"The strange and mysterious cave in the North Gateway Rocks of the Garden of the Gods was opened o the light of day recently by erosion - but the entrance was almost immediately ordered (closed by the) director of the City Park and Recreation Department."Closure was decreed after an inspection of the cavern in the sandstone by Taylor, Del Doty and Paul Cimino, two other department employees, and Malcolm Anderson, city director of public information and research.
"Taylor said it would be too dangerous to leave the cave entrance open because of rocks falling from the sides and roof of the cavern....
"The entrance to the cave is only about two feet in diameter so that it is necessary to crawl inside.
"Only a short distance inside, however, the cave opens into a long and narrow cleft.
"The cave runs about 100 feet north and 100 feet south of the entrance. It is about 100 feet high in places and from 5 to 15 feet wide. Since the entrance is filled with eroded sandstone, the cave is black as the inside of any mountain.
"Taylor said it could be called the 'Echo Cave' of the Garden of the Gods because the tiniest whisper seems to bounce around from wall to wall like a rubber ball.
"He said a person would hesitate to yell in there for fear the sound reverberations would start an avalanche of cascading rocks and crumbling sandstone.
"The echoes seem to linger on and on 'as tho the inside of the cave was starved to hear a human voice, and once heard, to leave it die.'
"The north end of the cave gives the impression that water runs down its face at certain times of the year....
"Taylor says there is no running water in the cave now, but theorized there might be a stream there in the spring or during heavy rains.
"The Gateway Rocks are pock-marked with cavities from centuries of erosion. Some of these cavities undoubtedly fill with water, which then seeps down into the heart of Gateway Rocks.
"The south end of the cave has a somewhat similar appearance, but perhaps a little less susceptible to seeping water.
"But in this south end of the cave are cut stairs, which give the cavern a cliff-dwelling look....
"Because of the danger of falling rocks, Taylor asked Cimino to seal the entrance to the cleft in the massive rocks which have stood for ages in the Garden of the Gods.
"'So the case - or should I say cave - is closed for another 30 or 40 years,' Taylor said."