Moffat Tunnel oil-train decision now at Supreme Court

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Ask about the Premier Plan –

our most popular option!

Because Black Hawk’s city coffers

reached record highs in 2022, 2023,

and 2024 due to unprecedented casino

tax revenues, the city has the money to

invest in ambitious, multi-million-dollar

plans without borrowing money to pay

for them. Consequently, city leaders have

been expanding dining and shopping

options, enhancing its historic displays,

and increasing outdoor recreational

areas. The city is also expected to repave

Main Street this year through its casino

district.

Black Hawk is investing $8.9 mil-

lion to rehabilitate the Bobtail Mine on

Gregory Street. The 3,000-foot under-

ground tour will demonstrate to visitors

how gold mining was carried out in the

city’s early days.

When completed late in 2026, passen-

gers will board a small, customized train

car on tracks that will journey through

the mine, showcasing historic mining

artifacts. Spellman previously stated that

the city plans to make the Bobtail attrac-

tion the premier mining attraction in the

state, if not the West. Decades ago, mine

tours at the Bobtail utilized passenger

cars pulled by burros. However, the new

Bobtail initiative will feature additional

lighting and expanded amenities that the

previous tour did not provide.

The Bobtail entrance is located across

from the western end of Gregory Plaza.

It is adjacent to a stone mining building

that will be transformed into a storefront

where mine-tour tickets and souvenirs

will be sold. Due to previous city projects

in the area, the Bobtail project will be

near a city-maintained public restroom

building, while parking options will be

available at the Briggs Lot or the nearby

St. Charles Carriage House parking

garage.

Gregory Plaza upgrades

The city is spending about $7 million

to build the new Copper Kitchen Pizzeria

restaurant and the one-story Gregory

Lift outdoor elevator at the eastern end

of Gregory Plaza on Gregory Street. Both

projects, which started last year, are

expected to be completed later this sum-

mer, although it will be too late for the

city’s annual Founders’ Day at the plaza

on June 28.

The new Copper Kitchen restaurant

and bar will join JKQ BBQ at Crook’s

Palace as standalone venues where fami-

lies can dine out without having to enter

a casino. The Gregory Lift will assist

people walking from Gregory Street to

use the glass-enclosed elevator to reach

the plaza’s main walkway.

During the past decade, Black Hawk

invested over $10 million to build

Gregory Plaza, which pays tribute to

the city’s early years. The plaza features

a towering, four-sided Victorian clock

dedicated to the city’s founders. Addi-

tionally, it includes a renovated historic

church and a museum honoring the

city’s former volunteer fire department.

Gregory Plaza also boasts three restored

historic homesteads named after their

former owners: Woodbury, McAfee, and

Norton. These homes currently house

three retail shops: Basin N Bend, Ted

Garcia Art Gallery, and Mountain Poppy

Boutique and Wine Bar.

The area of Gregory Street around

Gregory Plaza is known as the History

Appreciation Recreation Destination

District (HARD District).

In addition to ongoing work along

Gregory Street, Black Hawk plans to

convert the Briggs Lot into a new trail-

head that will connect with the Maryland

Mountain-Quartz Valley outdoor recre-

ation area, encompassing over 700 acres

of hiking and mountain-biking trails.

Black Hawk has purchased several old

mining claims from private owners over

the past decade. These acquisitions will

enable the city to expand its trail system

from the Hidden Treasure Trailhead—

the entrance to Maryland Mountain—to

the Briggs Lot/Gregory Plaza area, ulti-

mately reaching the top of Gregory Hill

(formerly Miners Mesa).

The Gregory Point neighborhood, once

part of Mountain City, is a collection of

small homes overlooking Gregory Street

across from the Briggs Lot and west of

the Bobtail Mine project.

In March 2024, the city council voted

to spend $1.79 million to replace sec-

tions of sidewalks, sidewalk lights, and

railings in Gregory Point, along with

an additional $497,058 to renovate the

interior of the Lace House and convert it

into a mining-era museum. Other small

homes are expected to be rented to art-

ists or entrepreneurial start-up business

owners.

The Lace House is regarded as one of

the state’s finest historic structures of

Victorian-Carpenter Gothic design. The

building, weighing 175,000 pounds, was

constructed in 1863 and moved nearly

half a mile to its current location in 1997.

Black Hawk City Manager Stephen

Cole stated that the renovations of the

Lace House are complete, although the

furnishings have not yet arrived. He es-

timated that the Victorian Carpet Gothic

architecture-style building will open in

2026, once renovations in other parts of

Gregory Point are finished.

The city is currently replacing water

valves along Main Street in its Gam-

ing, Outstanding Lodging, and Dining

District (GOLD District), the main thor-

oughfare through Black Hawk’s casino

area.

Once this work is completed, Black

Hawk plans to overlay Main Street with

new asphalt to enhance its appearance.

Additionally, the city hopes to replace

several old traffic light poles with newer,

more attractive ones.

According to the city’s 2025 budget,

the Main Street overlay project could

cost as much a $1,750,000 while the

signal-pole replacement will cost an esti-

mated $1,050,000. The city is evaluating

some of the current signal-light bases for

possible reuse.

Gregory Hill private projects

While the city moves forward with

its various plans, leaders say they don’t

have details or updates regarding two

privately operated developments on

Gregory Hill.

Club Vista II began building an

outdoor lodging facility featuring five

luxury Airstream trailers and 45 geode-

sic lodging domes, which will be rented

to visitors who want to spend time in an

outdoor setting at 8,650 feet above sea

level.

In 2021, the developer proposed build-

ing a lodging facility with 50 Airstream

trailers. However, the council approved a

modification to the project last May. The

new plan will retain the five luxury trail-

ers as part of the project, while 45 lodg-

ing domes will be added in two phases.

Observers say the geodesic domes

will be seen as glamping in comparison

to those who pitch tents in the forest.

The domes will feature electricity, gas,

plumbing, and lighting, while sidewalks

and landscaping will enhance the area

outside the units. Additionally, there will

be two ADA-accessible units.

The opening date for the new business

remains unknown. Also unknown to city

leaders is when Proximo Spirits will pro-

ceed with its $50 million plan to build

its Lake Gulch Whiskey Resort facility.

Three years ago, the city annexed land

from Gilpin County to accommodate

Proximo’s plan to create a distillery for

the west.

spring.

BH undergoing renaissance: new pizza parlor, gold

mine tours, street paving and geodesic domed lodges

Despite last week’s snow, the construction of new geodesic domes is ongoing

at the Club Vista II property atop Gregory Point, near the Rick Thomas Distillery.

New miniature railroad tracks have been installed at Black Hawk’s Bobtail Mine

on Gregory Street. The mine tour attraction is scheduled to open in the second

half of 2026.

Drone photos by Don Ireland

Construction of the new Copper Kitchen Pizzeria and the one-story Gregory Lift

elevator is expected to be completed later this summer.

Moffat Tunnel oil-train decision now at Supreme Court

Patrick Henry Sweeney

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