Argo Tunnel

The Argo Gold Mine and Mill is a former gold mining and milling property in Idaho Springs, Colorado, featuring an intact gold mill built at the entrance of the Argo Tunnel. The tunnel was built between 1893 and 1910 to drain the gold mines in Virginia Canyon, Gilpin Gulch, Russell Gulch, Quartz Hill, Nevadaville, and Central City and allow easier ore removal. The success of the tunnel as an access route meant that a large volume of ore began exiting at the Idaho Springs entrance and a large mill was built to process it. At the time it was one of the largest such tunnels and milling operations in the world, directly recovering nearly $100 million in gold (11.2 million ounces) valued in 2023 at $10.1 trillion. They also sent another $200 million of high-value ores to smelters in Denver.The property was closed in January 1943 after a major hydraulic accident in the tunnel, and never reopened after a federal moratorium was placed on gold mining during World War II. In 1976 it was purchased by a local investment group led by James N. Maxwell, who wanted to preserve an example of the Colorado gold rush mines. It was renovated and reopened as a tourist attraction and mining museum, and presently continues to offer daily tours. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in January 1978.

The Bryan Hose House, in Idaho Springs, Colorado, was built in 1881. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.It has also been known as the Sunnyside Hose House and as Hose Company No. 2. It is located at the junction of Illinois and Virginia Streets in Idaho Springs.

The City of Idaho Springs is the statutory city that is the most populous municipality in Clear Creek County, Colorado, United States. Idaho Springs is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 1,782. Idaho Springs is located in Clear Creek Canyon, in the mountains upstream from Golden, some 30 miles (50 km) west of Denver. Founded 165 years ago in 1859 by prospectors during the early days of the Pike's Peak Gold Rush, the town was at the center of the region's mining district throughout the late nineteenth century. The Argo Tunnel drained and provided access to many lodes of ore between Idaho Springs and Central City. During the late twentieth century, the town evolved into a tourist center along U.S. Highway 6 and U.S. Highway 40, which ascend Clear Creek Canyon through the historic mining district. The town today is squeezed along the north side of Interstate 70, with a historical downtown in the central portion, a strip of tourist-related businesses on its eastern end, and mostly residences on its western end. It also serves as a bedroom community for workers at the Loveland Ski Area farther up the canyon. The town today is the largest community in Clear Creek County, but, for historical reasons, the county seat has remained at Georgetown.

The Idaho Springs Downtown Commercial District includes Early Commercial architecture in Idaho Springs, Colorado. The historic district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. The listing includes 46 contributing buildings on 9 acres (3.6 ha).The district is roughly bounded by Center Alley, 14th Ave., Riverside Dr., and Idaho St. in Idaho Springs. It is less than .5 miles (0.80 km) from where George A. Jackson discovered gold in Chicago Creek on January 7, 1859, setting off a gold rush which brought people to Denver and Colorado.

Elks Lodge No. 607 is a historic building in Idaho Springs, Colorado. It was built in 1907. Before the site was the Elks Lodge, it was the Beebe House Hotel. President Ulysses S. Grant stayed there in 1873.

Th Methodist Episcopal Church in Idaho Springs, Colorado, also known as the Idaho Methodist Episcopal Church, or the First United Methodist Church, or the Methodist Church of Idaho, is a historic Methodist Episcopal church building at 1414 Colorado Boulevard. It was built in 1880 and expanded in 1905. It was added to the National Register in 1998.The church's design includes elements of Gothic Revival style. The church's former parsonage, located to the north, has been modified and is not included in the listing.

Flirtation Peak is a summit in Clear Creek County, Colorado, in the United States. It has an elevation of 8,260 feet (2,520 m). The peak lies south of Idaho Springs.

Clear Creek School District RE-1 is the school district serving students of Clear Creek County, Colorado. The district's mission statement is "We will educate and inspire all learners in a safe and challenging academic environment to go forth and share the best they have to offer to the world".

Hose House No. 2, at 600 Colorado Blvd. in Idaho Springs, Colorado, was built around 1882. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.It is a one-story 16 by 20 feet (4.9 m × 6.1 m) building. "It was built to house a fire hose cart associated with early volunteer fire fighting efforts in the west end of Idaho Springs." It served in that way until 1929.It has also been known as the West End Hose House and as the 6th and Colorado Hose House.

The Hidee Gold Mine is a former gold mine in Gilpin County, Colorado, United States. The Hyde Gold Mine was submitted for patent in 1896 and in the early 1980's the mine owner decide to start giving educational tours. It is one of the tourist attractions in and near the town as a result of the efforts of the local residents, and the Hidee Gold Mine company which worked to recreate the history of mining near Black Hawk, Colorado. There are tours of the mine, which explain the methods that were used both in the past as well as the present. Also during these tours, tourists are given a feel of being a miner, by including a stop at a gold ore vein where tourists use a single-jack (one-handed) hammer and chisel (provided) to chip a gold ore sample loose, which they are allowed to keep as a souvenir. It has also been open since 1988.

Blue Valley is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place (CDP) located in and governed by Clear Creek County, Colorado, United States. The population was 173 at the 2020 census. The CDP is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. The Idaho Springs post office (Zip Code 80452) serves the area.

Fall River is an 11.0-mile-long (17.7 km) tributary of Clear Creek in Clear Creek County, Colorado. It flows from a source just south of Parry Peak to a confluence with Clear Creek west of Idaho Springs.