And the West is History: Durango downtown – ca. 1894

This photograph was likely taken from the roof of the Strater Hotel, looking northeast along Durango’s 700 and 800 blocks of Main Avenue. Wood plank sidewalks were still in use during this period. Jackson Hardware is visible, mid-block, with the streetcar passing directly in front. The Newman building sits at the corner of Eighth Street and Main Avenue, upper left. The white building near the center of the photo is the S.M. Biggs Furniture store, now occupied by the Durango Welcome Center. The County Courthouse clock tower peeks above the rooflines on the upper right. – Ed Horvat for Animas Museum, edhorvat@animasmuseum (Catalog Number: 07.16.12 from the La Plata County Historical Society Photo Collections)