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27-507: The Aberdeen Quarry was most active from 1889 to 1892 as it supplied granite for the construction of the Colorado State Capitol Building . During this three-year period, the small town of Aberdeen supported the work at the quarry. Afterward, smaller amounts of granite were sporadically quarried for at least three decades. The abandoned quarry and associated town site are now owned by a local historical society, and

54-496: A cornice. Parkinson & Bergstrom used centered medallions between spandrels recessed behind the plane of piers to achieve a similar appearance. The Kearns Building was named for Thomas Kearns , a wealthy former Utah senator and major stockholder in The Salt Lake Tribune . During construction of the building, Kearns was accused of manipulating the city council and its building code. A third of office space in

81-516: A network of four-wheel drive roads and mountain bike and motorcycle trails. From a parking area above the quarry on Powerline Road, visitors can walk down to the quarry itself. The old Aberdeen town site just west of the quarry can also be visited though no buildings remain. Access is best during summer and fall. Colorado State Capitol The Colorado State Capitol Building , located at 200 East Colfax Avenue in Denver , Colorado, United States,

108-409: A settlement. Most of the strikers’ demands were met and they returned to work the next day. The granite blocks shipped to Denver were large, some weighing 10 or 12 tons. The largest block shipped weighed 20 tons; it was to become the building's cornerstone, which was laid with much ceremony on July 4, 1890. An average of 40 carloads of stone were shipped weekly during the three years of production. Once

135-436: A spur to the quarry. Construction of the spur began on June 30, 1889, and within a month the spur allowed delivery of needed quarrying equipment. By August 1, 50 to 60 workers were working the quarry, and on August 14, the first load of granite left Aberdeen bound for Denver. The small community of Aberdeen arose along South Beaver Creek near the quarry, and it is estimated that the population ranged from 150 to 200 people during

162-530: A steel reinforced concrete frame and a white terracotta tile facade emphasizing vertical piers below a prominent cornice. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. The style of a Louis Sullivan skyscraper was built on classical form, with prominent window and door openings at street level, bands of windows between vertical piers, and a distinctive, highly decorated cornice. Often Sullivan designed porthole windows under

189-543: Is a historic office building in Salt Lake City , Utah , United States, that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The 10-story building was designed by Los Angeles architects John Parkinson and George Bergstrom and constructed 1909–1911. Parkinson & Bergstrom borrowed the style of architect Louis Sullivan , and the Kearns Building has been described as Sullivanesque, with

216-466: Is measured outside the west entrance to the building, where the fifteenth step is engraved with the words "One Mile Above Sea Level". From this step, at 5,280 feet (1,609 m), the sun can be seen setting behind the Rocky Mountains . A second mile high marker was set in the 18th step in 1969 when Colorado State University students resurveyed the elevation. In 2003, a more accurate measurement

243-797: Is the home of the Colorado General Assembly and the offices of the Governor of Colorado , Lieutenant Governor of Colorado , and the Colorado State Treasurer . The building is intentionally reminiscent of the United States Capitol . Designed by Elijah E. Myers , it was constructed in the 1890s from Colorado white granite, and opened for use in November 1894. The distinctive gold dome consists of real gold leaf , first added in 1908, commemorating

270-884: The Colorado Gold Rush . The building is part of Denver's Civic Center area. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Civic Center Historic District in 1974, and became part of the Denver Civic Center National Historic Landmark District in 2012. A major safety upgrade project, funded by the Colorado State Historical Fund, was started in 2001 and completed in 2009. The design by Fentress Architects added modern safety features, like enclosed stair towers, that blended in with

297-546: The Zugelder Quarry granite would be used to construct the superstructure the State Capitol Building. Within days, Scotsman David Duff Seerie (one of the capitol contractors), Zugelder, and Zugelder's cousin filed a claim to the quarry. This claim gave the quarry the name Aberdeen . William Geddes and Seerie had been contracted to build the capitol's superstructure and it was this firm that oversaw

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324-405: The adjacent Proterozoic metamorphic rock has exposed the dike, which is composed of tonalite , granodiorite , and granite. The quarry was within a map unit of tonalite and granodiorite when mapped by geologists in 2001. In April 1889, local stonemason Fredrick G. Zugelder filed a claim on an outcrop of granite looming above South Beaver Creek outside of Gunnison. Zugelder recognized the quality of

351-588: The blocks arrived in Denver, horses hauled the stone to the building site. A crew of 250 workmen, including stone cutters and stone setters, prepared and placed the stones. The architect's plan called for approximately 20,000 different sizes and shapes of stone. On June 15, 1892, the last stones had shipped and the Aberdeen Quarry operation closed. During the 34 months of production, it is estimated that 280,000 cubic feet (7,900 m) or 24,000 tons of granite

378-616: The building was rented prior to opening in February, 1911, and most of the offices were rented by April of that year. Early tenants of the building included clothiers Gardner & Adams Co. and Rowe & Kelly, and the building included what was billed as "the most beautiful buffet in the United States," the Mecca. [REDACTED] Media related to Kearns Building (Salt Lake City) at Wikimedia Commons This article about

