From 1899 to 1901 Tesla Experimental Station operated on Knob Hill,[28] and aircraft flights to the Broadmoor's neighboring fields began in 1919.[29] Alexander Airport north of the city opened in 1925, and in 1927 the original Colorado Springs Municipal Airport land was purchased east of the city.[29]
In World War II the United States Army Air Forces leased land adjacent to the municipal airfield, naming it Peterson Field in December 1942. This was only one of several military presences in and around Colorado Springs during the war.[30][31]
In November 1950, Ent Air Force Base was selected as the Cold War headquarters for Air Defense Command (ADC). The former WWII Army Air Base, Peterson Field, which had been inactivated at the end of the war, was re-opened in 1951 as a U.S. Air Force base.[32] The 1950s through 1970s saw a continued expansion of the military presence in the area, with the establishment of NORAD's headquarters in the city, as well as the ADCOM headquarters.
Between 1965 and 1968, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, Pikes Peak Community College and Colorado Technical University were established in or near the city.[33][34] In 1977 most of the former Ent AFB became a US Olympic training center. The Libertarian Party was founded within the city in the 1970s.[35]
