Ouray (Colorado)
| Ouray | |
|---|---|
| Nickname : Switzerland of America | |
 Ouray City Hall and Walsh Library |
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| Location in Colorado | |
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| Basic data | |
| Foundation : | October 2, 1876 |
| State : | United States |
| State : | Colorado |
| County : | Ouray County |
| Coordinates : | 38 ° 1 ′ N , 107 ° 40 ′ W |
| Time zone : | Mountain ( UTC − 7 / −6 ) |
| Residents : | 1,000 (as of 2010) |
| Population density : | 454.5 inhabitants per km 2 |
| Area : | 2.2 km 2 (approx. 1 mi 2 ) |
| Height : | 2375 m |
| Postal code : | 81427 |
| Area code : | +1 970 |
| FIPS : | 08-56420 |
| GNIS ID : | 0204753 |
| Website : | www.ci.ouray.co.us |
| Mayor : | Pam Larson |
 View of Ouray from the amphitheater |
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Ouray is a small town in the US state of Colorado and the administrative seat of the county of the same name . The most important branch of the economy is tourism; most jobs are in the hotel and catering sector. Ouray and its surroundings offer many opportunities for jeep tours. They are ideal for hikers, climbers, mountain bikers and photographers. The hot springs are also very popular.
geography
Ouray is located in the San Juan Mountains in the picturesque valley of the Uncompahgre River at an altitude of approx. 2,347 m and is surrounded on all sides by high mountains: In the east the amphitheater (up to 3,769 m), which is not a single mountain, but an arched cliff , in the south Mount Abram (3,902 m) and Mount Hayden (4,025 m) and in the west Mount Sneffels (4,313 m), the name of which is borrowed from the novel "The Journey to the Center of the Earth" by Jules Verne . Coming from Silverton in the south, the city can be reached along the Uncompahgre River via the spectacular Highway 550, also known as the " Million Dollar Highway ", which reaches its greatest height in the Red Mountain Pass at 3,355 m. To the east of this are Red Mountain No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 that live up to their name, especially in summer. The place owes its nickname "Little Switzerland" to the landscape, which is strongly reminiscent of the Alps.
climate
Ouray has an average of 285 sunny days a year with low humidity. Temperatures in January are between −10 and +3 ° C and in July between +11 and +26 ° C. It snows from November to April.
history
Long before the European immigrants, the indigenous indigenous people discovered the area around Ouray. The Tabeguache Ute Indians lived in this pristine valley in the summer months, hunted the abundant game and used the hot springs. They worshiped this valley as a sacred place. Later white settlers also settled here. The Ute chief Chief Ouray managed to achieve a peaceful coexistence between them and his people.
When numerous gold and silver deposits were discovered in the surrounding mountains in 1875, a gold rush town emerged that was named after this great chief. Unlike in other gold rush towns, however, the visitors soon came for the beauty and majesty of the surrounding mountains, for the spraying waterfalls, the pleasant climate and the natural hot springs. Ouray was founded on October 2, 1876. Four years later there were already over 30 active mines in the area. The city grew rapidly, as from here the mines in a wide area were supplied with all necessary things. At that time there were around 30 saloons and brothels in Ouray, but only four churches. Today there are five churches in Ouray. The Presbyterian Church has been in existence for more than 125 years.
In 1880 there were more than 2,600 residents in Ouray. There were many ore deposits around Ouray. The largest and most productive, the Camp Bird Mine, was 10 miles south of Ouray in the Ironton Area. Ouray has been the hub and logistics center for the larger area for more than 90 years. The city experienced a further boom through the connection to the railway network. The first scheduled train of the Denver & Rio Grande Railway reached Ouray on December 21, 1887. This now provided a cheap and safe means of transporting the ore, which had previously had to be brought over the passes by mule caravans. The development of cars and trucks led to the demise of the railways in the area. The last scheduled passenger train left Ouray on September 14, 1930. On March 21, 1953, the railway line was finally abandoned.
