Wander the West

Blackhawk, Colorado

	Blackhawk Colorado

2006

Blackhawk is one of Colorado’s oldest mining camps, settled after gold was discovered in Gregory’s Gulch in 1859. Like most mining towns of the era, Blackhawk’s fortunes rose and fell over the years until the early 1900’s when most local mining came to an end. Over the years floods and neglect claimed one historic building after another. The history of the area was not enough to bring the visitors and revenue needed to preserve the town. In 1990, Colorado voters legalized gambling in Blackhawk and nearby Central City in a bid to revitalize the economies of these old mining towns. In Blackhawk’s case this measure was a stunning success.

I am amazed at how much money gambling has brought to this area. The entire town of Blackhawk has been rebuilt in grand fashion. The canyon walls have been widened through massive earth moving operations to make room for giant casinos and parking lots. All of the town’s roads, retaining walls, and public services have been rebuilt. Historic homes have been painstakingly moved out of the path of the ever-expanding casinos. The casinos themselves are unusual in that many are long and narrow, and very tall, to accommodate the geography of the narrow canyon. Long lines of buses file into town from the Denver area to unload masses of enthusiastic gamblers.

It seems that gambling is producing more wealth than even the late 1800’s era mines did. Blackhawk is bigger and better than ever. A sign at one of the casinos sums up Blackhawk’s new standing as a tourist center: “Blackhawk – Where Vegas Meets the Rockies”.

Click here to view the Blackhawk Colorado photo gallery

- Aaron Walton