When it opened in 1933, the Kit Carson Hotel in La Junta, Colorado was described as one of the most modern in the state.   It was not a new structure; it had originally gone up in 1906 as a commercial building, but was renovated by the La Junta Elks Club in 1932-33 as a project for its out-of-work members  — remember, those years were by then the heart of the Great Depression.  When they were done, it was an art deco six-story hotel with 47 rooms (with bath!), the largest ballroom in the region, a barber shop, a beauty salon, a coffee shop, a dining room and office space along with new club rooms for the Elks. Cost was $150,000 (about $3.5 million today).  There were financial failures in that terrible time, but the project was ultimately financed by a bond sale to La Junta residents.

 The Kit Carson Hotel eventually attained status to make it onto the State Register of Historic places.  Unfortunately, through some ownership changes  from the ‘70s to the early 2000s, there were failures to maintain the property and by 2003 it was listed as “endangered”  The Colorado State Historical Society was fronting money for its preservation as early as 2006, but owners couldn’t produce the rest.   Issues like failure to do roof repairs and more were fatal.

 The Kit Carson Hotel was demolished in 2012.

 La Junta is a town of about 7,300 on the old original Santa Fe trail, about 3 hours drive south of Denver.