I noticed this small town on my first drive from Montrose to Telluride. The central core is so small that you might miss it, passing by it on the highway. Except it’s at the junction of US 550 and Colorado 62, so I got a decent glimpse of it as I made the turn. About 48 minutes from Telluride, Ridgeway is roughly halfway between the two larger cities.

We made a day trip from Telluride, and Ridgeway was our first stop. The True Grit Cafe caught my eye as the most elaborate building in a small row of retail on the main strip. The place is so tiny that I didn’t expect to find such a storied history. Multiple films were shot there, including “True Grit,” “Tribute to a Bad Man,” “How the West Was Won,” “The Sons of Katie Elder,” “Butch Cassidy and the Sun Dance Kid,” and most recently, “The Hateful Eight. So you know where the name of the cafe came from.

In addition, the Grammy Award is fabricated by a company located in Ridgeway. I couldn’t have imagined all this impact from such a modest town. The Old West architecture sets it apart from the regular places you might see driving along the highway, so it may be special on multiple levels.

This saloon is just a continuation of the first picture on the left side. Although I shot the first picture with the GFX 50R and this second with the Fuji X-E3, I have dialed in the colors to better match each other. At these web sizes, you can’t tell the difference between the APS-C X-E3 with a kit lens and the 51MP medium-format GFX.

I didn’t find a detailed history of the architecture, but many of these buildings, while looking old, don’t look quite right. The saloon looks heavily modified, and the building to its right looks modern with a weathered wood facade. Even the True Grit Cafe looks a little off, like a Hollywood remake of an Old West structure. This is just a guess on my part; I could be completely wrong.

This Fire Department building looks more authentic with adequate detailing in its tower. I’m sure more historic buildings were left over from this 1890s town, but my wife and I didn’t stay very long.

I snapped this hardware store on the way out. It’s the most old-timey hardware store I’ve ever seen, but this building also looks like a relatively new recreation. It lacks any ornamentation typical of 19th-century buildings, and the windows don’t look right. Perhaps the town has a design ordinance to keep its rustic character for new development.

Even though these newer buildings look slightly off, most people wouldn’t notice. Plus, it’s much better than having modern tilt-wall construction upset the fabric of this historic place. The town has done a great job of distinguishing itself and maintaining its character.

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