Trinidad, CO: 6 Fun ways to experience a Downtown Transformation
May 2023: We recently spent the day in Trinidad (Population 8,329*) which is a county seat town along I25 at the southern end of Colorado, just above the New Mexico border. It has a deep and rich history, that greatly influences it as a unique place and culture. Today Trinidad is experiencing another renaissance which we enjoyed exploring!
Trinidad – A Brief History
It would be difficult to understand Trinidad as a place, without knowing something of its origin story. The general area was part of the Sante Fe trail – an early indigenous and later pioneer transportation route to the expanding West.
Discovery of Coal, Mining Operations and Unionization
The town of Trinidad was founded in 1862, soon after coal was discovered in the region. As happens in many towns near a natural resource, this led to a rapid influx of population, estimated at 1200 by the late 1860s. Incorporated in 1876, just a few months before Colorado became a state. By 1900, the population had grown to 7,500.
In the early 1900s, there were a series of horrific mining accidents, highlighting the dangerous conditions for workers. As a result, Labor Unions began to develop, Trinidad became a local focal point for many Union and Management related activities.
Early Architecture
Trinidad’s thriving coal industry brought significant wealth, and with it much stunning architecture. The town is noted for its red brick streets and sidewalks, some of the bricks stamped “Trinidad.” Perhaps no town in Colorado has more fine stone structures, many constructed with the local golden sandstone by a series of master masons and talented architects, most famous being the brothers Isaac Hamilton Rapp, Jr., and William Morris Rapp. Several historic prominent businessmen are also credited for the architectural beauty. Examples include the Jaffa Brothers, who built the Trinidad Opera House and the Temple Aaron, a Jewish Synagogue.
“Sex Change Capital of the world”
In the 1960’s, a talented local veteran surgeon named Dr. Stanley Biber was asked by one of his patients to perform a sex reassignment surgery. Dr.Biber successfully performed the procedure (which he figured out himself through diagram study and research notes) and was eventually sought after expert in this field. At his peak, he averaged four sex-change operations a day.
Utopian Art Counterculture
In the mid 1960s, an Artists’ community called Drop City was formed on land about 4 miles north of Trinidad. It became known the first rural “hippie commune” and was written up in several well known publications before being abandoned in the early 1970s. The experiment left behind a legacy of artistic culture in the community.
“Weed Town USA”
In 2015, Trinidad began to experience a boom related to the newly legalized marijuana industry. A 2018 article in High Times coined the “Weed Town USA” nick name and credits the sale (and resulting tax revenue) of marijuana for helping to revitalize the town of Trinidad, which (as we saw during our visit) does have a significant number of dispensaries per capita.
Fischer Peak State Park – Colorado’s newest state park!
A unique feature stands to the south of Trinidad, known as Fischer’s Peak. Until 2019, this property was privately owned. However, in early 2019, The Fishers Peak property was purchased through a collaboration between the City of Trinidad, The Nature Conservancy, the Trust for Public Land, Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) and Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW). It’s first phase was opened to the public in 2020. With many more plans underway, this park is sure to be a huge tourist draw to the area, as well as a fantastic resource already appreciated by the local community.
Corazon de Trinidad Creative District
In recent years, Trinidad has been leaning into its deep roots in Arts and Culture, by establishing a Creative Art District in the heart of historic Trinidad. One of the defining features is a concept called The Space to Create featuring a live/work space called The Commons.
As you can see, there is a lot going on in Trinidad, much of which builds on its fascinating history! Below are the ways we experienced the energy of Trinidad’s transformation during our visit.
Our Favorite Experiences in Trinidad’s new era of Transformation
1. Hiking in the new Fischer’s Peak State Park
Okay, Fischer’s Peak isn’t downtown, but visiting Colorado’s newest State Park was definitely a big reason we visited the town of Trinidad! We started our day with a 6 mile loop hike amazing views and lots of wildflowers and wildlife footprints.
