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20230103-LEGISLATURE-FLAGS-ROTUNDA
Hart Van Denburg/CPR News
The American and Colorado flags are draped under the Rotunda at the Colorado State Capitol on Tuesday, January 3, 2023, awaiting the return of state lawmakers.

Beulah Red

The Colorado state capitol gleams with a dome of real gold, put there to commemorate the Colorado Gold Rush. Its floors are built from the state rock, white Yule marble. And all through the building you’ll see walls covered in a beautiful pinkish stone with dramatic reddish-brown swirls and veins – that’s Beulah Red Marble, found nowhere but in Colorado. Discovered west of Pueblo in the late 1800s, technically Beulah Red is limestone that gets its blush from iron oxide. It lines the Capitol’s hallways, arches over doorways, and holds up the columns in the rotunda. Almost the entire known supply of Beulah Red was used up, except for a few houses in Beulah, some fireplaces in Pueblo, and some blocks held in reserve for the Capitol – so far unneeded.

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About Colorado Postcards

Colorado Postcards are snapshots of our colorful state in sound. They give brief insights into our people and places, our flora and fauna, and our past and present, from every corner of Colorado. See more postcards.


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The Denver Mint

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Hard-rock mining brought a workforce to Colorado in the 1800s. Successful operations, like the Smuggler Mine near Aspen, had hundreds working two or three shifts a day.