Silverton
Grand Imperial Hotel
Completed in 1883 as the Grand Hotel, a year after the railroad reached Silverton; the hotel says it was called the largest building south of Denver.
- Built
- 1883Commissioned 1882 as the Thomson Block and completed in 1883 in just under 10 months as the Grand Hotel; later renamed the Imperial.
- Style
- Victorian (granite and brick commercial block)
- Type
- Grand hotel
- Credentials
- Inside a National Register historic district; National Historic Landmark
The story
The first train from Durango reached Silverton on July 4, 1882, the year the hotel’s founder commissioned the Thomson Block. Completed in 1883, it was called the largest single structure south of Denver and ‘the social center of the San Juans’. It was sold and renamed the Imperial Hotel, changing hands again in 1951. The Harper family, who also run the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, restored its structure, plumbing, rooms and woodwork.
Good to know
- Address: 1219 Greene Street, Silverton, CO 81433
Sources (2)
Last verified October 2026. Details change; confirm with the inn before you book.