After three years of anticipation, the Green Mountain Falls Skyspace officially opened June 18, the first day of the 2022 Green Box Arts Festival. The Skyspace is one of more than 80 in the world created by James Turrell.

Commissioned by the Historic Green Mountain Falls Foundation, whose president is Christian Keesee, the Skyspace is the only public Turrell piece in Colorado. The observatory-like structure is the headliner for the arts festival co-founded in 2009 by Keesee, his son, Blake Keesee, and Larry Keigwin.

In a massive project, the HGMFF funded the work on the half-mile trail leading to the Skyspace on Red Devil Mountain. Crews from the Mile High Youth Corps in collaboration with Friends of the Ute Pass Trails built the trail to include steps in some parts of the steep terrain.

The winding trail, with expansive views, was designed by the late Dick Bratton, who died in February 2021. Founder of the town’s former trails committee, Bratton designed and helped build nearly every piece of the mountain community’s comprehensive trail system.

The Turrell Trail begins at the 30-acre Red Butte Recreation Area, in the parking lot of the former Joyland Church property at the town’s west entrance.

Once inside the 32-foot by 32-foot square structure, visitors are asked to remain silent while viewing the sky through an oculus, a small rectangular aperture. As the sky changes throughout the hourlong exposure, so, too, do the colored lights in the Skyspace.

Turrell’s artistry is enhanced by movement, an example of kinetic art.

For the viewer, the experience is entirely personal, as some report being in a meditative spiritual state while others feel they have become part of the universe. Some report feeling a sense of peace.

Aside from the spiritual part of the experience, the structure is a tribute to nature’s gifts to Colorado. Visitors sit on seats crafted of beetle-kill pine wood or stand on floors of Pikes Peak Granite.

The exterior is made native stones.

To pave the way for the Skyspace installation, former Mayor Jane Newberry and the board of trustees approved a request by the foundation and Green Mountain Road LLC, to annex 29.27 acres on the mountain and 1.05 acres on the former Joyland property. At of the time, El Paso County owned the larger piece on the mountain. With the approval, the town retains control while preserving the backdrop as open space.

Jesse Stroope, production manager for Green Box Arts, has several roles that enhance the town’s liaison to the foundation as well as the Kirkpatrick Family Fund. Chair of the parks/ trails/recreation committee, Stroope steered the foundation’s request for annexation through the government details and red tape.

In the week before the grand opening, Scott RC Levy, executive director, of Green Box, a nonprofit organization, led the hike to the Skyspace for public officials, residents, board members and the media.

As the Green Mountain Falls Skyscape joins other Turrell works in large cities such as Las Vegas, Manhattan and Houston, Town & Country magazine’s summer edition featured the local Skyscape along with an aerial view of the community. “We have to be cautious of the environment, of the wildlife, of the townspeople,” said Christian Keesee, in the article. “It’s a delicate balance.”