Attractions
building
In the increasingly wealthy city, many Victorian-style houses were built in the 1880s, which are still preserved today, since Ouray, unlike most gold rush towns, never fell victim to a major fire disaster. The city of Ouray was added to the National Register of Historic Places as a National Historic District in 1983. The following historic buildings are also listed on the National Register of Historic Places :
- Ouray County Historical Museum , 420 Sixth Avenue
- The house was named “St. Joseph's Miners Hospital ”was built from local stone in the years 1886–1887. It has 34 rooms on three floors and is partially basement. It was opened on August 27, 1887 under the auspices of the Sisters of Mercy . After 77 years of existence, the hospital was closed in 1964. Starting in 1971, the newly formed Ouray County Historical Society used some rooms for exhibitions and bought the building in 1976 to set up a museum.
- Beaumont Hotel , 505 Main Street
- The hotel was built between 1886–1887 for around $ 75,000 and opened with a grand gala on July 25, 1887. At the time, the luxuriously appointed home was probably the finest hotel in western Colorado. Its facade is decorated with wrought iron ornaments and it has a slate mansard roof . After its true to original restoration, the Beaumont Hotel is again one of the most beautiful buildings in the city.
- Wright's Opera House (Wright's Hall) , 472 Main Street
- Edward and Letitia Wright had the opera house built in 1888. It was an attraction for locals and visitors alike. Like the Beaumont Hotel , the facade in the Greco-Romanesque style is decorated with filigree wrought-iron ornaments. Today, film, theater and chamber music performances take place on the upper floor, while shops are located on the ground floor.
- Ouray County Courthouse , 541 Fourth Street
- The courthouse was built in 1888 from locally produced bricks with natural stone decorations. It's an unusual mix of architectural styles. On the first floor there is the approx. 12 m by 17 m large and 5.5 m high courtroom, which receives its light through large arched windows. Much of the original furnishings have been preserved to this day. The consultation room for the jury and other offices are also located on this floor. The court scenes for the film The Marshal (True Grit), for which John Wayne received his only Oscar , were filmed in this building in the fall of 1968. In 1976 the building was expanded to include a rear annex that initially served as a county jail and now belongs to the county sheriff's office.
- Western Hotel , 342 Seventh Avenue
- 1891-1892, during the city's heyday, the Western Hotel was built in a mixture of Victorian and Italian styles. It was supposed to be called "Monte Alta", but was renamed while it was being built. The building has three floors and a column-supported balcony on the first floor that extends the entire length of the front. The wooden house, painted snow-white, is still a hotel with 14 rooms and looks so authentic that instead of the cars parked in front of it, you actually expect to see tethered horses.
- St. Elmo Hotel , 426 Main Street
- 1897–1898, Catherine Heit had the hotel built in Queen Anne style . The hotel lobby and most of the rooms are still decorated in their original style. A staircase worth seeing leads to the 1st floor. The facade was restored true to the original in 2002.
nature
The Box Canyon Falls , which resemble a European gorge and are very rare in this form in the USA, are worth seeing .
A special attraction in winter is the Ouray Ice Park , the world's first artificial ice climbing park , which opened in 1995. The park in Box Canyon south of the city consists of dozen of frozen waterfalls and offers 175 climbing routes with a height of 24 to 61 m. The annual Ice Festival lasts one week and attracts ice climbers from all over the world. Since the Ice Park was founded, many hotels have also been open in winter.
Mining
Ouray has a long mining tradition. The former gold and silver mine Bachelor-Syracuse Mine north of Ouray is open to visitors from May 20th to September 15th. The Denver- based Star Mining Company also mines silver from the Revenue-Virginius mine today .
- Mine gas explosion 2013
In a mine gas explosion on November 17, 2013, which occurred at around 7:20 pm in the Revenue-Virginius Mine , two people died and 20 other miners were injured, some seriously. The miners stayed underground for several hours.
Individual evidence
- ^ Bachelor-Syracuse Mine Tour , accessed November 18, 2013
- ^ The Denver Post : Two miners dead in Colorado, 20 others injured after Ouray blast, November 17, 2013
- ^ Colorado Office of Emergency Management : Ouray County Mine Accident, November 17, 2013
- ↑ 2 killed, 20 injured in Colorado mining accident :: WRAL.com ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. dated November 17, 2013
