And the West is History: Downtown 700 block fire – 1948

Thought at the time to be a bigger economic disaster than the great Durango fire of 1889, the February 1948 fire on the west side of Main Avenue between Seventh and Eighth streets caused about $1 million in losses. When calculating for inflation, the 1889 fire was actually costlier. This fire burned from 7 p.m. Feb. 17 to 10 a.m. the next day. The cause was never determined. It took out two of the town’s major retailers, the Durango Mercantile and the Graden Mercantile. Graden was able to salvage some merchandise and reopened down the block within 10 days. This photo is one of 220 to appear in the upcoming Images of “America – La Plata County,” by Ed Horvat, to be published in July. – Ed Horvat for Animas Museum, edhorvat@animasmuseum.org (Catalog Number: 92.22.164 from the La Plata County Historical Society Photo Collections)