Salida Centennial Photo Collection
Salida, Colorado celebrated its centennial in 1980. The Salida Centennial Committee compiled this collection of old photographs to help preserve the history of Salida and the surrounding areas. Photos were donated from: • Frank Thomson • Donna Nevens • Salida Museum • Alice Chinn • Salida Fire Department • Josephine Soukup (Kratky) • Ernest Brownson • Alta Proctor • Janice Pennington • Dick Dixon
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- Smeltertown in 1917
- Wet mortar, a trowel and unfinished brick-work in the foreground show the last stage of construction November 14, 1917. Southwest of the new stack is the old stack continuing to spew smoke over the valley. It was torn down a short time after the new smokestack was completed. The view from 365 feet up gives a good idea of the layout of D&RG and company rails. Frank Thomson Collection.
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- Snowstorm at Monarch
- Picture Postcard addressed to: Mr. R G Ellis 921 Kalamath St. Denver Colo Feb 27-18 Hello, Bob, letter received this morning this is the way Monarch looks only it is worse snowing and blowing fierce and a good place to stay away from. What hospital is Myrtle at and why don’t you go to Morrison and see who is left up there also run out and see Arthur at Louises. Will write later–tell Babe Hello. M.T. Don’t think it is ever going to stop snowing. Nellie Ellis Collection.
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- Squirrel
- Squirrel on the same porch that is photographed in 'Unidentified family sitting on house porch.' Janice Pennington Collection.
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- St. Clair Hotel
- Four stories capped with a corner tower made the St. Clair Hotel the tallest building in Salida when it opened for business June 6, 1890, and there are still none that equal or exceed it. The building, located on the northeast corner of First and E Streets, was 75-by-90 feet, included 68 sleeping rooms (many with their own bathrooms) and had a balcony on two sides. There was a fine dining room. Construction cost $45,000, in addition to $8,000 in oak furnishings. A grand ball with music by the Salida Concert Band was held to open what was then Salida’s finest hotel. As an aid to patrons who wanted rides to various points in town, there was 24-hour omnibus (hack) service. The St. Clair was too far from the railroad depot to be successful and succeeding owners renamed it the Hotel Denton and the Rainbow. It was torn down in the early 1970’s. Alice Chinn Collection.
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- Tenderfoot Mountain Behind the Roundhouse
- Tenderfoot Mountain behind the roundhouse, prior to the 1892 fire. Alice Chinn Collection.
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- The Denver & Rio Grande Depot and Railyard
- The depot and railyard, viewed from across the Arkansas River, near where Riverside Park is located today. Alice Chinn Collection.
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- The Drive-In Market in Salida, Colorado
- The Drive-In Market. Harry Williams Collection.
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- The First Church in Salida
- This building is said to be the first church in Salida. It was built during July of 1883, at the corner of 4th and D Streets, and was called the Salida Methodist-Episcopal Church. In 1888 it was replaced by another building. Haley-Bratton Collection.
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- The Mixing Pit at the Brick Yard
- Major fires, two years apart spurred Salidans into a spate of brick construction that eventually saved the town from more devastating damage. A couple of brick yards were in operation before the 1886 fire, but within a year after the 1888 conflagration, there were at least four in production. Clay, sand and water are stirred into a stiff mud before it is packed into molds. It was repetitive, back-wrenching work, but it was lucrative for many years. The mixing pit at the brickworks, Ben Lunnon is kneeling at the right. Pearl Lunnon Collection.
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- The New Denver & Rio Grande Roundhouse
- A major fire occurred in Salida's Denver & Rio Grande Railroad facilities in December 1892, destroying fourteen stalls in the roundhouse, seventeen locomotives, and the machine shops. Railroad employees and citizens managed to save twenty locomotives, but damages were estimated at $400,000. In 1900, nearly $350,000 in improvements were completed, including work on the roundhouse and other facilities of the D & R G and construction of a new D & R G hospital.
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- The O.D.O. Club
- The O.D.O. Club. Frank Thomson Collection.
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- The Smokestack at Smeltertown
- For about 29 months, the 365-foot smokestack did the job for which it was intended, but financial hard times forced the company to close in 1920. The short 85-foot stack beside the tall one was razed in the late 1920’s to provide brick for at least a couple of homes in Salida. Frank Thomson Collection.