Muriel Sibell Wolle, Stampede to Timberline, 1974
The Cardinal Mill was built in 1904, mainly to process tungsten ore, and operated until 1942. Boulder County Parks and Open Space purchased the site in 2004.
You are looking at the west elevation of the structure, if you look very carefully, in the extreme lower right hand corner of the photo, along the south wall, you can see a door opening. The original door is gone, but I took an old door and
Much stabilization work was done on the structure this summer by a contractor, but I get to build several sashes to match the historic ones that remained in the building. The windows that you see are all brand new factory made windows that more or less match the originals, but when you are on site you notice that the windows don't fit the building, they look out of place and look, well, fake.
In this opening I found an old whiskey bottle and the rails and stiles of an original window sash, today I made the lower sash to replace to the original. One set has already been restored (new muntins) and the lights were installed and glazed today. There is one more set that needs some work and new glass.
Some of the equipment that remains in the mill.
My wife was born and raised in Nederland, Colorado, the daughter of a gold miner. Her dad owned a mine just north of Central City, Colorado, that he worked and at one point leased to a mining company in the mid-1970's when gold prices skyrocketed. In 1974, when my wife was 10 years old, she helped her father measure the Cardinal Mill, he was rebuilding the head frame over his mine shaft and needed some guidelines. I know that if my father-in-law were still alive, he would be so excited knowing that I get the chance to work on this mill that was so important in the mining history of the town of Nederland and the state of Colorado.
4 comments:
That's a fascinating building, Wilson, and the work you are doing is a fitting tribute to your father-in-law besides keeping history alive. Great atmosphere in those interior shots. We can't have too much of this kind of thing preserved.
Very cool1affeCzo
Nice post Wilson. The picture of the funnel is cool. Do you glaze the windows?
Thanks for the comments everyone! And, yes, Terry, I do glazing the windows. I'll take some photos of the work that is being done to the windows and glazing the lights today.
Post a Comment