Maeda crawler performs at iconic Colorado concert venue

Giant sandstone outcroppings form the walls of the iconic Red Rocks Park & Amphitheatre.

Known as one of America’s best entertainment venues and designated a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service, the Red Rocks Park & Amphitheatre is a national treasure. Located in Morrison, Colorado, Red Rocks is legendary.

The Beatles performed at Red Rocks in 1964, and the venue has hosted concerts by James Taylor, U2, Neil Young, Sonny & Cher, the Carpenters, Carole King, Jimi Hendrix, Rush, the Grateful Dead, Stevie Nicks and Kenny Chesney to name a few.

The crane was used to hoist steel beams utilizing a below-the-hook beam clamp.

What makes Red Rocks so unique is the giant sandstone outcrops that form the walls of the amphitheater. The geological “fountain formation” was deposited some 280 million years ago. In the early 1900s, a local visionary set up a makeshift stage among the rocks for a famous opera singer. After the first concert, Red Rocks was said to be “acoustically perfect,” and musicians have loved playing there ever since.

Over the past couple of years, Red Rocks has been amid several improvements, including stormwater management and visitor center enhancements, which have involved the erection of a steel canopy over the restaurant. Key to the success of steel canopy erection was a Maeda MC815 crawler crane that was rented for the six-week job.

“The MC815 was selected because of its ability to travel in on the paved surface on its bolt-on rubber track pads and hoist in limited access areas,” said Randy Hoffman, business development manager for Preston Rentals in Englewood, CO.

The MC815 was selected because it could travel in on the paved surface on its bolt-on rubber track pads, rapid set up and ability to hoist in a limited access area.

The crane was used to hoist steel beams utilizing a below-the-hook beam clamp. The steel erection contractor could hoist and precisely position the beams in place quickly and efficiently.

“This crane was tailor-made for the project,” Hoffman explained. “There would have been no way to get a large crane in there.”

Perfect solution

The contractor had rented from Preston Rentals before and knew the Maeda MC815 was the perfect solution. With a capacity of 17,800 pounds and a maximum lifting height of 64 feet 3 inches (83 feet 6 inches with the optional fly jib), the crane had a maximum working radius of 61 feet 6 inches. Pick and carry capacity was 2,400 pounds. The specification included wireless remote control and front and side view cameras.

“Once you operate this crane you realize what it can do, and you find all kinds of jobs for it,” Hoffman said. “We rent and sell the Maeda line of cranes. They are the best and easiest to operate in the industry.”

Maeda America and its dealers are leading the way in mini-crane safety and technology, he said.