And the West is History: Durango Bottling Works – ca. 1902

These men are standing at the corner of Main Avenue and 14th Street, now the Auto Zone parking lot. The Durango Bottling Works existed as early as 1887 and as late as 1933 in numerous locations around Durango. A search of early newspapers reveals that this location pictured was its home in 1902 and 1903. In 1904, an upholstery store and mattress factory occupied this building, connected to Charles Naeglin’s Blacksmith shop to the south. By 1916, the bottling company was at 645 Main Ave., two doors south of the Strater Hotel. The business offered many different brands throughout the years, both alcoholic and nonalcoholic. – Ed Horvat for Animas Museum, edhorvat@animasmuseum.org (Catalog Number: 92.19.15 from the La Plata County Historical Society Photo Collections).