Worlds wonder view tower

For nearly a century, the World’s Wonder View Tower in the town of Genoa has greeted travelers crossing through the Eastern Plains of Colorado. And for much of that time, the landmark was a thriving hub, one of those pieces of roadside Americana that people sought out — or simply happened upon — as they drove through big open spaces.

The tower, built in 1926, accompanied a gas station and cafe where passersby could refuel and take in the views. And what a view it was. In the 1930s, the Wonder View was reportedly the highest point between New York City and the Rocky Mountains. One of its selling points was an observation deck from which you could see six states, including Kansas, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, New Mexico and, of course, Colorado.

In the late 1960s, a man named Jerry Chubbuck bought the tower and filled it with his collections of oddities, including arrowheads, pictographs, old tools and fossils. But it closed in 2013 after Chubbuck died.

On June 5, however, fans and history buffs will get an opportunity to tour the landmark, which is about 100 miles southeast of Denver off of Interstate 70, during a fundraiser that also includes pie eating and a

Famous Colorado Wonder View Tower and Century-Old Tourist Attraction Gets Funding for Restoration Work




Nearly 100 years after it was completed, an effort is underway to restore what is known as the World’s Wonder View Tower in the eastern Colorado town of Genoa.

Situated in a town with an elevation of 5,741 feet, the tower was built by a railroad engineer named Charles Gregory and his partner Myrtle LeBow, who envisioned the structure as an alluring tourist attraction.

The highlight of any visit to Genoa, Gregory declared in newspaper advertisements, was the 87-step climb to the top of the tower which afforded sweeping views of not only the Centennial State, but also in the distance New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska.

Additional construction at the site eventually included the building of a gas station, trading post, and cafe.

The tower went into a long decline beginning with the construction of Interstate 70 in the 1960s, which bypassed Genoa. Since then, the building has seen a series of owners, with the last, Jerry Chubbock, passing away in 2013.

Listed by the group Colorado Preservation Incorporated as one of the state’s “Most Endangered Pla

The Story Behind Colorado’s World’s Wonder View Tower


Nowadays, a tall tower that stands along US Highway 24 in Colorado’s Eastern plains is just a relic of the past, but that doesn't stop those driving by from wondering what it used to be.

The World's Wonder View Tower was constructed in 1926 by Charles W. Gregory and his partner, Myrtle LeBow. Gregory was a railroad engineer as well as a successful entrepreneur. The 65-foot structure was erected by the Rock Island Railroad at Genoa Hill and served as a popular roadside attraction for many decades. Gregory was known to stand at the top of the tower and call out passing license plates through a megaphone in an attempt to get the vehicles to pull over.

Views of Colorado, New Mexico, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, and South Dakota could be seen from the top of the tower - however, it required climbing 87 steps to get there. Hand-painted signs boasted the incredible 6-state view, a fact that was confirmed by 
Ripley’s Believe It or Not
in 1993.

During the Wonder Tower's heyday, the US Geological Survey 

Wonder View Tower






Genoa, Colorado


[Jerry Chubbuck passed away on August 4, 2013. The Tower has been closed since then. The contents were auctioned in 2014. A preservation group purchased the property in 2016, planning to reopen to the public. Work was proceeding in 2018.]


From a mile away the Wonder Tower appears to be bustling. "See Six States!" yell the hand-painted signs. "Confirmed by Ripley!" You can see cars in the parking lot, and people at the top of the Tower, trying to identify the advertised six states.

Once you arrive, you realize that the parked cars are 50 years old and stuffed with sun-bleached bottles, their tires buried six inches deep in windblown prairie dust. The people in the Tower are crude fakes -- lumps of red sheets wearing sunglasses.

The World's Wonder View Tower, built after the 1926 at the highest point between New York City and Denver, was a welcome stop on US 24. Charles W. Gregory,
Colorado's P.T. Barnum
, would stand on the Tower and spot license plates of approaching cars. When tourists were within earshot, he would boom state-appropriate greetings through a megaphone. "How're things in the Buckeye State?" His billboard motto was
E