And the West is History: Holiday Inn at Ninth Street – ca. 1970

To get a clear picture of how Durango has changed over the years, postcards can be a great resource. This marketing postcard for the Holiday Inn, built in 1965, shows just how different things were in the early 1970s. Schneider Park had recently been dedicated in 1969. It was named after Werner Schneider, a much loved and respected teacher of 37 years at Durango High School. He died unexpectedly at the age of 61 in 1968. The Ninth Street Bridge is absent and would not be constructed until 1983. Manna soup kitchen and the Durango Community Shelter are also not yet in existence. The very popular A&W Root Beer Drive-in can be seen directly across Camino del Rio from the motel. Today, Vectra Bank is located there. The Holiday Inn is today’s River Roost Apartments. – Ed Horvat for Animas Museum, edhorvat@animasmuseum.org (Catalog Number: 03.53.30 from the La Plata County Historical Society Photo Collections)