pmerecords
Ames Monument and Milky Way
Orange localized artificial light on the monument, highlighting the plaque. Horizon light can be seen on the right.
Here's what the sign at the monument says: "Completed in 1882 at a cost of $65,000, this monolithic, 60-foot high granite pyramid was built by the Union Pacific Railroad Company. It stand on the highest elevation (8,247 feet) of the original transcontinental route. Until 1901, when the railroad was relocated several miles to the South, it passed close by the North side of the monument where once stood the railtown of Sherman.
"The monument serves as a memorial to the Ames brothers of Massachusetts, Oakes (1804-1873) And Oliver (1807-1877), whose welath, influence, talent, were key factors in the construction of the first coast-to-coast railroad in North America. The contribution made by Oakes was especially significant, even though in 1873 he was implicated in a scandal relative to financing the construction of the railroad.
"Ames monument was designed by the distinguished American architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838-1886). Located further West than any of his works, this memorial typifies the Richardsonian style by its energtic, elemental characteristics. His love for native construction materials is demonstrated by the monument's great, rough-hewn granite blocks, quarried from 'Reed's Rock,' one half-mile West. A Richardson biographer has called the monument 'perhaps the finest memorial in America... one of Richardson's best-known and most perfect works.' The bas-relief medallions of the Ames brothers were done by the prominent American sculptor, Augustus Saint-Gaudens."
The sign conveniently glosses over the scandal that plagued the Ames brothers, and does not mention the fact that, once the railroad was moved, the monument has been all but forgotten. It was donated to The State of Wyoming by Union Pacific in 1983. It's a short two-mile drive from Interstate 80, but is not widely known or visited.
Ames Monument and Milky Way
Orange localized artificial light on the monument, highlighting the plaque. Horizon light can be seen on the right.
Here's what the sign at the monument says: "Completed in 1882 at a cost of $65,000, this monolithic, 60-foot high granite pyramid was built by the Union Pacific Railroad Company. It stand on the highest elevation (8,247 feet) of the original transcontinental route. Until 1901, when the railroad was relocated several miles to the South, it passed close by the North side of the monument where once stood the railtown of Sherman.
"The monument serves as a memorial to the Ames brothers of Massachusetts, Oakes (1804-1873) And Oliver (1807-1877), whose welath, influence, talent, were key factors in the construction of the first coast-to-coast railroad in North America. The contribution made by Oakes was especially significant, even though in 1873 he was implicated in a scandal relative to financing the construction of the railroad.
"Ames monument was designed by the distinguished American architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838-1886). Located further West than any of his works, this memorial typifies the Richardsonian style by its energtic, elemental characteristics. His love for native construction materials is demonstrated by the monument's great, rough-hewn granite blocks, quarried from 'Reed's Rock,' one half-mile West. A Richardson biographer has called the monument 'perhaps the finest memorial in America... one of Richardson's best-known and most perfect works.' The bas-relief medallions of the Ames brothers were done by the prominent American sculptor, Augustus Saint-Gaudens."
The sign conveniently glosses over the scandal that plagued the Ames brothers, and does not mention the fact that, once the railroad was moved, the monument has been all but forgotten. It was donated to The State of Wyoming by Union Pacific in 1983. It's a short two-mile drive from Interstate 80, but is not widely known or visited.