Opened in 1893, the Argo Mill and Tunnel was Colorado’s King Midas—everything it touched turned to gold. Miners relied on its five-mile shaft to drain water from their claims while its heavy machinery processed their ore. The five-story structure’s presence made its hometown, Idaho Springs, an economic hub. But the city suffered when a flood forced the Argo to close in 1943. Then, in the 1960s, the construction of I-70 ran right through town, excising a quarter of its historical buildings. Idaho Springs became a pitstop on the way to more glamorous destinations like Vail and Aspen.

A new project hopes to restore the city’s luster. This month, the Argo will unveil a $71 million makeover led by Idaho Springs native Mary Jane Loevlie. The centerpiece of the project, dubbed the Mighty Argo Cable Car, is a 1.25-mile gondola whose 27 golden-hued cars will transport passengers 1,300 feet up from the mill to the top of Virginia Canyon. Once there, visitors can bike or hike 15 miles of new trails, grab an Argo Ale and miner’s pasty (an upscale version of the Cornish hand pies workers took into the mines) from the Sun and Moon Saloon, or simply take in the view (four fourteeners and the Continental Divide). “We’re bringing back the economic engine that the Argo Mill was at the turn of the 20th century,” Loevlie says.

A graduate of the town’s Clear Creek High School, Loevlie ran a successful concrete business with her husband, Kristian. She began buying up property in Idaho Springs in the 1980s and was instrumental in forming the city’s historic and business improvement districts. When she told her friend Dana Crawford she was thinking about purchasing the Argo Mill, the legendary developer of Denver’s Larimer Square egged her on. “She said, ‘You have to. It’s the most iconic site on I-70,’ ” Loevlie says. With Crawford, who died last year, as a partner, Loevlie closed on the mill in 2016.

Idaho Springs began experiencing a resurgence around that time, and then the pandemic supercharged the boom. “People needed to get out of Denver,” Loevlie says, “and Idaho Springs was the closest place.” Stir-crazy visitors found charming Victorian buildings and retailers, from the Spice & Tea Exchange to Buffalo Restaurant & Bar, and kept coming back. The city’s tax revenue tripled over the past five years.

The Argo gondola took longer to lift off. The property’s history of heavy metals made the mill a hazardous Superfund site, which required a costly cleanup. A title company then swindled the Argo’s investment group out of a $4.5 million deposit on its construction loan. But the developers eventually secured $23 million from a fund created by Austrian gondola manufacturer Doppelmayr to help cover the cost of the privately funded project, and construction began in October 2024.

One consolation for the long delay? It gave Loevlie and her team time to dream up more ideas. In addition to food, trails, and views, the Argo will feature a 300-person amphitheater, a kids play area, and event space. (Its first special occasion will be Clear Creek High School’s prom.) In the future, Loevlie plans to add housing, a hotel, and glamping. “It’s the silver lining,” she says. “The project has gotten better and better and better.”