And the West is History: Paving Main Avenue – 1924

Durango only had dirt or gravel roads for the first 44 years of its existence. Asphalt pavement replaced the streetcar tracks along Main Avenue in June 1924. This photo shows the Strange-Maguire Paving Co. laying down substrate in the 800 block of downtown. The Newman Building is visible to the right of the paving crew. Graden Mercantile and the Strater Hotel are prominent along the street to the south. – Ed Horvat for Animas Museum, edhorvat@animasmuseum (Catalog Number: 16.21.184 from the La Plata County Historical Society Photo Collections)