And the West is History: 800 block of Main Avenue – ca. 1888

Called the “Brick Block” at the time this photograph was taken, these buildings were built of brick and masonry, by city mandate. They were intended to act as a fire break should downtown catch fire. Most businesses were made of wood-frame construction, and many burned in the great downtown fire of 1889. These buildings did not. Unfortunately, in August 1974, they burned in a large fire downtown. The doorway on the far left leads to the D.J. Haggart, physician and surgeon office on the second floor and a laundry and steam bath on the first. This became Gardenswartz Sporting Goods. The next doorway is a furniture store. It became the Chez Louis Restaurant. Next is D.K. DeCow Boots and Shoes, later to become Thompson Saddle Shop. The last building with the pointed pediment is the Kruschke building, built in 1886. It was a dry goods store when this picture was taken. It was occupied by Taylor-Raymond Jewelers when it was destroyed in the 1974 fire. – Ed Horvat for Animas Museum, edhorvat@animasmuseum.org (Catalog Number: 91.34.2.15 from the La Plata County Historical Society Photo Collections)