Our Vision #17: Mill and Assayer’s Cabin

The unique and remarkably intact mill building could become the central historic attraction of the Ute Ulay site, as well as another source of revenue.  There may be potential for a partnership with the Hard Tack Mine, and with miner Matt Ingram, who could give tours or record an audio guide.  

Mill Building with Walkway Superstructure

Building walkways around and through the mill would solve the problem of a costly indoor restoration, allowing visitors to view the complex machinery and imagine the milling process. A sound artist could be invited to repurpose some of the machinery as kinetic sculptures, giving visitors a sense of the industrial cacophony inside a working ore mill.

The assayer’s office next to the mill might be reused as a workspace for a resident artist or writer or building administrator.

Our Vision #8: Early Art Integration [4/4]

Adit Closure: Aeolian Harps.

In the immediate future, adits at the Ute Ulay site will need to be closed off. Usually this is done by placing grills or gates at the entrance of the adit.

The gate structure could be modified to include aeolian harps that take advantage of the natural movement of air through the mine.  In winter, the warmer air inside the adit rushes upward through the mine shaft; in summer, when the air inside is cooler than the outside air, the flow is reversed.  Aeolian harps are sensitive to the movement of air and produce different sounds depending on the force of the wind. Different tonal ranges are created through the use of differing tensions in the metal construction of the harp.

Aeolian Harps in the Ute Ulay adits