Butte mining headframes (gallows frames) are the industrial-heritage signature

shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileMontana

the hill of shafts above Uptown Butte, southwest Montana

Butte mining headframes (gallows frames) are the industrial-heritage signature

Name: Butte mining headframes (gallows frames) are the industrial-heritage signature — on ceramic tile, by WenderVista
Brand: WenderVista

— — the iron skeleton the copper boom left behind.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.

— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand

— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines

— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall

— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround

— a note from the studio

“Each gallows frame is a four-legged steel tower set over a shaft, the sheave wheel at the top, the hoist house at the foot. They lifted men down at the start of a shift and ore up at the end. Butte kept fourteen of them when the deep mines closed, painted them black, and lit them at night. The hill reads as a skyline of work. — from the studio

from the studio

— bring it home

Butte mining headframes (gallows frames) are the industrial-heritage signature, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?

One tile — square or rectangle.

How big?

the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand

6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb

Surface finish

A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.

How it sits

A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.

$58

Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.

— size

6 × 6 in

15 cm

— weighs

1.6 lb

solid in the hand

— surface

ceramic, hand-finished

art rests beneath a thin glossy finish

— from

Knoxville, TN

our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies

— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Butte mining headframes (gallows frames) are the industrial-heritage signature

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.

— the place

The Butte headframes, also called gallows frames, stand over the shafts of the district's deep copper, silver, and zinc mines on the hill above Uptown. Fourteen of the original frames remain, including the Anselmo, the Original, the Steward, the Mountain Con at 5,676 feet collar elevation, the Belmont, and the Granite Mountain. Together they mark the Butte-Anaconda Historic Landmark District, one of the largest in the United States. The shafts beneath them reach over a mile deep.

— informed by Wikipedia — Headframe, Wikipedia — Butte-Anaconda Historic District

— the stone

Each frame is riveted structural steel, typically four legs braced into a tapered tower with a sheave wheel at the top. The cable from the wheel ran down to a hoist house at the base, where a steam or electric engine raised cages of men and skips of ore. The Mountain Con frame, built in 1898 and rebuilt taller in the 1960s, is over 170 feet tall. Most frames are painted matte black and lit at night so the skyline still reads after sundown.

— informed by Wikipedia — Headframe

— the visit

The Anselmo Mine Yard at the north edge of Uptown is the most complete site, with the headframe, dry house, hoist house, and machine shops preserved as a state historic site. The World Museum of Mining at the Orphan Girl headframe offers an underground tour to the 100-foot level. The Granite Mountain Memorial above Uptown honours the 168 men killed in the 1917 Speculator fire, still the deadliest hard-rock mining disaster in U.S. history.

— informed by World Museum of Mining, Wikipedia — Speculator Mine disaster

— where

United States · Silver Bow County, Montana

— elevation

1,730 m · 5,676 ft

— position

46.0167° N · 112.5256° W

— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.

1 km N

Anselmo Mine Yard

historic mine yard

2 km W

World Museum of Mining

museum

2 km NE

Granite Mountain Memorial

memorial

2 km E

Berkeley Pit

open-pit mine

Butte mining headframes (gallows frames) are the industrial-heritage signature

Anselmo Mine Yard

World Museum of Mining

Granite Mountain Memorial

Berkeley Pit

— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Butte mining headframes (gallows frames) are the industrial-heritage signature — and about bringing the piece home.

— about the place

The steel tower built directly over a vertical mine shaft. A sheave wheel at the top carries the hoist cable from the engine in the hoist house down to the cage that lifts miners and ore up the shaft.

Because the silhouette of a four-legged steel tower with a wheel at the top resembles a scaffold. The nickname has been used in Butte and other hard-rock districts since the late nineteenth century.

Fourteen historic gallows frames remain on the hill above Uptown, including the Anselmo, the Original, the Steward, the Mountain Con, the Belmont, and the Granite Mountain. They are preserved as monuments to the deep-mining era.

Over 170 feet, after it was rebuilt taller in the 1960s. The original 1898 frame served the Mountain Consolidated shaft, one of the deeper workings on the hill, reaching well over a mile below the surface.

An underground fire on June 8, 1917 at the Speculator and Granite Mountain shafts that killed 168 miners. It remains the deadliest hard-rock mining disaster in United States history, memorialised on the hill above Uptown.

Yes. Many of the surviving Butte headframes are painted matte black and outlined in lights after dark, so the skyline of the hill reads clearly from Uptown and from Interstate 90 below.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. The frames are the part of the city families point to first. A Medium or Large with a handwritten note from the studio carries weight for someone whose grandfather pulled shifts on the hill.

Industrial-modern, loft, and warm-rustic interiors. The black ironwork and copper-and-brick palette sit easily next to leather, exposed brick, and steel-framed windows.

It fits both. The current shift toward honest industrial materials, riveted steel, and a single strong focal piece is the room these headframes were drawn for.

Above a standard sofa, a Large is the natural read. For a wider wall a 4-tile Mural at about thirty-two inches; a 9-tile Mural is the statement size for a loft or open great room.

Yes, in Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and steam-tolerant. Keep the Glossy finish to dry rooms where it can sit under controlled light.

A soft microfibre cloth and plain water. No abrasive pads, no ammonia-based sprays. The colour is set into the surface and does not lift with everyday cleaning.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is composed in-house by Reid Wender and finished by the studio. We do not license or resell other artists' work.

— if this one stayed with you