Winks Panorama

{{Short description|Former hotel in Colorado catering to African-Americans}}

{{Infobox NRHP

| name = Winks Panorama

| nrhp_type = nhl

| image = Winks Lodge Pinecliff CO.jpg

| caption =

| nearest_city = Pinecliffe, Colorado

| coordinates = {{coord|39|55|16|N|105|27|25|W|display=inline,title}}

| locmapin = Colorado#USA

| area =

| built = 1925

| architect = Wendall Hamlet

| architecture =

| added = March 28, 1980{{NRISref|version=2010a}}

| refnum = 80000901

| increase = October 15, 2014

| designated_nrhp_type = December 11, 2023

| increase_refnum = 13001035
100009805 (NHL designation)

}}

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.{{cite web|last=Calloway|first=Bertha|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form: Winks Panorama|url={{NRHP url|id=80000901}}|publisher=National Park Service|accessdate=2 May 2012 |author2=Fly, Everette |author3=Barbara Wigfall|year=1980}}

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.

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.{{cite web|url=http://www.blackpast.org/?q=aaw/winks-lodge-1928-1965|date=2008-10-31|work=African-American History in the West|title=Winks Lodge (1928-1965)|publisher=BlackPast.org}} It is now owned by the James Beckwourth Mountain Club, which has undertaken restoration of the lodge as a conference center.{{cite web|url=http://www.gilpincountynews.com/20070405/wink_hamlets_legacy.htm|date=2008-10-31|title=Wink Hamlet's marvelous legacy|publisher=Gilpin County News}} 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.{{cite press release |author= |date=December 13, 2023 |title=Secretary Haaland designates 18 new sites of natural, historical significance |url=https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/secretary-haaland-designates-18-new-sites-natural-historical-significance |url-status=live |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher= |agency=U.S. Department of the Interior |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231213163211/https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/secretary-haaland-designates-18-new-sites-natural-historical-significance |archive-date=December 13, 2023 |access-date=December 13, 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/weekly-list-2023-12-15.htm|title=WEEKLY LIST OF ACTIONS TAKEN ON PROPERTIES: 12/8/2023 THROUGH 12/15/2023 |publisher=National Park Service|accessdate=2023-12-15}}