Wender·Vista
Cheyenne Mountain
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileColorado · United States
on the southwest edge of Colorado Springs, above the Broadmoor

Cheyenne Mountain

— — a granite shoulder that holds back the plains.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“A 9,565-foot granite shoulder of the Front Range, rising west of Colorado Springs above the Broadmoor and the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. The mountain is best known as the granite vault that holds the NORAD complex, carved into its core in the early 1960s. The state park at its base opened in 2006 with 20 miles of trail and a view east across the Great Plains that runs, on clear mornings, almost to Kansas.

from the studio
Cheyenne Mountain
— bring it home

Cheyenne Mountain, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Cheyenne Mountain

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Cheyenne Mountain rises to 9,565 feet on the southeast edge of the Front Range, in El Paso County, Colorado. The summit sits about 9 miles southwest of downtown Colorado Springs and 3 miles west of the Broadmoor resort. It forms the eastern wall of the Pikes Peak batholith, the same Precambrian intrusion that makes up Pikes Peak, 11 miles to the north. The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo on its lower north flank, at 6,800 feet, is the highest-elevation zoo in the United States, founded in 1926 by Spencer Penrose of the Broadmoor.

— the stone

The mountain is solid Pikes Peak granite, a coarse pink Precambrian rock about 1.08 billion years old. In 1961 the U.S. Air Force began excavating 700,000 tons of granite from the interior to build the NORAD Combat Operations Center, completed in 1966. The facility sits 2,000 feet below the summit, behind 25-ton blast doors, with the buildings inside resting on 1,319 steel springs to absorb seismic and blast shock. The state park trails at the base were routed deliberately to avoid the restricted zone above.

— informed by NORAD
— the visit

Cheyenne Mountain State Park entrance is on JL Ranch Heights Road off Highway 115, south of Colorado Springs. The park opened in 2006 and offers about 20 miles of trail, with the highest point reaching roughly 7,200 feet; the summit itself is closed military property. Most hikers run the Talon, Coyote Run, and Boulder Run loops. The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo on the north flank is open daily and reaches 6,800 feet. The Broadmoor at the eastern base has been open since 1918.

— where
United States · El Paso County, Colorado
— within
Cheyenne Mountain State Park
— elevation
2,916 m · 9,565 ft
— position
38.7438° N · 104.8463° W
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
3 km N
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
zoo
5 km NE
The Broadmoor
historic resort
18 km N
Pikes Peak
mountain summit
17 km N
Garden of the Gods
sandstone park
N
Cheyenne Mountain
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
The Broadmoor
Pikes Peak
Garden of the Gods
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Cheyenne Mountain — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

9,565 feet at the summit, on the southeast edge of the Front Range above Colorado Springs. It rises about 3,400 feet above the city floor at the Broadmoor.

The NORAD Combat Operations Center, carved into the granite between 1961 and 1966. The facility sits 2,000 feet below the summit, behind 25-ton blast doors, on 1,319 steel springs.

No. The facility is restricted U.S. military property and not open to the public. The Cheyenne Mountain State Park trails below it are open daily, but routes are designed to keep clear of the restricted zone.

Pikes Peak granite, a coarse pink Precambrian rock about 1.08 billion years old. It is part of the same batholith that forms Pikes Peak, 11 miles to the north.

The highest-elevation zoo in the United States, on the north flank at 6,800 feet. It opened in 1926 with stock donated to Colorado Springs by Spencer Penrose of the Broadmoor.

2006. The park covers about 2,700 acres on the southern flank, with roughly 20 miles of trail and a campground. The highest trail point is about 7,200 feet.

No, but it shares the same granite. Cheyenne Mountain and Pikes Peak are both summits of the Pikes Peak batholith, the Precambrian granite mass that forms the southern Front Range.

— about the piece in your home

The mountain is the western horizon for every Colorado Springs household, and many families have a grandparent who worked inside it or grew up at the Broadmoor. A Medium or Large with a handwritten note from the studio carries well.

The granite pinks and Front Range golds suit Mountain-modern, Western-modern, and warm Mid-century rooms. It pairs with leather, oak, and unbleached wool; less so with cool coastal palettes.

A single Large reads above a three-seat sofa. For the mountain's full eastern face, a 4-tile Mural sets the horizon; a 9-tile Mural carries a 2.5-metre feature wall.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and steam-stable, suited to backsplashes, shower walls, and powder rooms in mountain-state homes.

A soft microfibre cloth with plain water. The colour is held in the ceramic surface under a thin glossy finish and will not fade. Avoid abrasive pads and solvent-based cleaners.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is made by Reid Wender, the curator, in the studio's stained-glass and alcohol-ink visual language. Nothing is licensed in or out.

It reads as Mountain-modern with a warm Western-Maximalist edge, the direction Denver and Aspen designers have moved through the mid-2020s, layering granite-pink and oxidized copper against pale oak.

— if this one stayed with you

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