Victor Gold Rush Days - July 18 at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.
a special presentation and guided tour of the Victor area will be
presented by Steven Veatch of the Lake George Gem & Mineral Club. The cost
is $10 per person with all proceeds going to the Victor Building
Restoration Fund.
Try your hand at finding Cripple Creek turquoise, topaz and
other gems as well as real gold. The museum hosts panning thru Labor Day and panning for real gold over Gold Rush Days
the third weekend in July.
This activity is made possible by a grant from the El Pomar Youth in
Community Service grant. The cost is $1 over the price of museum
admission. More info...
Modern Mine Tours
See giant trucks hauling ore, boulders mashed
into pebbles in the crusher, the depths of the largest gold mine in
Colorado. Tours of the CC& Gold Mining Operations are offered June-August
leaving from the Museum. $5 pp. Reservations are suggested. Tours Wednesdays and Fridays at 10 a.m.
and 1 p.m. More info...
The John G. Duncan Foundation granted our project $1000.
Thanks to the foundation for helping us save the museum!
Window Challenge
Your Donations Save
Windows to the Past! Dear
supporter of the Victor Lowell Thomas Museum – We Need You! Reserve a
window in your name – or the name of your choice – and help us restore the
wonderful
Reynolds Block/Museum Building in Downtown Victor. More info...
Capital Plan - 2009
Cripple
Creek & Victor Gold Mining Company in 2009 donated $10,000 toward the
creation of a Master Plan for capital improvements at the museum. We are
currently working with an architectural firm to define needs for the
future.
Phase I Underway - 2009
The first phase of stabilization got underway
March 30. TEPA will be working on the stabilization of the foundation and
north wall into early summer. More info...
December 2008 -
The Gates Family Foundation awarded the museum $80,000 toward
phases 2 and 3 stabilization. If the State Historic Fund awards the museum
the next grant for phase 2 on Feb. 1, work on phase 2 will begin next
summer/fall. Work on phase 1 is scheduled to begin later this winter.
July 2008 -
The Boettcher Foundation awarded the museum stabilization effort a $20,000
grant. This means we will be able to begin the north wall project this
fall. Thanks Tim Schutlz and the Boettcher Foundation Board of Directors!
July 26 -
Over 75 people attended a fundraiser event at the Victor Elks sponsored by
the Victor Heritage Society. The event featured a historic look at the
1904 labor wars. Donations to the museum totalled over $522.
May 28 -
the Edmund T. and Eleanor Quick Foundation awarded the museum a $10,000
grant for the stabilization work. Thanks to their generosity and with the
assistance of other upcoming grant awards our stabilization
project will be underway this fall.
May 24 -
Museum opening celebration a huge success.
March 25 -
Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mining Company granted our cause $10,000.
Thanks CC&V!
March 19 -
City of Cripple Creek grants our project $25,000...The Cripple Creek District Museum and the City
of Cripple Creek has granted the Victor Improvement Association $25,000
from the historic preservation funds allotted for the Cripple Creek
museum's matching funds budget. This cooperative effort is greatly
appreciated!
March 8 at 6 p.m.
-
Victor Elks Lodge Benefit Dinner/Auction
raised $15,139 for the museum.
Feb. 4 -
The Victor Improvement
Association was awarded a $208,177 Colorado State Historical Fund Grant to
stabilize the north wall of the museum building.
$5,000 Challenge Grant
- An anonymous donor challenged local residents to raise $5,000
to help the museum match a Colorado Historical Society State Historic Fund
grant - donations from the Cripple Creek/Victor area were matched by the
challenger and the challenge was met March 8, 2008.
Two floors of artifacts, books, exhibits and
photographs depict the life in Victor from its earlier days to he heyday
of gold mining.
The gift shop offers books, historic maps and
postcards, prints, posters and gold ore rocks, as well as videos of
Thomas's life.
Pan for real gold and gems
open daily outside the museum. Check out a a pan try your luck!
The museum, located at the corner of 3rd St.
and Victor Ave., is open Memorial Day through Labor Day and
Wednesday-Sunday mid-June to mid-August as well as weekends in September
and early October. It is
housed in an 1899 brick structure that once was a hardware store, hotel
and furniture store.
The museum is owned and operated by the Victor
Improvement Association, a 501c3 non profit organized in the 1950s. The
volunteer board of directors of the VIA meets monthly.
