Silver Plume, a
National Historic District, is located 60 miles west of Denver at an elevation
of 9,400 feet. This new building was commissioned by the Colorado
Historical Society at the Silver Plume railyards, the western terminal of the
historically important Georgetown Loop Railroad. The building allows
casual visitors, Loop Railroad tourists and scholars to view large-scale
artifacts in their original context.
The museum was designed to display
an engine/tender and four other finely restored antique railcars that represent
a cross-section of rolling stock from the narrow gauge era.The 5,000 SF,
single-room building is constructed of modest materials in a form that conveys
an appropriate sense of railyard structures from the historical period, while
avoiding literal replication.
The project was honored with Awards for Design Excellence
from AIA Denver, AIA Colorado and Western Mountain Region AIA.
