If walls could talk

Effort afoot to save historic La Paloma on southside

by Jonathan Romeo

Aroller skating rink. A 3.2 beer joint and dance hall. An antique flea market. And, most recently, a hobby toy store.

The building at 701 E. Second St., in Durango’s historically Hispanic southside neighborhood, has lived many lives since it was built in 1931. But perhaps its most storied legacy, and the one least told, is that it was home to the nation’s oldest Hispano mutual aid society at a time when discrimination against minorities ran high.

For years, the building served as the meeting place for the La Sociedad Protección Mutua de Trabajadores Unidos, or S.P.M.D.T.U., a grassroots organization founded in 1900 in the San Luis Valley to provide protections, workers’ rights and insurance to Hispanic laborers in the region.

Like its chapters across the area, the Durango branch was critical for marginalized Hispanic workers who were not given the same rights as white workers at the time. The building also served as a community meeting ground for weddings, holidays, funerals and other events.

This rich and largely untold history is why the “For Sale or Rent” sign outside the abode building has sparked a preservation effort among local residents who say there is more life to be had in those walls, with dreams of a cultural museum, market, event center and more.

“We’re trying to preserve the history as well as breathe fresh life into it,” Ryan Osborne, one of the organizers, said.

Although still in the early stages, the effort is showing promise. The building’s owner, Fred Garcia, is interested in preservation. And, Colorado’s State Historic Preservation Office is on board, just coming off the heels of helping preserve the first S.P.M.D.T.U. headquarters in

Antonito, about 30 miles south of Alamosa.

“We’re excited about it,” Patrick Eidman, Chief Preservation Officer & Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer, said. “It is a really important part of the history for our state, and we’re hopeful to see a successful outcome to save the building.”

Changing times

Originally, the building, now referred to as “La Paloma,” was built in 1931 to be a roller skating rink. From there, the exact dates and years of what use the property served is blurred, but for the most part, it remained as a dance hall and/or beer joint over the ensuing decades.

Last week, a bunch of longtime locals met at La Paloma to drum up old memories, rattling off the names of bars that came and went. La Paloma. Copy Cat. College Inn. The Railroad Lounge. Party Time. The list goes on.

Garcia’s family purchased the building in 1974. “When I was a kid, my parents used to come dance here all the time,” Garcia said. “My dad loved dancing so much, he ended up buying this place.”

Getting the old-timers together results in a trip down memory lane of serious ragers, barroom fights and failed attempts at wooing the ladies. There’s also that other story, you know, when a competing bar owner hired some thugs to pipe bomb the place.

In more recent years, however, the building has been a bit more domesticated. It has served as a warehouse for a medical equipment company, and then an indoor flea market, which closed in 2017. The building was vacant until January 2021, when it opened as a short-lived hobby toy store.

Now, Garcia, 68, wants to retire (and not shovel snow off the roof every winter). Recently, he placed a for sale/rent sign outside the property. Yet he hopes the preservation plans will come to fruition, as he, too, would like to see the building live on, instead of demolished to make way for expensive apartments.

“It would be great for the community,” he said. “I’m willing to work with (the preservation group), but a lot of things have to fall into place to make it happen.”

Fight for your right … to work

Raucous nights aside, La Paloma’s perhaps most historical significance may be its role as a S.P.M.D.T.U. headquarters. Cue the flashback dream-sequence ...

After the Mexican-American War in 1848, Mexico ceded a huge amount of its territory, including the present-day states of California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, parts of Arizona and Colorado, and others. Add on the Homestead Act, and even more lands were lost to people living on the lands for generations.

For the Hispanic people living in those territories, they not only lost their land. They were considered second-class citizens and cheap labor for farms, railroads and working in the mines. On top of that, the economy transformed from trade-and-barter to a cash economy.

As a result, many Hispanic families didn’t have access to things like insurance or loans. That’s why, in 1900, S.P.M.D.T.U. formed as a kind of insurance collective.

At its height, S.P.M.D.T.U. had a reach in three states with 64 chapters and an estimated 4,000 members all over Colorado, New Mexico and Utah. The organization also became just as important for community events, especially because segregation limited safe areas.

Though membership declined after World War II as more people moved to cities, some chapters still live on. And, more recently, there has been a concerted effort to help bring the story of the S.P.M.D.T.U. to the forefront.

In May 2022, an estimated $1.4 million through the state and other grants were awarded to restore the first S.P.M.D.T.U. building, constructed in 1925 in Antonito. Not only will it serve as a meeting place for the

S.P.M.D.T.U., Eidman said, it will also be an events center for the community.

“The history of S.P.M.D.T.U. isn’t well known,” Eidman said, “which is why it’s important we understand and honor and acknowledge that history.”

Dreamin’ big

Southside resident Tony Gallegos, 77, remembers the old days fondly but doesn’t whitewash history. Durango was a rough place for people of color, he said.

“They needed a place to congregate; the Anglos were not too receptive,” he said. “Having our own place, everyone would get along – most of the time. Drinking and dancing, that’s what it was all about. Some nights it seemed like the floor would move because of the weight.”

(We’ll leave it to you to flag these guys down to get some seriously funny stories, such as the time a man, who some believe was the devil incarnate, walked in and stole everyone’s dates, or the guy who got shot in the face, only to get back up and beat up his assailant.)

Eidman said representatives with the state’s historic office will visit Durango next week to survey the site and discuss preservation. The first step, he said, is applying for and getting a historic designation, either at the local or state level, which would open up grant funding.

“Durango obviously has high development pressure and high land values, so in trying to secure a future for this building, we’re interested in seeing how we can support that work,” he said.

Osborne, for his part, has no lack of ideas for what the space could become: a community center, a spot for classes on Indigenous sustainable ag and healthy food, a coffee shop, dance hall, event center. And of course, a museum to tell the story of S.P.M.D.T.U.

“We want a museum of living history to honor history overlooked for so many years,” he said. “I’m confident we can get it done. There’s always a way.”

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help preservation efforts at La Paloma. Check it out here: tinyurl.com/3r8dywsn