Strater Hotel — Durango, CO, United States
About Strater Hotel
The Strater is something of a steampunk fever dream, with Victorian and Old West motifs coming on sstrong (there are summertime shootouts). Room 222 sits directly above the Diamond Belle Saloon, the hotel's ragtime piano bar, and this was a selling point according to Louis L'Amour, whose saga about one pioneer family seems to have roots in the heavy wood furniture, delicate, flowery wallpaper, and silk-vest-with-suspenders ambiance of the Strater. L'Amour would type at room 222's original drop-leaf table, choosing it specifically because he could work while the ragtime piano played into the night below. (today the hotel cuts the piano music at bedtime). At the time, his children, Beau and Angelique, slept in the room next door as he caught some (semi-)quiet work time. It was such a writing hack that he and his family would spend a good part of the summers in Durango for years, especiall…
Literary significance
In August 2012, Room 222 was formally designated a National Literary Landmark by the Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends and Foundations. All rooms are high-Victorian old-Western themed.
Authors
Location
699 Main Avenue, Durango, CO 81301, United States