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More Than Just a Mining Town (Continued) ...Continued from page 18 e park also featured a large zoo that housed a healthy collection of local wildlife and more exotic animals alike. e zoo inside Pinnacle Park housed the normal zoo collection of animals in cages but also offered a unique setting where the local wildlife could be seen inside repli- cas of their natural habitat. e one of a kind zoo offered large fenced in areas where miners and their families could view native deer grazing the land or mountain lions playfully fighting each other. Included in their "natural habitat" exhibits, was a unique replica "bear cave" built with shovels and rocks in order to reproduce the natural caves bears would live in. Since the time of the gold boom era, the chunk of land the town of Cameron thrived on at one time, is now the property of the Cripple Creek and Victor Gold Mining Company. e respectful people of the CC&V Mine and the City of Cripple Creek have joined forces and provid- ed a smaller version of these well known bear caves for the viewing of the public at the Cripple Creek District Museum. Since the District was such a hot spot during its peak, the area was the host of many other forms of popular entertainment. e old times newspapers contain many advertisements and bulletins in the "Events" section that depict the many different types of entertainment that was 19 available in the Cripple Creek District. Being a hot spot in the whole region during that era, just about every type of show available during that time made its way through the Cripple Creek District. Everything imaginable that was popular during that era could be seen somewhere inside the Cripple Creek mining district. All potential spectators being miners, businessmen and travelers could enjoy various shows including popular Broadway plays, grand operas, live bands, dance performers, live "glove" (and "bare knuckle") fights, and performers of the paranormal ranging from "palmists" (palm readers) to the sometimes comic hypnotists and mind readers. ~ By Trevor Phipps, Local Historian People arriving by stagecoach to the popular and famous Palace Hotel in Cripple Creek, CO in the late 1890's.