The 1892 building (right) constructed as the Central Hotel and now housing the El Rancho Tavern on Main Avenue in Durango, the seat of La Plata County in southern Colorado

Title, date and keywords based on information provided by the photographer.
The town was organized in September 1881 by the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad (D&RG) to serve the San Juan mining district. The city is named after Durango, Mexico, which was named after Durango, Spain. The word Durango originates from the Basque word "urango" meaning "water town." Durango, on the rushing Animas River, qualifies. The El Rancho Tavern is often incorrectly cited as the location of a 1915 heavyweight fight between Jack Dempsey and Andy Malloy. It took place across the street at the Gem Theater.
Credit line: Gates Frontiers Fund Colorado Collection within the Carol M. Highsmith Archive, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.
Gift; Gates Frontiers Fund; 2015; (DLC/PP-2015:068).
Forms part of: Gates Frontiers Fund Colorado Collection within the Carol M. Highsmith Archive.