Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
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It happened to the best of gorgeous Victorian buildings and homes. In the 1950s onward through the 1960s they were considered outdated and gaudy! Sad
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This photograph, which is the first one I took when I was about 17, with my first camera (a Kodak Starmite, taking 127 film (1.25X1.25") and "peanut" flashbulbs), shows the Old Southern Hotel on Hudson Street in my hometown, Silver City, New Mexico:
The building dated from 1872, although it didn't become a hotel until 1880. Its main claim to fame, aside from its architectural significance, was that Billy the Kid's mother worked there as a laundress at about the same time that Billy was arrested and jailed (until he escaped) for robbing a Chinese laundry. From there he went on a years-long killing "spree," although it's never been clear how many men he killed, or if he was a serial killer, or simply a troubled young man living in a violent society.
On the day I took the photo, the hotel's caretaker invited me in for a tour. I remember that the hotel was clearly disintegrating, to the point that I wasn't sure I wanted to walk around inside, but I did, and took two more photos. This one shows some old signs from the hotel, advertising local businesses:
The sign at the upper left, advertises Porterfield's, which was a local pharmacy, I believe. I attended school with Jody Porterfield, who was a descendant of the owner of Porterfield's. My collection of Silver City postcards includes several sold by Porterfield's.
I also got onto the balcony, and took this photo:
Silver City and the surrounding "Mining District" has a deep, fascinating history. In addition to Billy the Kid, think the Buffalo Soldiers, Cochise, Geronimo, the Bataan Death March (every member of the local National Guard was captured by the Japanese after the battle for Corregidor), and lunar astronaut Harrison Schmidt. But in 1990, city council decided that Hudson Street* had to be widened, and the Southern Hotel was in the way. Down it went, replaced by a gas station and convenience store. 
Bob
* On Hudson Street, two or three blocks from the hotel, there's a small rest home called Millie's. It where my mother spent her last couple of years, receiving excellent care. The establishment's name is historical: In my day as a teenager, Millie's, in the same building, was a brothel own by Mildred Cusey, a madam who opened whorehouses from Alaska to New Mexico, was celebrated as a philanthropist, and was a friend of the local police chief, Tommy Ryan. So I can say, almost truthfully, that my mother spent her last years in a whorehouse! There's even a biography about Mildred:
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Bob,
Always enjoy your tales of "old" New Mexico!
George
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In my lifetime they tore down this beautiful gem of a building and replaced it with a Jack in the Box !
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re: What were they thinking ?
It happened to the best of gorgeous Victorian buildings and homes. In the 1950s onward through the 1960s they were considered outdated and gaudy! Sad
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re: What were they thinking ?
This photograph, which is the first one I took when I was about 17, with my first camera (a Kodak Starmite, taking 127 film (1.25X1.25") and "peanut" flashbulbs), shows the Old Southern Hotel on Hudson Street in my hometown, Silver City, New Mexico:
The building dated from 1872, although it didn't become a hotel until 1880. Its main claim to fame, aside from its architectural significance, was that Billy the Kid's mother worked there as a laundress at about the same time that Billy was arrested and jailed (until he escaped) for robbing a Chinese laundry. From there he went on a years-long killing "spree," although it's never been clear how many men he killed, or if he was a serial killer, or simply a troubled young man living in a violent society.
On the day I took the photo, the hotel's caretaker invited me in for a tour. I remember that the hotel was clearly disintegrating, to the point that I wasn't sure I wanted to walk around inside, but I did, and took two more photos. This one shows some old signs from the hotel, advertising local businesses:
The sign at the upper left, advertises Porterfield's, which was a local pharmacy, I believe. I attended school with Jody Porterfield, who was a descendant of the owner of Porterfield's. My collection of Silver City postcards includes several sold by Porterfield's.
I also got onto the balcony, and took this photo:
Silver City and the surrounding "Mining District" has a deep, fascinating history. In addition to Billy the Kid, think the Buffalo Soldiers, Cochise, Geronimo, the Bataan Death March (every member of the local National Guard was captured by the Japanese after the battle for Corregidor), and lunar astronaut Harrison Schmidt. But in 1990, city council decided that Hudson Street* had to be widened, and the Southern Hotel was in the way. Down it went, replaced by a gas station and convenience store.
Bob
* On Hudson Street, two or three blocks from the hotel, there's a small rest home called Millie's. It where my mother spent her last couple of years, receiving excellent care. The establishment's name is historical: In my day as a teenager, Millie's, in the same building, was a brothel own by Mildred Cusey, a madam who opened whorehouses from Alaska to New Mexico, was celebrated as a philanthropist, and was a friend of the local police chief, Tommy Ryan. So I can say, almost truthfully, that my mother spent her last years in a whorehouse! There's even a biography about Mildred:
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re: What were they thinking ?
Bob,
Always enjoy your tales of "old" New Mexico!
George
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