Union Printers Home

Union Printers Home, often called "The Castle on the Hill," sits on an 80-acre site in Colorado Springs, overlooking Memorial Park and Pikes Peak, and it's pretty well known for its long history with the labor and printing industries because the International Typographical Union opened it way back in 1892 as a place for union printers to rest and heal after years of hard work, and it's still remembered for that union spirit, even in its architecture, with a big old clock stuck at 8:00 in the main tower to show off the eight-hour workday victory. Over the years, the place has grown from housing 30 folks to almost 500, seeing expansions like the big castle-shaped building that's about 100,000 square feet, and three more buildings before the 1940s, grouped together in sort of a "quad" that makes you feel like you're in a little community, with gardens, open grounds, and tidy pathways, and the whole campus having a park-like feel to it. Staff here have always been known to be helpful, cheerful, and gentle, which makes the space warm and welcoming, and the residents have shared rooms, private rooms, and amenities like an arts room, a library, a barber/salon, a swimming pool, a dining room, a computer lab, and walking paths that let folks stretch their legs and enjoy views of Pikes Peak, which inspired "America the Beautiful." There's meal service with nutritious choices that works for special diets, including people with allergies or diabetes, and the kitchens aim for good ingredients, nutritious meals, and meal prep that meets unique resident needs, taking care of things like move-in help, emergency alert systems, and regular laundry and cleaning. Each room comes with a phone so residents can check in with loved ones or call for help, and there's 24-hour supervision, a call system for emergencies, and help with bathing, dressing, and daily tasks. Union Printers Home offers assisted living and skilled nursing, accepting both Medicare and Medicaid, and provides care for incontinence, diabetes management, and those who can't walk on their own. Residents can join community activities every day, attend devotional services, movie nights, and resident-run events, and there's home management offered under the Independent Plus program for those who want a little extra help. They're strict in following the rules for using their website and services, only allowing responsible use and making sure people always keep personal information current, with limits on what they'll accept as ideas and how they handle outside links or newsletters, and always stating clearly that the information on their site isn't meant as medical or legal advice. The place has had financial ups and downs, with some buildings closing in the '70s and '80s before the nursing home closed officially in 2020, but now, under new ownership by UPH Partners since 2021, there's a big push for preservation, with a nonprofit called the Union Printers Home History & Archives Project cataloging old photos, records, and stories to keep its union and printing history alive, along with a master plan to turn it into a mixed-use community that blends history, housing, and new public space for the region. The Home's efforts to educate the public have shaped it into more than a care facility because it now doubles as a time capsule showing more than 130 years of stories about printing, unions, and what it meant to have a place, built by union hands, where people could count on rest, support, and fellowship.