| My fascination with this old structure began in 1986 when I saw a representation of it on a calendar. The old town hall on a hillside had a certain charm. I thought it would make a nice project to build someday. A few years later I saw the actual building in "Ghost Towns of Colorado" by Lambert Florin. The calendar picture was quite different from the actual structure but I still thought it would look great on my layout. |
| I decided to visit Pitkin on my way to the 9th National Narrow Gauge Convention in Durango. I spent several hours crawling over the structure photographing and measuring it. My only regret was that I couldn't find anyone around to let me inside. In the months following my trip, I drew plans and tried to find out more about the old town hall. The following is the history I dug up. I didn't find a lot of information in my search. I was fortunate to interview a long time resident who provided most of my information. |
|
View of right side
(58K) |
| The town of Pitkin is located about 20 miles east of Gunnison and was first settled in February of 1879 as Quartz or Quartzville. The name was later changed to Pitkin in honor of then Governor Frederick W. Pitkin. Pitkin hit its peak of prosperity in 1891 and 1892 but like many other towns in Colorado, suffered greatly during the Silver panic of 1893. Early day travelers on the Denver and South Park Railroad were glad to see Pitkin as it was the first sign of civilization after their trip through the Alpine Tunnel. |
| Many early day newspaper accounts mention the beautiful scenery to be found in the Pitkin area. Quartz Valley, in which Pitkin is located, was at one time ringed with mining activity, and hopes were high that many more mines would be developed. The biggest producer was the Margaret Mine. The arrival of the railroad was long awaited by the residents. Due to the remote location of the town, everyday staples were very expensive. The area could never be developed without a railroad connection. |
|
View of stone work
(74k) |
| The first Denver South Park and Pacific locomotive arrived at Pitkin on July 13, 1882. A large celebration was held at which the participants consumed four barrels of beer. A week later on July 19, 1882, a runaway on the line below the Alpine Tunnel left several passengers of a special train injured. The trainmen kept their heads and managed to stop the train after a high speed run down the mountain. A few of the passengers trusted to their own judgement and jumped from the train during the incident. Most of those who decided to "join the birds" were injured. Those who remained aboard were uninjured. |
| I could not find a reference that listed the year the town hall was constructed. The year 1900 is painted on the top front of the building. The locals were sure that this was because the town hall was built in 1900. The upper floor of the building consists of a large main hall and stage where school, and church plays were held. The town council also held town meetings in the large main hall. The small addition on the right rear was a kitchen used for preparing refreshments at these gatherings. The addition on the left rear was a dressing room used during plays and programs. The lower floor had two rooms. The room on the right was thought to be the city recorder's office because it was where folks went to vote. The town council also held its meetings there. The room on the left was only for storage purposes. The building had electrical arc lighting for a time. |
| In constructing my version of this structure I used many technics that were new to me. The rock walls on the lower level were made one "stone" at a time. To create the walls, I made masters from body putty "stones." When the masters were complete, rubber molds were made into which casting plaster was poured. The castings made from this process are of very high quality, and in my opinion, look much nicer than the type produced from hand carving plaster blanks. |
| The windows, and doors are all scratch built from stripwood, and real glass. They are all functional, and are duplicates of the original windows. The building is only lightly weathered because the time period I model would only make it a few years old. I had to take some liberties in designing the interior as I couldn't find anyone with a key to let me in. |
|
view of lower floor
(61k) |
| I have had great luck with this structure in contests. The model was awarded first place in structures and best of show at the Wastach Divsion of the NMRA's annual train show in November of 1992. The following year the model won first place in structures and Best of Show at the Rocky Mountain Region's fall convention in Salt Lake City. |
|
View of left side
(61k) |
