And the West is History: 800 block of Main Avenue – 1960

This postcard photograph captures the 800 block of Main Avenue during summer 1960. Although the movie “Tall Story,” starring Jane Fonda, was released in April of that year, it would not be shown at the Kiva Theater in Durango until several months later, as films typically arrived in theaters long after their initial release. This image provides a clear view of the buildings destroyed in the1974 downtown fire. The fire burned every structure between the Kiva Theater and the light-colored Levine’s building at the north end of the block. Today, the Main Mall occupies this space. – Ed Horvat for Animas Museum, edhorvat@animasmuseum (Catalog Number: 03.53.59 from the La Plata County Historical Society Photo Collections)