After leaving Durango, I drove around the San Juan Skyway Scenic Byway, making my first stop in the town of Silverton. I arrived about 10:45 and walked around the cute town. It was still sunny, but I could see dark clouds and rain over the route I’d just driven. I put my leftover momos and garlic naan, from dinner the previous night at the Himalayan Kitchen, on the dashboard to warm in the sun. This town would be my favorite of the three on the San Juan Skyway, the others being Ouray and Telluride.
When the first buildings of Silverton appeared in 1874, the hamlet lay 125 miles from the nearest post office. Though railroad service commenced in 1862, snowdrifts often blocked the tracks for weeks on end. To compound the isolation, Silverton’s climate and topography made farming almost impossible. Residents had to wait for food shipped from elsewhere. But the area’s rich mineral deposits — not just gold and silver but also iron, lead, zinc and copper — assured the town’s prosperity for years to come.
The nineteenth century miner had a hardscrabble life. Twelve hours a day, six days a week, he spent underground, drilling holes into solid rock, filling them with explosives, blasting the stone into rubble, and hefting the pieces into ore cars. Even when tools improved, there were many miseries and perils: tight dimly lit spaces, dust that suffused his lungs (and often killed him), and ever-present threats of cave-ins. He made only $3-$4/hour, likely more than he’d make anywhere else, but it was a perilous occupation.
At one time Silverton was served by four railroads, which were vitally important to the development of mines, hauling out ore and bringing in coal and supplies. They made mining lower grade ore profitable. They provided lifelines to the people living in the communities.
Ironically, Silverton’s remoteness proved to be an asset, for it preserved the town’s scenery and Victorian character, spurring its development as a tourist destination in the mid-20th century.
When men started bringing their wives and children to Silverton in 1874, the residents had some incentive to keep at least some of the town respectable. From the beginning, an imaginary line ran down Greene Street, dividing the town between the law-abiding, church-going residents and the gamblers, prostitutes, variety theaters, dance halls and saloons. From its earliest history, Blair Street developed as the red light district. In 1883, a Grand Jury brought 117 indictments against “lewd women.” Although fines were levied, prostitution and gambling were generally accepted as long as they didn’t migrate into the respectable part of town. Fines were generally used as revenues to support the growing community.
I first walked down Greene Street, the “respectable” side of town.

old car inside a Silverton shop
Adelaide’s Antiques was built in 1901 and was primarily used as a hardware store until 1982.

Adelaide’s Antiques

shop on Greene Street

The Rum Bar on Greene Street

colorful Greene Street

Greene Street

mural on Greene Street
The Storyteller Indian Store was originally the Posey & Wingate Building of 1880, making it the oldest commercial brick building in western Colorado. It has served as a hardware and clothing store, beer hall and First National Bank of Silverton from 1883-1934.

Storyteller Indian Store

Storyteller Indian Store
The Funnel Cake Factory was built in 1875 as Alhambra Saloon.

Greene Street
Rocky Mountain Gifts was built in 1884 as St. Julien Restaurant and served as a saloon for many years. Next door, Fetch’s, built in 1883, mostly served as a saloon with gambling on the basement and main floors.

Greene Street
The Grand Imperial Hotel/Ortega’s Old Town Indian Store was built in 1882 as Grand Hotel. The main floor housed a variety of businesses including saloons, clothing stores, and newspaper offices. The second floor was once used as a courthouse.

Grand Imperial Hotel
Prior to World War II, Romero’s served as Silverton Barbershop. After WWII, Silverton Veterans of Foreign Wars moved in and established a club.

Greene Street

Greene Street
After walking up and down Greene Street and popping into its cute shops, I ventured over to the notorious Blair Street.
In its heyday, Silverton’s Blair Street was lined with bordellos and saloons. The streets were raucous and bawdy with the hardworking miners who were happy to escape the darkness of the mines. Nowadays, the street is fairly quiet except when the train from Durango comes in.
The oldest portion of Natalia’s/The Scarlet House composite structure was built in 1883, and known as the infamous 557, one of the first dens of iniquity on Blair Street. Enlarged in 1886 to add the right-hand segment, the building was most widely known as Mattie’s Place, or the Welcome Station. The ground floor has been a saloon, movie theater, and restaurant.

