Building code restrictions are in place to keep us safe and in good health, right? With that in mind, I have to confess that I have been frustrated at times by the degree of code regulation. But a few weeks ago I had an epiphany while driving through the mountains in southern Colorado. We had abandoned the freeway and headed up into the hills on the Greenhorn Highway in search of a trailhead. It was a perfect day for hiking, sunny and cool. The air was laden with the smell of ponderosa pine and spring flowers. I had my head tilted back enjoying the treetops and fluffy clouds as they whizzed by when I saw something above the treetops that seemed totally out of place. As we came over the crest of a hill and rounded a curve we were stunned by the sight of,…. well, we weren’t sure what it was. Lo and behold, a stone castle with a dragon’s head towered above us.
There were a few folks who had stopped to take pictures and a few who were clustered in front of a crudely painted sign inviting the public to explore the place at no charge. It became clear from the rambling text that the owner, who had spent thirty years laying stone and welding steel to construct what lay before us, had a beef with code regulators. It was hard to tell from the scrawled text if the owner had been incarcerated because of code violations or for a brawl in which some poor soul got the worst of it. But it was clear that we would be exploring the castle at our own risk.
With that frame of mind, we ascended the steepest, scariest three-story stair that I have ever experienced. At the top it transitioned into a lacy wrought iron walkway surrounding the outside of the castle. As we entered a glazed set of metal doors, space soared high above us. Glassy end walls had many broken panes. We could look up through the ridge skylight to several lopsided towers with delicate walkways spanning between them in mid air. Several courageous souls climbed circular stone stairs sans handrails within the stone towers, to gain the top, a marvelous mountain view.
Some, my husband included, tested the walkways between…..
I calculated the very real risks involved and decided to forgo the experience.
As we got back into the car to leave, shaking our heads at such folly, I heard my husband say under his breath that, “Sooner or later, this wasn’t going to end well”. My respect for building codes has since been reinforced, (no pun intended!)
For an article with more on Bishop Castle, go here. Admittedly, Katherine Hillbrand hasn't designed any castles as of yet, but if you'd like to see some of her marvelous, code compliant work, check out her profile page.
UPDATE: Thanks to the feedback on SALA's Facebook Page for this post we've become aware of a documentary on Bishop Castle. It can be viewed for free via email sign up, or through a Facebook or Twitter account HERE. Here's a trailer for the documentary: