Day 4: Montrose, CO

We did indeed have a slow, and for the most part, relaxing day today. We opted to rest in and save activity for tomorrow, so after a mid-morning breakfast we all did our Wal-Mart (Jim and Bobbie) and Walgreen (Suz and Rando) shopping and then headed downtown for lunch.

Montrose was named for The Legend of Montrose, a novel by Sir Walter Scott (at least according to the official Montrose site). It--like many Colorado towns--has a historic downtown with beautiful buildings. Another great thing about Colorado (at least for those of us who are dog lovers) is that it and many of its towns are dog friendly.

We had lunch streetside at the Daily Bread Deli & Bakery. As Rand put it, "Colorado is as close to California as you can get without going there." Kate was the perfect lady, and was lying by the table during lunch. She never moved as people passed by, and when one man stopped, let her sniff his hand, and then patted her and said "beautiful dog" she just wagged her tail and never made a move to get up. It was a pretty day, and though warmer than we had expected at 90, it was still pleasant with the shade and breeze.

Lunch was great--BLT & avo for me, on home-baked bread, with a Colorado cole slaw and raspberry tea; grilled ham & cheese for Rando (and Kate :); and "crabby salad on avo" for Jim and Bob. We discussed various afternoon trips and decided we should rest (since it was mid-afternoon by then) and make a full day of it tomorrow.

Rand and I made a stop at the Montrose Harley-Davidson for him to get a tee shirt and then I dropped him and Kate at the room while I went to the grocery store for a few room items. The City Market had a beautiful array of fresh breads, veggies and fruits, and a deli counter that made me wish I was buying dinner. Then there was the coffee bar, the flower stall, and so on. After stocking up on fresh fruit, bread and cheese and drinks, (and I confess, thinking of our friend Rich and his love for wonderful grocery stores and how much I loved this one!) I had to stop for a few pictures on the way "home."
The Fox Theater opened on October 29, 1929, amid reports of the stock market collapse. Bobbie and I had discussed the oddity of a minaret in Montrose, Colorado (or so it seemed to us in the historic downtown buildings) as we lunched across the street. According to the history, the "paint was not dry on the minaret" when the news came, yet that night, people came to the opening of the theater.
The former Elks building--circa 1926--is now a city building. It was renovated/restored for current use by architects (EL Malvaney at Miss Pres, forgive me for forgetting to note their names) who are renowned for their historical renovation expertise.
The current United Methodist Church (cornerstone indicates Methodist Episcopal 1917) caught my eye as I left the BPOE building. The church was established in the late 1800s, but the groundbreaking for a new building occurred in 1909, and this building (according to the church's historian site) occurred 10 years later. It was a beautiful building and this photo does not do it justice. There were 3 young boys (maybe around 11-13?) who were riding their bicycles up the newly added handicap ramp and then down the original stairs, but they respectfully stopped while I took my pictures. To be truthful, I really wanted to talk to them and find out a bit about life here and their relationship with the church (besides the obvious) but I had been gone much longer than anticipated by then, and while they were respectful, they had not seemed more than politely responsive to my smile and thanks for letting me take the pictures.
The Masonic Temple building, built in 1911, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and is identified as the Classical Revival style.

Now, truthfully, I would not know Classical Revival style from anything, except since reading MissPres, I feel a sense of obligation to learn as much as I can when noting historical buildings (and am totally open to comments and corrections and value them). I only know I have loved historic buildings and interesting architecture for a long time (thanks, Grandma, for instilling that in me), but I also have learned to love learning about them and the various styles and features. I appreciate the guidance from ELMalvaney and others on MissPres, and the occasional comments by readers, such as Dwight on the post about Elk City, Oklahoma. It is fun to see a building and try to figure out particulars (like some of the architecture here, and I think "is that WPA Moderne?" or "is that Art Deco?" and then try to find the answers. We drove down a street today and passed the First Baptist Church, and in the past, I would never have given it a passing glance or thought. Instead, I said to Rand, "Look at that building. That is not what I would think a First Baptist Church looks like. I wonder about that building."

This evening, Jimbo and Bobbie joined us in our "pet friendly" suite for a light supper of the wonderful fresh bread, cheeses, hummus, fresh fruit, and wine, and we planned our excursion for tomorrow when we are all more rested. We enjoyed the laughter of friends, the beauty of a Colorado sky outside our window, and the love of a dog, who just laid on the bed and snoozed while we laughed away.