Field Trip Project

Wow! This one was a dosey! I am not the type of person who "enjoys" going outside for fun! So I decided to do something a little different for my field trip project. I went to historic landmarks around Denver and noted that each has its own geological history! It's amazing to see how geology not only plays a part in our environment, but how it also effects how we live!

There are more pictures that I have! Let me know if you would like to see more!

So we started out!


First we need gas!










And a scratch ticket for the road!









The Oxford Hotel

HISTORY


The Oxford Hotel is located at 1600 17th Street in Denver, Colorado. The Oxford is Denver's oldest hotel. Adolph Zang had a glimpse of realization after the railroads were put in at Union Station that there needed to be a "five-star" hotel in the area. Finally, the plans were finished and in 1891 the hotel was built. The hotel was stunning on opening day. The marble entrances to the fresh carpet enchanted hundreds as they came to stay at the hotel. The Oxford was known for its newest technology and wonderful kitchens. Today, the hotel stands; however, many different renovations have been done. There are still plenty of areas in and around the building that shows its true age!

http://www.denvergov.org/AbouutDenver/aboutdenver.asp

On Location


The Oxford Hotel is certainly not known for its role in geology, but more for the lavish interior of the building. The outer walls of the building are made mostly of red sandstone. Modern technologies of different building materials have been added to the building of course for support. The most interesting piece of the Oxford Hotel story is the interior. The floors are covered with a gorgeous marble and stained glass windows accent the classic French and English antiques. Chandeliers are made out of steel that hang from the ceilings. I would love to stay in this hotel if it wasn’t “haunted”!

The Dunning-Benedict House

HISTORY
The Dunning-Benedict House is located at 1200 Pennsylvania Street. William Lang designed and built this house in 1889 for Walter Dunning. Dunning lived here for quite some time until selling the house to Mitchell Benedict. In the 1930’s the house was used for many different things, including: hotels, apartments, offices, and rest homes. Today, the house is used for law offices and offers large apartments on the second floor.








On Location

The Dunning-Benedict House is comparable to the Molly Brown House. Located very close together this house shares many characteristics. The house is made from Castle Rock Rhyolite. Some of the floors around the fireplace are made from marble. I came to find out that this certain type of marble is called, Yule Marble. The majority of houses in Denver do not have marble as huge walkways, but rather as accents. I could see some weathering that has taken place over that last years; however, the historic district has taken very good care of this house. The windows are somewhat strange seeing that they are of all different shapes and sizes. I did notice however, that a lot of these houses have gold tied into small pieces of art “stuck” to the building. There are many different cracks in and around the house, due to shifting of the land underneath. This house, just like many others is beautiful for the eyes.

The Molly Brown House

HISTORY


The Molly Brown House is located at 1340 Pennsylvania Street. The house was never originally built for the Browns. Instead William Lang designed the home for Isaac and Mary Large. After some time the Larges sold their home to the Browns. Upon the death of Molly’s husband the house was used in many different ways. Boarding houses and renters soon occupied the home for quite some time. After Molly’s death, the house was up for grabs. Other owners took the house and made moderate changes. In the 1960’s the city of Denver wanted to demolish the house to make room for apartment buildings and parking lots. Thanks to Ann Love, who was able to turn the house into a historical landmark the house sill stands today!
http://mollybrown.org/househistory.asp





On Location

When you first walk up to the Molly Brown house you seem to second guess yourself about if you’re in the right place. It certainly doesn’t look like a typical “museum”. The Molly Brown house is a Victorian style house that has a lot of character. The outer side of the house is built with rhyolite stone. Rhyolie stone is said to be 36 million years old. The rock was deposited after Mt. Saint Helens erupted. The location of the rock is in Castle Rock where it has been mined for over 125 years. This stone creates a “jagged” type of appearance. To shade some of the ruggedness there was red sandstone laid in some areas. Different types of wood complement the house, mostly dark. Stained glass windows also complement the house. I’m not sure if these windows have been replaced or not. Newer additions have been added since the construction of house including a retaining wall, which is needed because of shifting and mass wasting. This house is beautiful.