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 #16: Tramway, Zipline, Waterslide

Productive mines are often discovered in inaccessible terrain. For many mining operations like the Ute Ulay, it was not cost-effective to build and maintain roads for several burros or pack horses to transport ore down the mountain. Aerial tramways developed in the 1860s transformed the mining industry. This creative solution inspired us to imagine reinstating the Ute Ulay tramway. 

Ute Ulay adventure loop

In our vision, a low-energy, small tramcar would carry two people up the slope. At the top, visitors would have the choice to ride the tram down or take a zipline to the inoperative Ute Ulay dam. If the flume were also reinstated, one could waterslide back to the mill site, completing the Ute Ulay loop adventure.

Our Vision #15: Trails

Interpretive trails are found in many parks, historical sites, and open-air museums. Designs range from simple signage to highly integrated benches, pavers, and design elements that display or provide information. At the Ute Ulay, a variety of options exist for self-guided tours. 

old flume path trail

One area that particularly stands out is the path of the old flume that transported tailings from the mill to a field west of the site. Cut into the hillside at a gentle slope, this is an ideal spot to situate an interpretive trail, leading casual walkers away from the Ute Ulay to a Bureau of Land Management reclamation site. The educational content found around the trails should employ natural materials as well as local poetry and anecdotes.

Our Vision #14: Transportation

Motorized transport including ATVs, jeeps, and dirt bikes dominate the Alpine Loop.  To encourage a slightly different kind of visitor to the hostel, the Hardrock Revision team wanted to consider options for those without a motor to propel them up to the site. 

Burro ride to the Ute Ulay anyone?

 Shuttle pick-ups scheduled from Lake City, in the form of car or burro, are two possibilities that would have the additional benefit of cutting down on the need for parking space.

Our Vision #13: Water Tank as Camera Obscura

The term camera obscura comes from the Latin for “dark vaulted chamber.” Popular in Victorian times, the camera obscura is an optical devise that projects an image of its surroundings onto a screen.  Also referred to as The Mirror of Life, camera obscuras were seen in many U.S. parks and public spaces from the 1870s to 1950s. The proposal to use the water tank at the Ute Ulay as a periscope camera obscura combines two methods of viewing the surroundings in one experience. Light is tunneled down a shaft (not unlike light filtering down a mine shaft) to project a moving image onto a concave dish. Inside the tower, viewers may manipulate the periscope themselves or with the help of a guide.

1880s Redwood Water Tank as Camera Obscura

 

Our Vision #12: Spring and Aspen Grove

Just up the hill from the headframe there is a small grove of aspen. Among the trees, at the top of what is currently a dry streambed, is a natural spring where water flows out of the earth into a concrete cistern. It could easily be made into a more natural pool.

This area is a small gem. By formalizing the path and adding stones or other natural seating, it could become a quiet place for connecting with the landscape of the Rocky Mountains

Our Vision #11: Ute Plaza and Picnic Area

The flat area between the headframe and the water tank is an ideal place to establish an accessible overlook, community space, and picnic area. Since it is also adjacent to the education building, the space is perfect for nature and history talks, poetry readings, and to give an overview to the mining and milling process.

Design elements of the plaza and picnic area should have symbolic value and create an inviting place. Circular forms made of rock, brick, or steel may refer to the many layers of time and human history at the site. Circles also evoke the Ute Indian baskets and tepees, historic kilns, as well as gears and other mining equipment. A fire ring would encourage storytelling and a sense of community. 

The overlook needs a fence for safety. This should be considered an opportunity for engaging an artist to make this utilitarian object an integrated part of the character of the Ute Ulay site.

Our Vision #10: Hostel & Cabins [2/2]

Additional Housing

Recycled materials from the site and environs could be used to construct additional low-impact housing on the site.

Piet Hein Eek's log cabins imagined at the Ute Ulay

Dutch designer and architect Piet Hein Eek is known for his use of scrap-wood furniture and recycled building materials. Pictured here is a log cabin he designed for the entertainer Hans Liberg. The structural elements consist of a salvaged steel frame, log exterior, sheep’s wool for insulation, and painted plywood interiors. Set on wheels, the cabin can be easily relocated.

Our Vision #9: Hostel & Cabins [1/2]

This is the first element within STAGE II

miner’s boardinghouse

 The miner’s boardinghouse and the two cabins will be a revenue-generating hostel, reflecting the buildings’ original use.  Structures will undergo a deep energy retrofit to preserve historic character while becoming energy efficient.  Thoughtful interior decoration could interpret the site’s history. 

Winterization will be self-contained in the boardinghouse, with cabins for summer use.  The main structure will include private and group bedrooms, hot showers, plumbing, gathering space, and a communal kitchen.  Other amenities could include interpretive resources, educational programming, and a small-scale farming endeavor with chickens or alpacas.  A live-in site caretaker, potentially a VISTA volunteer or artist-in-residence, could handle online reservations, light housekeeping, and greeting duties. 

Marketing would target ice climbers, backpackers, corporate retreats, family reunions, and student groups.  A price spectrum could be implemented to include a special rate for locals and work-trades for low-income visitors; one or both cabins may be renovated into more private, rustic luxury accommodations. 

Creative interior and exterior wallpapering, drawing on the structure’s original wallpaper and Victorian patterns, could emphasize the hidden history of domesticity within the mining landscape.  

hostel or cabin interior

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