405-461: The building. The interior of the building uses a large amount of Colorado Rose Onyx, a rare rose marble from a quarry near Beulah, Colorado . The amount used in the building consumed the entire known supply. White Yule Marble from the quarries near Marble, Colorado was also used throughout the capitol for the floors. Many designs have been found in the marble including an image resembling George Washington and another of Molly Brown . Many of

432-581: The contractors for the construction of the Colorado State Capitol building was Illinois building contractor William Douglas Richardson, who was the president of the W. D. Richardson Construction Company. Richardson had participated in numerous major building contracts throughout the United States, and was interconnected with the Jacob Bunn and John Whitfield Bunn network of corporations. Kearns Building The Kearns Building

459-551: The following decades, granite was quarried for much smaller projects including commercial and residential buildings and grave headstones. Stone for the first-floor columns and entrance archway was quarried for the Kearns Building in Salt Lake City , which was completed in 1911. Possibly the last larger project was in 1912 when the quarry supplied granite for the foundation of the State Museum in Denver. At this time it

486-404: The granite and presented a sample from the claim to managers who were tasked with choosing the stone for the exterior of the State Capitol Building being built in Denver . The building managers examined dozens of rock samples from across the state and considered the quarries and their respective capacities to supply the needed granite in just a few-years time. On June 26, 1889, it was announced that

513-472: The original architecture. The Colorado Capitol Building is featured on many of Denver's architectural tours. Serving as the beginning of the Capitol Hill district, the historic building sits slightly higher than the rest of downtown Denver. The main entrance hall is open 180 feet (55 m) to the top of the dome, about the height of an 18-story building. Additionally, the official elevation of Denver

540-588: The quarry is a Gunnison County Historic Landmark. The quarry was named after Aberdeen , the granite-producing city in Scotland . The Aberdeen Quarry is located on the southwest rim of a 6 mi (9.7 km)-wide ring dike , part of what is called the Gunnison annular complex. The dike was intruded into Protozoic metamorphic rock , primarily amphibolite and metasandstone, approximately 1.7 billion years ago. Erosion and removal of younger, overlying rock and

567-439: The quarrying at Aberdeen. Zugleder served in several roles at the quarry including yard foreman. Work was quick and quarrying was underway within weeks. Wagon roads provided access to the Aberdeen Quarry, but the quarried stone would need to be shipped to Denver by rail. A narrow-gage Denver and Rio Grande line passed approximately 5 mi (8.0 km) north of the quarry, and the railroad agreed to build, at their own expense,

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594-518: The three years the Capitol granite was quarried. The Aberdeen Post Office served the community in 1890 and 1891. There was a small school and a general store. Many of the workers lived in a large bunk house and ate in a meal hall. Others, particularly those with families, lived in cabins and tents. Nearly all the skilled quarrymen were recruited from elsewhere, including Maine , Massachusetts , Pennsylvania , and Missouri . The skill of these quarrymen

621-493: The windows are made of stained glass , depicting people or events related to the history of Colorado . The halls are decorated with portraits of every president of the United States , with all the presidents from George Washington to George W. Bush being painted by Lawrence Williams. Painter Sarah A. Boardman took over from Williams, and has since painted Barack Obama , and Donald Trump . Colorado artist Kirsten Savage has been commissioned to paint President Joe Biden. One of

648-459: Was apparent when the quarrymen union called a strike in June 1891. Among the quarrymen's demands were a reduction in work hours from 10 hours a day to nine hours a day and to have Sundays off. They also asked for the same weekly pay. Contractors Geddis and Seerie resisted and chose to hire non-union workers to replace the strikers. Production was so low that in just one week's time, the company asked for

675-586: Was estimated these additional quarrying efforts produced 10,000 cubic feet (280 m) of stone. In total, from 1889 to 1912, the quarry produced 290,000 cubic feet (8,200 m) or 24,500 tons of granite. The amount of stone produced after 1912 was minimal and sporadic. In 1991, the quarry was deeded to the Gunnison County Pioneer and Historical Society. The property is located within the Bureau of Land Management ’s Hartman Rocks Recreation Area,

702-473: Was made with modern means, and the 13th step was identified as being one mile (1.6 km) high, where a 3rd marker was installed. The superstructure of the building was constructed using granite from the Aberdeen Quarry near Gunnison, Colorado . Approximately 280,000 cubic feet (7,900 m ) or 24,000 tons of the granite were quarried for the building. This gray granite forms the exterior of

729-417: Was quarried and shipped to Denver. The operators of the quarry looked for other markets, but no need for granite was found that would justify keeping the quarry open. Quickly, the town of Aberdeen was vacated, and it never was repopulated. The Denver and Rio Grand Railroad vacated the spur to Aberdeen and the tracks were removed in 1904. Without rail access, any hope of reopening the quarry was minimal. Through

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