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September 1940. "Old Imperial hotel built in Silverton, Colorado, during its heyday." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
I stayed here for four days about 12 years ago and found it to be incredibly beautiful and still largely unspoiled. It was Labor Day weekend and very uncrowded. The train pulled into the middle of town and there was a brass band under the streetlight. The statue of Christ of the Mountains made of Italian marble is impressive. When we were there the town had a dispute with the cable company so they cut off all the cable so we had no internet, no TV and one religious radio station. We went and rented old movies off the shelf at the grocery store and played cards at night. Went to a blind auction at the town hall.
A wonderful weekend. I want to go back
My wife and I stayed there a couple of years ago, and it was a pleasant visit. The rest of Silverton keeps it grand.
I would have loved to see Silverton back then before the tourist wave hit. Beautiful little mountain town. I'll bet that building could tell some stories. I'm told this is where the phrase "There'll be a hot time in the old town tonight" came from. Still a beautiful area.
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