Strater Hotel has anchored Durango’s Main Avenue since 1887. This red-brick Victorian landmark calls itself the town’s living history museum, and its Diamond Belle Saloon still fills with ragtime piano every night.

Cleveland pharmacist Henry Strater bet on Durango’s future when it was still a rough mining camp. With his brothers and father, he built a grand hotel for $70,000, using 376,000 native red bricks and hand-carved sandstone cornices and sills. In the early years it was a popular winter retreat. Durango families would close their own homes in the cold months and move into the hotel, where every room had its own wood-burning stove. Western author Louis L’Amour later made Room 222, right above the saloon, his summer writing room. He said the honky-tonk music set the mood for his Sackett novels.

Today the Strater has 88 individually decorated rooms with Bradbury and Bradbury wallpapers and what the hotel describes as the world’s largest collection of American Victorian walnut furniture. You don’t need to book a room to enjoy it. Step into the lobby to see its shadow boxes and antiques, grab lunch or dinner at the Diamond Belle Saloon (served by Belle Girls in period costume), sit down for dinner at the Mahogany Grille, or order a cocktail in The Office Spiritorium. Both bars have live music every evening. The hotel is also a short walk from the depot of the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad.

Insider tip: The Diamond Belle is open from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, with happy hour from 4 to 6 p.m. on weekdays and food until 9 p.m. It doesn’t take reservations, so come early for a seat near the piano. The Mahogany Grille does take reservations, and they’re strongly encouraged. Hotel check-in is at 4 p.m.

Live music plays every evening in The Office Spiritorium (6 to 9 p.m.) and the Diamond Belle Saloon (5:30 to 9 p.m.), including longtime ragtime favorites, and the Strater says its musicians play 365 days a year. As winter settles in, the hotel makes a cozy base for ski days and holiday strolls along Durango’s historic Main Avenue. See the music calendar at strater.com.