Sandstone Cliffs
Sandstone Cliffs above Lyons, Colorado.
Lyons is a Town in Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The population was 1,585 at the 2000 census. Lyons is located at the confluence of the North St. Vrain Creek and the South St. Vrain Creek, twenty miles (32 km) east of Rocky Mountain National Park. Due to its location at the intersection of State Highway 7 and U.S. Highway 36 which lead to Rocky Mountain National Park, it is sometimes referred to as The Double Gateway to the Rockies.
The town is almost surrounded by large red sandstone mountains. Its sandstone is considered the hardest in the world, and it has a unique red or salmon color. While E. S. Lyon was one of the first people to help set up the quarrying business in the town, it has gone through several owners and new quarry locations over the years, with Murphy and Brodie and Loukonen being the most noteworthy owners. In the late 1800s the quarries got a big boost when a railroad was brought in to haul out the rock.
In 1910-12 the cement industry killed the sandstone industry, and rock production stopped. The only sandstone construction that went on during this period was the new University of Colorado campus.
Lyons has a Designated Historic District, with fifteen sandstone structures which are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. These were all constructed of native stone by master craftsmen between the early 1870s and 1917. They include commercial, residential and public buildings. (Wikipedia)
Sandstone Cliffs
Sandstone Cliffs above Lyons, Colorado.
Lyons is a Town in Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The population was 1,585 at the 2000 census. Lyons is located at the confluence of the North St. Vrain Creek and the South St. Vrain Creek, twenty miles (32 km) east of Rocky Mountain National Park. Due to its location at the intersection of State Highway 7 and U.S. Highway 36 which lead to Rocky Mountain National Park, it is sometimes referred to as The Double Gateway to the Rockies.
The town is almost surrounded by large red sandstone mountains. Its sandstone is considered the hardest in the world, and it has a unique red or salmon color. While E. S. Lyon was one of the first people to help set up the quarrying business in the town, it has gone through several owners and new quarry locations over the years, with Murphy and Brodie and Loukonen being the most noteworthy owners. In the late 1800s the quarries got a big boost when a railroad was brought in to haul out the rock.
In 1910-12 the cement industry killed the sandstone industry, and rock production stopped. The only sandstone construction that went on during this period was the new University of Colorado campus.
Lyons has a Designated Historic District, with fifteen sandstone structures which are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. These were all constructed of native stone by master craftsmen between the early 1870s and 1917. They include commercial, residential and public buildings. (Wikipedia)