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D&SNG owner buys Grand Imperial

1882 hotel built same year railroad arrived
Harper

A company controlled by Al Harper, who owns the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, has completed the purchase of the 40-room Grand Imperial Hotel in Silverton for $1.6 million.

Harper said he plans to spend $500,000 for immediate improvements, and another $1 million during the next few years to redecorate and upgrade each room.

“For years, I’ve been looking for a way to find a new edge for the railroad,” Harper said Monday. “Even though we’re 133 years old, we’ve got to find new ways of thinking.”

The Silverton hotel is on the town’s main drag, at 1219 Greene St. It was built in 1882 – the same year the railroad arrived in Silverton. Harper’s vision for the hotel is to pair it with railroad tickets for a packaged experience that evokes the 1880s.

“Basically, you can check in and get on the train and be in the 1880s for your whole visit,” he said.

Harper said train passengers will have their bags transported to the hotel by the time they arrive. Formal dinners and entertainment will go along with the historic theme, as will staff uniforms.

“I want to put everybody in period attire who works for us up there,” Harper said.

The steam-engine railroad is one of the Durango area’s biggest tourist draws, bringing in about 175,000 riders annually. Tourist-focused businesses have had a couple of strong years after a steep downturn touched off by the Great Recession.

The Durango & Silverton Railroad has been buoyed by special events and themed train excursions, Harper said. December – once a quiet month – now draws 25,000 riders for the Polar Express.

Harper said reservations for this year are running 6 percent higher than last year.

Offering the hotel and railroad in a package deal plays into a growing interest in cultural tourism, said Bob Kunkel, executive director of the Durango Area Tourism Office.

“Not all the tourists are tourists anymore – there are a greater percentage who think of themselves as adventurers,” he said.

The package is unlike anything else offered in the area, he added.

Harper has considered other possibilities over the years. He’s explored building a large hotel and convention center near the railroad depot in downtown Durango. He’s also discussed purchasing the Strater Hotel from the Barker family. Neither idea has come to fruition.

Harper’s purchase via a limited liability company, American Heritage Railways Hotels, was completed Friday. George Foster, of Silverton, was the seller. The transaction was first reported Monday by the Silverton Standard & the Miner.

cslothower@durangoherald.com



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