Crested Butte, CO

Crested Butte was incorporated July 3, 1880, serving the surrounding areas a supply town for hard rock miners and ranchers. Its founder, Howard F. Smith realized that the real economic potential for Crested Butte lay in the plentiful coal deposits in the area. Smith convinced the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad to come to Crested Butte in 1881, and Crested Butte became sort of a coal mining boom town. Coal mining lasted until 1952 with the closing of the Big Mine, and Crested Butte's economy went into recession. The town has since transformed itself into a year round tourist destination offering hiking, biking, rock-climbing, and skiing. Crested Butte is actually two towns, the older Crested Butte and the newer Mount Crested Butte where the ski resort of Crested Butte Mountain Resort is located.

I'm not a downhiller so the focus of my interest and of this presentation is the town of Crested Butte. And as a bonus, I have included a section on Gothic, CO.

Around the Town

This section contains photos from around Crested Butte, with an emphasis on Elk Avenue, which is the historic shopping district (and I think the most interesting part) of the town.

Shopping Center
Corner of Belleview Ave and 6th Street

Kochevars Saloon and Gaming Hall
Forest Queen Hotel (2012)

The Last Steep Bar and Grill

One sign

Many signs

Strange sign

Sean's Great Atomic Indian Bench

Flowers at Misty Mountain Floral

Dragon and Knight Sculptures by Sean Guerrero
719 5th Street

Crested Butte Center for the Arts

Crested Butte, the mountain

Coal Creek

200 Block of Elk Ave

United States Post Office
Crested Butte, CO 81224

200 Block of Elk Avenue

200 Block of Elk Ave

Brick Oven Pizzeria and Pub

200 Block of Elk Street

300 Block of Elk Avenue

300 Block of Elk Ave

Artisan Rug Gallery
311 Elk Ave

300 Block of Elk Ave

Secret Stash Pizza

Secret Stash Tricycle

Store Fronts

I like to take close-up wide angle shots of buildings. It leads to some interesting pictures, especially when the buildings are garishly painted.

John Ingham Gallery

Black Diamond Lodge

Pooh's Corner

Wooden Nickel
Mountain Spirits

Mountain Spirits Liquor

Wooden Nickel

Mountain Tops T-Shirts

Shades of Crested Butte

Forest Queen Hotel (2018)
and Coal Creek Grill

Bluegrass in Paradise

Crested Butte holds an annual bluegrass festival called Bluegrass in Paradise that started in 2010 (I think is might be called Crested Butte Music Festival now). I attended the 2012 edition. The first day (July 14) was really rainy, but the second day (July 15) was pretty nice.

Spring Creek
2012 Bluegrass in Paradise

Soggy Concerteers

Harpeth Rising
2012 Bluegrass in Paradise

This was a good place to get out of the rain

The Greencards
2012 Bluegrass in Paradise

Second Day
Waiting for the show to open

Nice Venue

Stuff for the kids to do

Bonus - Gothic, CO

If you drive north on 6th St it turns into Gothic Road. Continue on for about 7 miles and you end up in the ghost town (almost) of Gothic. Gothic was a silver mining town with its heyday in the late 1800's. Once silver played out, the town became nearly deserted, with only one resident left by 1914, Garwood Judd. Dr. John Johnson bought the town in 1928 and estblished the Rocky Mountain Biological Lab. A few of the original buildings remain and some have been restored. Gothic is home to the Rocky Mountain Bilogical Laboratory that conducts ecological research of the region.