Limestone
Limestone quarried in Indiana has been commonly used as window and door surrounds, lintels, coping, and other trim on buildings as a counterpoint to the red sandstone and red tile roofs. It is also used for carving sculptural elements of all kinds. There is a mix of gray and buff on campus with some sprinkling of examples from Kansas and Texas quarries. At least one Klauder designed building, (Liberal Arts 1921) used a White Stone trim from Turkey Cr. Quarry near Pueblo, CO. as a substitute. Experience has shown that Indiana limestone is best for product, cutting, and price.
Available textures include planar followed by sanding to achieve a light honed finish, sugar cube, and sandblasting. The first is used on CU-Boulder buildings. Colors of limestone vary from variegated to gray, yellow (buff), and pink. A mixture of gray and buff is used on campus. Texas limestone can include fossils and can be more pink or yellow than quarries in other States. Kansas provides a little harder and less absorptive stone than others, but can be "yellowish" and of a sugar cube finish. Indiana is grayer, but all limestone will yellow up over time.
A skilled cutter who forms the volumetric material, and the carver a craftsman who can form any desired final intricate configuration governs the quality of limestone. Some examples of limestone carvings on campus include the lion fountain at Sewall Hall, the lion fountain spouts at Norlin Library, the columns at University Theatre, and the bench at McKenna Languages.
Limestone is a key piece of the Boulder campus vocabulary of building materials. It is beautiful, durable, and a worthy complementary stone to adjacent native sandstone walls.
