Fire in Central City

[Kurt Maechner]

I just saw on the C&S History and Modeling Facebook page that the Hawley Warehouse caught on fire this past Sunday. The structure is right next to the C&S roadbed and also by the present rebuilt track and some rolling stock (the spot where No. 71 and train used to be displayed).

[Dave Eggleston]

Yes, a very sad loss. The Hawley stable and warehouse was built initially in 1877--at that time it was smaller, encompassing the left 2/3 of the building when viewed from the street. As far as I can determine, it was the first business in Central City directly served by the CCRR. Because it was effectively below grade, deliveries were handled using a slide connecting the siding behind the building to the to the upper floor storage area. The ground level at this time was a stable. This was the first of several gravity innovations to serve Central City businesses below the CCRR grade level.

In 1881 the structure was enlarged, adding the rightmost 1/3 seen in the current structure. In the process the original slide was inclosed in the structure. For about 15 years the building had it's original flat roof that included a fence on the along the trackside wall to discourage people from climbing on the roof.

Circa 1895 the familiar peaked roof and attic were added making the structure as we knew it until the fire.

Fortunately there are a handful of photos of the structure showing its evolution, one of the earliest showing the structure in its initial form on the opening day of the CCRR branch in 1878.  

[drgwcs]

There were some photos of the interior before the fire that somebody posted in the Gilpin County group over on Facebook- I am going to see if I can get permission to share them.