian Kniffen. The rest of the girls presumably got married, or younger ones like
Grace, were still being raised at Sunnycrest. Whatever happened to the Casey
parents by 1921 is unknown.

Because the family structure was breaking apart, Lillian Kniffen constructed the
new Sunnycrest to operate as something other than a high-end resort house. It
would be an upscale bordello catering to the rich people coming to the
Broadmoor. Since a house of prostitution was illegal, being married to the
Manitou Springs sheriff was a definite advantage in dealing with the law. As a
precaution against a surprise police raid, the roof of the Sunnycrest bordello was
crowned with a third story lookout tower- Part of the panoramic tower view faced
west towards the spectacular mountain scenery in North and South Cheyenne
Canyons. The manicured grounds of the Broadmoor spread to the south. Most
importantly, an observer could look for three unobstructed miles to the east down
Cheyenne Canyon Boulevard to the plains and downtown Colorado Springs, the
direction from which the police would be coming. Today the tower is part of the
"Lookout Room". The eastern view is now partially filtered by tall trees that have
grown up, but the other directions looking towards the Broadmoor and the
canyons are as gorgeous as ever.

The fact that the Sunnycrest bordello was located outside the conservative
Colorado Springs city limits provided another favorable advantage since it made
operating a bordello a little more acceptable. The close proximity to the Stratton
Park Meadows trolley station was also a boon. The trolley brought clients within

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