Minturn (1885, 7,817 feet), named for a railroad official, grew up around a D&RG roundhouse and remains a blue-collar town strung out along the tracks. Locals once worked on the railroad, in Battle Mountain mines, and at lumbering, but most now labor in nearby resort communities. Many small, well-kept old houses enhance this town of 1,000. The roundhouse and rail-yards, although diminished, remain busy. Despite its humdrum architecture, the new Turntable Restaurant next to the yards features historical memorabilia and railroadi-ana. A Lionel D&RG circles the ceiling, a model of the famous Red Cliff Bridge spans the restroom entrance, and photographs by William Henry Jackson line the walls. This cafe-museum is attached to the large D&RG dormitory and offers a year-round haven for railroad workers and the general public with the front-door invitation, “Come on in or we'll both starve.”
The Battle Mountain Trading Post, 1031 South Main, and the Eagle River Hotel (1894), 145 North Main, are notable for their goods and services as well as for their antiquity. The latter has been redesigned in Southwestern adobe style as a bed and breakfast inn.
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