Going Uptown...

Well, in a previous post I showed you the natural landscape that surrounds Butte. I even showed some other bits and pieces in previous posts. (If you haven't seen those then you might want to check those out and then come back...it'll make more sense) That lady on the mountain is "Our Lady of the Rockies". It's a statue that is taller than the Statue of Liberty perched atop the Continental Divide. There is some story to it, but I won't bore you with that; but it is the strangest thing to go around town at night and in the darkness, high in the sky is a glowing (it's lit at night) Virgin Mary staring at you from the East Ridge. That filthy bathroom was on the top floor of this old building called Metals Bank. That picture of Cindi in the doorway was also in that building. That tunnel with Cindi jumping leads to a thing called the Berkeley Pit, which was a mining pit that was over 1,000 feet deep. (I don't remember the actual depth, but it is staggering) When they abandoned the mine, they turned off the pumps, the water rose, and it turned into a massive toxic lake (It's at least a mile across). It's been rising ever since and will one day (unless they can detox it) endanger the local water supply. It is noted as a tourist attraction...and whenever I visit we make a big joke about it...but I've seen pictures before the water rose and it gives me weird Atlantis type vibes of history submerged under the depths. But this is old...
...Let's move on to today's post. We're gonna look at some of the buildings. So, speaking of mining... Almost all of Uptown Butte was built around the turn of the century (1900). It was built to be used while the mines were in operation and then most likely abandoned (the way most mining towns work). There is some impressive architecture, but something that is odd is all over the hillside that Butte is built on there are these "Gallows Frames" as they are called, which used be the portals into the mine shafts. You can walk out of a shop, a home, a restaurant, a bar and be greeted to the site of these frames...it's very strange.


I wonder if they used if they used a ruler on this thing, I can't figure out why it's crooked...this picture kind of baffles me.


These next two buildings were involved with some very rich guy who had a large stake in the mines. He was called the "Copper King"...since copper was the main mineral being mined. This first one is his house, the other is called the "Art Chateau"


I've had a love affair with this alley since the first time I saw it... This picture really captures the feeling I get about Uptown Butte. I've shot it from several different angles and have never really been satisfied until now. Uptown Butte used to have underground tunnels that networked all around uptown. There used to be a lot of brothels around town and most of these all had secret tunnel entrances...so the patrons wouldn't be seen visiting houses of ill repute. There was also a large Chinese immigrant population that had whole communities that lived underground, and with the bone chillingly cold, sub-zero degree winters this would help as insulation. There used to be many secret entrances to these tunnels...most have been sealed closed. But if you look along the left wall you see a series of doors that most likely don't all go into the building or basement. That door (from the previous post) with the red bottle seems to be door that did not go into the building.


And I want to apologize that I said when I started this that I would keep the words to a minimum...but I always get long winded with my writing and I love words and pictures. I don't know why I thought that I wouldn't write about these pictures...