BECAUSE YOU ASKED
Q: I’ve noticed that on the new black tile roofing being laid on Union Station that there are five rows of evenly spaced copper-colored strips attached to the bottom rows of tiles. Do you know what these copper strips are and what their purpose is?
A: Located on the clay-tiled sloped roofs of the wings of Union Station, the copper strips are snowguards. After about a year, the copper will acquire a brown patina – unlike buildings back East, which acquire a green patina because of higher humidity. The station’s roof tiles are a little slicker than normal because of their glaze, making it necessary to have snowguards to keep the snow from sliding off the roof.
Source: Richard Rost, RTD facilities engineering manager
Q: I saw on a map a town named Firstview in Cheyenne County. What is it the first view of?
A: Firstview, elevation 4,577, was established in 1870 and platted in 1904. When the Kansas Pacific Railroad went through Colorado, it was the first point when coming from the east that one could see Pikes Peak. The town had a post office from 1907 to 1961.
Source: “Colorado Place Names” by William Bright; “1001 Colorado Place Names” by Maxine Benson; “Colorado Post Offices” by William H. Bauer, James L. Ozment and John H. Williard; USGS
– Compiled by Bonnie Gilbert
Have you ever wondered how to register your child for school? What a political caucus is and how to get information about one? How many “fourteeners” Colorado has? If you’d like information about something in the state, send questions to becauseyouasked@denverpost.com or mail to: Because You Asked, Denver Post, Suite 600, 101 W. Colfax Ave., Denver, CO 80202. Include your name, city of residence and phone number.
REGIONAL NOTES
HIGHLANDS RANCH
Student artists’ work on view
The work of high school and middle school artists in the Highlands Ranch area is on display through Friday at the Highlands Ranch Library.
The library is at 9292 Ridgeline Blvd., near the Highlands Ranch Town Center. For more information, call 303-791-7703.
DENVER POST STAFF REPORTS
