subject: Durango Colorado Living and Business [print this page] Durango Colorado Living and Business Durango Colorado Living and Business
Durango Co Business
The City of Durango is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of La Plata County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the city population was 16,627 in 2009. The town was organized in September 1881 by the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad (D&RG;) to serve the San Juan mining district. The D&RG; chose a site south of Animas City for its depot after Animas City refused to pay a dowry to the D&RG;. 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 is nestled in the Animas River Valley surrounded by the San Juan Mountains. The Animas River-El R?o de las Animas-runs through downtown and boasts gold medal fly fishing waters, and is popular for whitewater rafting, kayaking and canoeing. Durango is also popular for outdoor activities like hiking, mountain biking, road biking, backpacking, rock climbing, hunting, off-roading, year-round fishing, kayaking and golfing.
Durango is most known for the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, a heritage railway, which travels from Durango to the historic mining town of Silverton, Colorado on steam-powered trains with rolling stock dating back to the 1920s and before.
Durango is also home to the Snowdown Festival, an event which includes fireworks and a parade. The parade is the centerpiece and usually occurs the last Friday of January or the first Friday of February. Along with the nearby town of Pagosa Springs, Durango also hosts the annual Music in the Mountains summer music festival, which features performances by many of the world's finest classical musicians.
Main Avenue cuts through Downtown Durango, home to clothing boutiques, restaurants, newsstands, tourist and gift shops, a mall, bars, lounges and other businesses. Many buildings downtown are several stories high and include apartments in the upper levels. Durango's two oldest hotels, The General Palmer and The Strater Hotel, are both at the South end of Main Avenue, one and two blocks away from the train station, respectively. It is also home to many restaurants. Many serve specialty foods including Mexican, Italian, French, Thai and Japanese and others serve American favorites. Main Avenue is walked by thousands of tourists each week, making it the most popular shopping and relaxing tourist destination in Durango.