Natalia’s 1912 Restaurant
The Shady Lady Saloon was likely built in the late 1890s. Its premises were occupied by “Mamie Murphy” and “Kate Starr,” but the best-remembered madam was “Jew Fanny,” considered a good friend by Silvertonians from all walks of life.

Shady Lady Saloon

Artistic Blacksmithing
The Old Town Square contains some of the oldest buildings in San Juan County.

Old Town Square
The front portion of Professor Shutterbug’s contained the oldest bordello on Blair Street.

Professor Shutterbug’s Old Thyme Portraits
The other cabins in the Old Town Square include the original San Juan County Courthouse from Howardsville and miner’s cabins from Eureka.

Indian at Old Town Square
The Bent Elbow Hotel, Restaurant and Saloon was erected in 1907 and was originally known as the Florence Saloon, operated until 1918.

Bent Elbow
One of the newer buildings on Blair Street, the Old Arcade was built in 1929, and has been used at various times as a pool hall, a saloon, and a gambling house.

Old Arcade Trading Co.
The Villa Dallavalle Inn was one of the first substantial buildings on Blair Street, built in 1901 by John and Domenica Dallavalle. It housed a saloon and boardinghouse for years.

Villa Dallavalle Inn

Hungry Moose Bar & Grill
The Old Town Jail is not the oldest jail in the community, but this wooden version was the first substantial prison built by the town of Silverton in 1883.

Silverton Jail

Villa Dallavalle Inn
I made my way back to Greene Street, where I walked to the end and back to my car.

Greene Street
The Town Hall was built in 1909 using native stone. It was restored in 1976 with the assistance of a grant from the National Park Service.

Town Hall
At the end of Greene Street is a Museum, County Jail, Mining Heritage Center. The Courthouse was built in 1907. Newly renovated, it is still in use.

