Historic Nugget Building: Best Project Renovation/Restoration
Constructed in 1892 as Telluride’s First National Bank, the iconic Nugget Building once featured a majestic tower that rose high above Main Street. But because the weight of the tower caused the building to sink over time that key piece of the structure was dismantled more than 100 years ago. Now the tower has been replaced, and it serves as the grand finale to a 20-year project to restore the building to its original grandeur.
To support the new tower, crews installed 45-ft-deep micropile clusters by building a custom ramp and driving the drill rig through the building’s 5-ft-wide front door. Next, 30-ft-long beams were dropped through small openings in the floor and lowered in place by airbags, 2 in. at a time. Those columns attach to a new steel roofing system that sits just below the original roof and supports the tower, which is now completely independent of the original structure. A 2-in. spacing between the new structure and old structure allows them to move independently.