The Center of Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College celebrates the Summer Solstice on Thursday, June 21, with doors opening at 6:00 am. In the rising dawn of the summer solstice, a spiral of sunlight makes its way across the Center’s gallery walls, making for a dazzling display. This event is open to the public, and admission and parking are free.

Situated in the upper northeast corner of the exhibit gallery, the Solstice Window is recessed into the wall. Created by Denver artist Scott Parsons as a part of Colorado’s Art in Public Places Program, the window was integrated into the building’s architecture. Parsons designed the window in tribute to the solstice markers of the Ancestral Puebloans of Southwest Colorado. The spiral cast by the Solstice Window is visible for several days before and after the summer solstice, but it is sharpest on solstice morning. Moving with the motion of the earth and sun, the spiral makes its journey across the gallery wall, fading as the sun rises higher in the sky.