Laserfiche WebLink
<br />Page 4 ot 4 <br /> <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />The marble for its construction had been donated by the Colorado Yule Marble <br />Company until the company president, Colonel Channing F, Meek, was killed by a <br />runaway train on the electric tram, After his death in 1912 donations of marble <br />ceased, and the building was never completed, <br /> <br />14) FINISHING MILL SITE. Beginning at the south end of West 3rd St (basically <br />where the bridge crosses the Crystal River), and running west for 1500 feet is the site <br />of what was formerly the world's largest marble finishing mill. It was here that <br />marble from the quarries was brought to be cut, carved, and polished before <br />shipment to building sites around the country, Today there are few remnants of the <br />vast building, but because of its unique nature the site has been entered on the <br />National Register of Historic Sites, Because it is a federally protected area it must be <br />stressed that nothing in the Mill Site be disturbed, including the scraps of marble <br />scattered about, It is also a town park that you are welcome to explore, <br /> <br />In the finishing mill site are two rows of marble pillars, Each of these rows <br />supported one end of an overhead crane, These cranes unloaded rough marble <br />blocks from the electric trolley and moved them into the mill for processing, They <br />had capacities of 15 and 25 tons, Also note the two high standing marble walls, <br />They were firewalls, built between major shops in the mill and intended to help <br />slow the spread of a blaze should a fire start. <br /> <br />In 1942 the mill was disassembled and marble production ceased because of <br />increasing costs and a dwindling market. <br /> <br />Near the mill site (immediately east, across the street) is a sixty foot diameter, <br />marble lined hole, This was the railroad turntable where locomotives were turned <br />around by hand for the trip out of Marble, <br /> <br />The bridge across the Crystal River near the turntable was built in 1976, financed in <br />part with federal grant money as a Bicentennial Project, A few yards downstream <br />are some of the pilings from the original bridge over which the trolley carried <br />marble to the finishing mill. <br /> <br />Return to Marble Colorado Home Pag!.: <br /> <br />http://www.marblecolorado.org/tour.htm <br /> <br />5/312004 <br />