The Gem Theatre at the northwest corner of 10th Street and Main Avenue is pictured in 1921. It was just six years earlier that future world champion boxer Jack Dempsey fought Andy Malloy in this theater. First opened for films and theatrical events in 1913, the theater was Durango’s most popular entertainment venue of its time. It closed as a theater after World War II. The auditorium was the building seen at the far left of the photo. The entrance housed a soda fountain, candy shop and tobacco shop. Now known as the Jarvis building, the arched entry seen on the south-facing side, is still visible today, but as a large window. Look for it when you’re downtown. – Ed Horvat for Animas Museum, edhorvat@animasmuseum (Courtesy of La Plata County Historical Society)