| You might think that the white marble that covers the | | | | The Beulah Red Marble Quarry did not last long after |
| Colorado State Capitol is the most valuable part of the | | | | the completion of the Capitol Building, being shut down |
| building or the 200 ounces of 24K gold covering the | | | | in 1906. The marble supplies were nearly entirely |
| dome. You would be wrong. The most priceless | | | | exhausted by the requirements of the Capitol, so much |
| material is actually inside the Capitol... and it's pink. | | | | so that Italian stone had to be imported to serve as |
| The construction of the Capitol was barely in its | | | | wainscoting in less visible parts of the building. Even |
| infancy when the unusual pink stone was found at | | | | today, reconstruction and renovation efforts require |
| what was then named the Beulah Red Marble Quarry | | | | that imported stone be used to harmonize with the |
| and leased by David Kelly, head of the Denver Onyx | | | | Beulah red marble. |
| and Marble Company. The stone was so unusual, it | | | | Some sources claim that "all" of the Beulah red marble |
| was suggested that it would make a better | | | | went into the Capitol Building. This is not quite |
| wainscoting material than the hardwood that the | | | | true. Despite the demands of the Capitol, it seems |
| Capitol Building Commission had previously planned to | | | | that enough of the marble was made available for the |
| use. In 1893, the Commission made the decision to | | | | old McClelland Library and the Pueblo County |
| use the marble. | | | | Courthouse to have fireplace trims of it. Not a few |
| The trip to transfer the stone from the quarry to | | | | Beulah homes have some samples of the stone in |
| Pueblo CO took two days. From Pueblo, the marble | | | | trims and rockwork even today. |
| was freighted to Denver by rail. In 1893, $164 | | | | There have been reports of images in the stone of |
| ($3866.15 in today's money) bought the services of the | | | | famous Colorado and U.S. personages. Molly Brown |
| people who were to install the marble. A crew of | | | | may be found on the West Wing archway and |
| 10-12 men worked grueling 10 hour days for $1.50-1.75 | | | | George Washington can be seen on the West Wing |
| to drill and mount the marble. That's the equivalent of | | | | rotunda Wall. There are also more prosaic images, |
| about $35.36-$41.25. It took 6 years, from 1894-1900, | | | | such as a Christmas turkey. |
| for the marble to be entirely installed. | | | | |