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One of the preserved workshops at the Empire Gold Mine in Grass Valley, California. The overhead power system of shafts and belts is interesting now, but would have been dangerous and noisy at the time. The mine ran for 106 years (1850-1956) and produced 5.8 million ounces of gold over its lifetime. It also produced a great deal of mercury contamination from the final stage of gold extraction, which still persists in the area, mostly in river and stream beds. The state bought the property in 1975 and now runs it as a historic park for tourists. There's been talk lately about pumping out the now flooded mine & restarting gold production, but that seems to be a perpetual rumor in the area. For now though, it's a nice place to visit. This shot was taken in 2004 with a Sony F828 Digicam. The manipulation was to create a b&w image through the channel mixer, then reduce the effect about 20%. The slightly washed-out look is more appropriate to the scene than the original, I felt.