Demolition of a perfectly good and useful building (Chamber of Commerce building in Santa Rita Park) seems like an awful shame to me. This building was the first one I entered, the first time I drove into Durango, in 1994.
What a wonderful place to put a visitor center – at the edge of town on the Animas River, just as you come from south El Camino del Rio, where there are now scores of residences and hotels. Lots of parking, restrooms and all you need to know about this area. A huge playground for children and plenty of room for outdoor gatherings. And it can be used year-round!
The wonderful red building lends itself to so many things, chief among them the Durango Tourism Office Headquarters. The downtown office is nice, but I’ll bet it’s a struggle for tourists to find. And if they can find it, where to park on a hot summer day? The big red building by the river is an oasis in the midst of summer tourism.
Couldn’t a covered pavilion be built without demolishing it? Why not put those basketball and volleyball courts up in the new Fleming Mesa Park? The local schools could use the building to display students’ art.
“So many of those historical memories started at the big red building at Santa Rita Park,” said Jack Llewellyn, Chamber of Commerce president, in Feb. 2 Herald article. Please don’t tear it down. Nothing good about that “goodbye.”
Meredith M. PageDurango