Museum at Courthouse Square

boarding house at Courthouse Square
Back in my car, I ate my leftover momos and garlic naan, which had warmed up nicely on the dashboard, and headed north on the San Juan Skyway toward my next destination, Ouray.
*Saturday, May 19, 2018*
Information above is from various signs along the road and a pamphlet of a Downtown Silverton Walking Tour.
*********************
“PHOTOGRAPHY” INVITATION: I invite you to create a photography intention and then create a blog post for a place you have visited. Alternately, you can post a thematic post about a place, photos of whatever you discovered that set your heart afire. You can also do a thematic post of something you have found throughout all your travels: churches, doors, people reading, people hiking, mountains, patterns, all black & white, whatever!
You probably have your own ideas about this, but in case you’d like some ideas, you can visit my page: photography inspiration.
I challenge you to post no more than 20-30 photos and to write less than 500-800 words about any travel-related photography intention you set for yourself. Include the link in the comments below by Wednesday, March 6 at 1:00 p.m. EST. When I write my post in response to this challenge on Thursday, March 7, I’ll include your links in that post.
This will be an ongoing invitation, every first and third (& 5th, if there is one) Thursday of each month. Feel free to jump in at any time. 🙂
I hope you’ll join in our community. I look forward to reading your posts!
the ~ wander.essence ~ community
I invite you all to settle in and read a few posts from our wandering community. I promise, you’ll be inspired!
- Carol, of The Eternal Traveler, posted some great photos of the Black Creek Pioneer Village in the suburbs of Toronto, Canada.
- Meg, of wordsandimages, went out into the town of Stanthorpe armed with intentions to find “signs, green, shop displays, vibrant colours, people, … houses, and … a richness of street art.”
Thanks to all of you who shared posts on the “photography” invitation. 🙂
An interesting walk and feature about “When time stands still”. And the photo with the car is my absolute favourite.
LikeLike
I loved that car too, Ulli. These Colorado towns are really places where time has stood still. They were interesting studies on the mining boom in the San Juan Mountains. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a colourful and interesting town and so many of the historic buildings have been preserved. Great photography opportunity
LikeLike
Thank you, Pauline. It was so much fun wandering these streets and taking photos of this colorful town. And it was a beautiful day, too! 🙂
LikeLike
Good weather always enhances the scenery
LikeLiked by 1 person
Another thing I like about your posts from the USA is that they all remind me of my childhood and Saturday mornings in the cinema watching cowboy films. Today’s was no different, Durango and Silverton (which I always thought was Silvertown) featured hugely in the old black and white films of my early days and although I cannot recognise the streets from my memories (I seem to remember that they all looked alike, hitching-posts, bars with swing doors, roofs on which to have a gun-fight – and fall from – there is enough here to whet my appetite. Love pictures, as usual, and I’m particularly taken with The Bent Elbow, marvellous name for a pub. What is the peculiar flat flying from the Shop on Greene Street?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks so much, Mari. You’re so right that these towns bring back reminiscences of old westerns on TV or in the movies. I loved the names of some of these places. And I found it so interesting they had a respectable street and one for the prostitutes and drunks! 🙂 As for that flag, I’m sorry to say I have no idea what that is! 🙂
LikeLike
What an interesting place – like a living museum – I love the names “The Bent Elbow Hotel” made me chuckle 🙂
LikeLike
Lots of interesting shop names in these towns, Jude. Silverton was a fun and colorful town. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve always enjoyed my visits to Silverton. It’s a favorite of mine. You captured the towns character beautifully.
LikeLike
Thanks so much, Ingrid. I thought it was so charming! 🙂
LikeLike
I used to live in Durango and miss the San Juan’s so much. Your post about traveling around this area is very exciting for me to read and follow along! I can’t wait to read more!
LikeLike
Thank you so much for stopping by and commenting. Your life as a Colorado native must be wonderful – I love Colorado! – and how interesting that you write about the Colorado food scene. My son is a butcher apprentice in Denver. I visited him during this trip and we did some hikes around Denver, including Red Rocks. 🙂
LikeLike
What a wonderful town to visit. I love that purple building and the backdrop of snow capped mountains is gorgeous.
LikeLike
Thanks for including my 1867 post here Cathy. My next one, still in the past, might be suitable too. https://theeternaltraveller.wordpress.com/2019/02/17/sensing-the-past/
LikeLike
Thanks for sharing this one, Carol. I’ll link it to my next photography post of March 7. Feel free to link to mine in your post and then I’ll get the pingback and add it to the next post. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Carol. The towns around the San Juan Skyway were so charming and colorful, and really took me back in time. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a beautifully preserved town. Your words really recreate its history, and the whole feel of the Wild West, at least as portrayed in movies. I’m interested in its dates. It always seems to me that when I say “old “ in Australian terms, it feels puny in comparison with European old. But your “old” here is cognate. There is even a Silverton, unsurprisingly, in a very different landscape – no chance of snowy peaks here in the Australian outback. Current population about 89. You can see the landscape in the header for this site http://www.aussietowns.com.au/town/silverton-nsw
Thanks for linking to my photographically overloaded Stanthorpe post.
LikeLike
I guess Silverton now depends quite heavily on tourism and outdoor adventures, so it is preserved quite well, Meg. I love your Silverton in NSW, it’s similar but set, as you say, in an entirely different landscape. I think the time periods are in sync between the U.S. and NSW. I love how the population in your Silverton is 89. It led me to look up Silverton, CO’s population: 637 as of 2010. 🙂 As for linking to your posts, I’m always happy to do so. 🙂
LikeLike
I love these old western towns, especially when they have a mountain view at the end of the street, and this one is particularly pretty.
LikeLike
This one was my favorite, besides Durango, and I was lucky to have some blue skies. Set in the San Juan Mountains, it is quite pretty. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a pretty town! And again that lovely backdrop, Cathy 🙂 🙂
LikeLike
It was very charming, Jo. And I loved the respectable street next to the decadent one. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a lovely pictureque town 🙂
LikeLike
Thanks, Gilly. It was very charming and colorful. 🙂
LikeLike