Coeur d' Alene Mine - Watercolor by Pat Patterson [125064]

The Coeur d' Alene Mine is a bright red landmark on the outskirts of Central City, Colorado, and a popular tourist destination as well as a subject for photographers and painters alike. The mine's origin goes back to 1894, and it produced gold and silver along with copper, lead, and zinc. In 1940, the mayor of Central City, also a mine employee, was killed when sparks from a grinding wheel fell into a box of blasting caps that he was trimming. The mine was closed a few years later and was donated to the Central City Opera, who gave tours of the facility into the 1950s. It fell into disrepair and vandalism in later decades. Heavy snowfall in 1986 collapsed the roof, and the opera company donated it to the Gilpin County Historical Society. The building was restore with a $100,000 grant, and has been re-opened for surface tours (subject to Covid-altered reality). Colorado artist Pat Patterson studied at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts under Ruth Van Sickle Ford and worked as an artist with the US Navy during WWII. He then settled in Denver, Colorado, producing pen & ink and watercolor illustration for the fashion industry, books, and limited-edition prints. Professionally mounted, framed, and glazed, with frame size of 30 x 26 inches and inner matte opening of 17-3/4 x 13-3/4 inches. Central City Colorado