Theme music: https://youtu.be/YSGHER4BWME
A brief historical background:
In 1858, the discovery of gold brought many a’fortune seeker across the fruited plains into the Rocky Mountains. The geographical area known today as Colorado was once divided amongst the Kansas, Nebraska, Utah and New Mexico territories. The US Congress designated Colorado a territory with its own boundaries in 1861. Originally called the “Pike’s Peak Region,” after much debate the then territory was finally called Colorado, a Spanish word for “colored red (which could be more ironic since the invasion of the Californians…Colorado couldn’t possibly be more blue.
The very first Territorial Legislative Assembly met in Denver on September 9, 1861 (1861 was the start of the Civil War) to decide where the capital city would be located. First the delegates landed on Colorado City, now part of Colorado Springs on the western slopes. A year later the capital was moved to Golden. Finally in 1867, the seat of government returned to the City of Denver where it’s remained since!
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| Here I am in the front of the Capitol this day last year when Congress voted to make abortion legal up to the day of delivery. Fittingly I was wearing all black. I’m pretty sure God cried that day. Not a proud moment for Colorado… |
A few interesting things about this architecture! See the golden dome behind me?
The dome rises 272 feet above the ground. It’s a pretty fitting tribute to Colorado (referencing my opening paragraph and our pro basketball team is called “the Nuggets”). However, not many people know that the dome was originally topped with copper. The downside is that copper tarnishes with acid rain, air, and water exposure. The Statue of Liberty 🗽 has turned green due to copper oxide. Not only that, but the citizens of Colorado were not thrilled about this metal selection since it wasn’t native to the land. So, in 1908 the Building Committee voted to cap the dome with gold. Miners contributing a donation of 200 ounces of gold.
While the gold coating appears thick from the street view, the coating is actually thinner than toilet paper and was delivered in actual rolls! Roughly 149 rolls were necessary to fully cover the 2,842 sf area and only 64.5 ounces of gold were used. To put this in perspective, today an ounce of gold is worth $1,992. So a total of $128,424 of gold cover the dome of the Capitol building!
While I could go on and on about this building after my tour, I’ll point out one more interesting feature and then encourage you to put it on your bucket list when visiting Denver!
The Mile High Marker!
Denver is nicknamed the Mile High City. The 13th step of the granite staircase have a mile high marker indicating 5,280 ft above sea level!
I’ll leave you with some Colorado nuggets (that pun is solid gold):
Population: 5 million
Nickname: Centennial State
Motto: Nothing Without Providence or Diety
Flower: Rocky Mountain Columbine
Songs: “Where the Columbines Grow” and “Rocky Mountain High”
Tree: Colorado Lie Spruce
Gemstone: aquamarine
Fish: Green Cutthroat Trout
Insect: Colorado Hairstreak Butterfly 🦋
Rock: Yule Marble…
Which reminds me of my next road trip!
Love,
Kimmie
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