American Ruins W? A nationwide abandoned-edifice tour offers monumentally haunting clues.
https://ift.tt/38a5oPW This country’s unmatched and unlimited industrial might helped define the 20th century. But that was then, and this is now. Crystal Mill: Marble, Colorado When you first see the Crystal Mill—a former powerhouse cantilevered over a rushing river at an altitude of more than 10,000 feet—the first word that you may think of is Jenga. After all, with rough-hewn beams crisscrossing their way up to the mill’s main rooms, the whole structure seemingly has a wobbly future. But despite appearances, the mill—which dates to the 1890s—has proved remarkably sturdy even though it has been out of service for more than a century. Part of that durability comes from the outcropping of rocks on which the mill is built, stone that also forms the bed of the Crystal River, giving the setting an even more striking appearance, as water constantly cascades past. That steady flow was key to the mill’s existence, spinning a waterwheel that powered an air compressor for the Sheep Mountain
