CHRIST OF THE MINES SHRINE...

A 12-ton, 16-foot-tall statue of Jesus Christ, sits some 500 feet up the slope of Anvil Mountain north of town. The shrine has been attributed to some miracles in this Southwestern Colorado town over the years.

Given the wild mining background of the town in the 19th century, when gambling, 40 saloons, boozing and prostitution were rampant — even causing a split in Silverton to create temporary "evil" and "good" halves of the city — the shrine is a sharp contrast. According to Gerald Swanson, owner of the Villa Dallavalle Boutique Hotel, the shrine is a reminder of the importance the mining industry was to the area's history.

The mines are closed now, but the legacy remains. The statue now provides a religious slant to today's tourist-oriented town. The statue was sculpted from Italian marble, from Carrera, Italy - same as the composition of Michelangelo's David. It was shipped from Italy in several pieces, and arrived into town in the summer of 1959. An alcove of native stone was ready. A cutout of the statue had been sitting there for months, as residents eagerly awaited the real thing. Now, pieces of heavy concrete marble were like a puzzle to solve. After much collaboration without direction, Jesus was erected in the alcove overlooking Silverton... a miracle!

Gerald, with others, decided to spruce up the hillside with donated Scotch pine seedlings despite only a 14-day growing season for plants in Silverton. Many doubted the trees would ever survive. Not giving up, the men hand carried buckets of water to care for the grove of pine trees that did blossom. Some consider that another miracle!

Only a few months after the shrine's dedication, mining saw a resurgence and new tunnels were started. Mining did fade out by the late 20th century, but on June 4,1978, a near-disaster was avoided, and some wonder if yet another miracle of the shrine didn't have something to do with it. A lake above the Sunnyside mine broke loose and flooded one of the lower portals. However, this happened on Sunday, when the mines were closed. Luckily there were no deaths or injuries.

Two different bronze plaques adorn the statue. The original states: "This shrine erected in honor of Christ of the Mines by the people of Silverton to ask God's blessing of the mining industry of the San Juans." The second plaque, added in 1982, commemorates the lives saved when the mines flooded in 1978. Gerald Swanson was instrumental in having the shrine built.