Volume 1: Early Durango
These postcards depict the early days of Durango, Colorado. According to The City of Durango, the town was created by the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad Company in September 1880 as a location for smelters to work the silver and gold being mined nearby. Durango’s more moderate climate at an elevation of 6,512 feet above sea level, a steady water supply from the Animas River, and the availability of coal made it a good choice. The city was named after Durango, Mexico, supposedly because the territorial governor at the time thought the geography was similar. (source)
Pages
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- Stone bridge across Animas River at flood stage
- View of the stone bridge across Animas River at Main Avenue Durango, Colorado, during a flood.
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- Stone bridge over Animas River, Main Avenue. (Durango, Colo.)
- Photo of Animas River flowing underneath Main Avenue stone bridge. Trees are on both sides of the river.
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- Stone bridge, bet. north and south, Durango, Colo.
- Foreground view of Animas River, with the Animas River Bridge in the background. Bridge is made of stone with arched portals. Tree line the riverbank and there are power lines within the vicinity of the bridge. Back of postcard has a one (1) cent stamp, a 1909 postmark, and correspondence.
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- Strater Hotel (Durango, Colo.)
- Photo of four-story Strater Hotel in downtown Durango to left of the building is a store front. Card appears hand-colored over a b/w photo.
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- Strater Hotel (Durango, Colo.)
- Photo of four-story Strater Hotel in downtown Durango. A man with a hat is walking to the right of the building. Streets appear to be not yet unpaved.
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- Strater Hotel and Durango Courthouse (Durango, Colo.)
- Photo of Strater Hotel in a square cutout on the right side and the La Plata County Courthouse in a circular cutout on the left side
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- Strater Hotel and Main Avenue (Durango, Colo.)
- Photograph of Main Street, showing the Strater Hotel in Durango, Colorado.
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- Street scene (Durango, Colo.)
- Aerial view of downtown Durango at an intersection. There are many people on the street, some on horseback. Smoke from the train billowing in the background.
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- Streetcar #5 on Main Avenue in Durango, Colo.
- The Durango, Brookside, and Animas City streetcar #5 on Main Avenue in Durango, Colorado. A Real Photo postcard. From the R. H. Kindig collection.
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- Streetcar tracks on Main Avenue in Durango
- Real photo view of a woman near the streetcar tracks on the nearly deserted dirt main street in Durango. Salone Italiano is to the right, and further down on that side is the sign for S.M. Biggs & Co. Furniture. The Strater Hotel and the Savoy Hotel are in the background on the left.
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- Sunset at Electra Lake (Durango, Colo.)
- Photograph of sunset at Electra Lake. Two aspen trees are in the foreground. A structure is partially seen to the right of the second tree.
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- T. E. Bowman, Publisher, Durango, Colo.
- Sepia photos of a Baptist Church, Presbyterian church, and St. Mark's Church. Durango, Colo.