2. Walking down Main Street downtown and admiring the stunning architecture
Early Trinidad was lucky enough to draw the talents of several prominent architects, stone masons and had the industry money to support an amazing array of beautiful buildings downtown. Most of the buildings are the home of an eclectic mix of businesses, restaurants – and even the Mitchell Museum of Western Art.
There are a wide variety of restaurants, coffee shops, a Tea House and Cocktail/Beer options for a snack!
Here is an Audio Walking Tour made available by Visit Trinidad Colorado
3. ‘City Hiking’ the nearby historic neighborhoods
We once had a friend coin the term ‘City Hiking’ and it has stuck with us. The concept is to trek through neighborhoods – much like you might hike through nature – to see the sights. We explored 2 neighborhoods near downtown. If you love historic buildings and architecture, you will love these neighborhoods!
The first neighborhood is actually a side street called Commercial Street in downtown that is being revitalized real-time. We saw several historic buildings being renovated, literally during our Saturday afternoon visit. A little further down the street we saw what the High Times article above must be referring to when they talked about a street with a high density of marijuana dispensary businesses. But it also had newly renovated second floor lofts, a couple restaurants and a car dealership, so it was an interesting mix of nicely maintained businesses and historic buildings.
- Las Animas Grill – Google Maps
- Trinidad Waffle Company – Google Maps
- Three Sisters Frybread – Google Maps
- Trinidad Creamery – Google Maps
- I Love Sugar – Google Maps
- Sister Blandina Garden – Google Maps
We also walked down W.Plum Street to N.Convent Street where we saw a beautiful old Catholic Church, as well as what we assume are old (now un-used) church related brick buildings. You may also want to check out the architecture of the old Library and City Hall buildings.
- Old Firehouse No. 1 Children’s Museum – Google Maps
- Holy Trinity Catholic Church – Google Maps
- Frank Images – Google Maps
- Trinidad Carnegie Public Library – Google Maps
- City of Trinidad City Hall – Google Maps
Commercial Street 
I Love Sugar Candy Shop 
Tabacco Shop – start of Marajuana block of Commercial Street 
River front – Club 14 Garden Gill and Pub across the Purgatorie River 
Inside of cool looking new “food court” type place 
Trinidad’s 1st City Building 
Trinidad’s 1st City Building 
Holy Trinity Catholic Church 
Old buildings – perhaps belong to the Catholic church? 
Frank Images 
Old city building 
Library 
Library
The second neighborhood is a cool historic neighborhood to the south (southwest) of main street, and has so many fantastic historic homes of all shapes and sizes. Some of our favorites are shared below.
4. Visiting the Trinidad History Museum complex
There are several interesting museums in Trinidad. We chose to visit the Trinidad History Museum, drawn in by two beautiful old historic homes – the Bloom Mansion (Second Empire architecture (not open to the public at this time) and the Baca House (two-story adobe) home that we were able to visit. The Baca family are credited with being one of the founding families on Trinidad, so the tour of their home was a great way of learning history of the town and of the period when they lived there.
5. Enjoying the many forms of Art available in Trinidad
Trinidad has many organizations working diligently on the many aspects of creating and maintaining a Creative Art District Status. We saw the new Art Space Loft buildings, but couldn’t tell if the apartment space is open yet. However, there are many cool examples of public art in the downtown area. Some of our favorites are pictured below.
6. Business spotlight: Mutiny Trinidad – for Coffee / Books / Comics / Records / Hang-out
We stopped at a couple of great places for food and drink while visiting Trinidad. However, i wanted to give one a particular shout out – because we especially admired its welcoming ‘hang out’ feel and we love a small town business that fills multiple niches!
- Mutiny Trinidad – Google Maps – really cool hang out space that offers delicious coffee (roasted on site!), books, art, games, comics, vinyl records, cereal bar, snacks and candy. Plus tables and couches. A big screen video was playing in the background during our visit.
We also enjoyed our time at
- The Well Hotel & Taproom – Google Maps – tap house with lovely inside setting (including music stage) and small back patio
- Perkatory Coffee House – Google Maps – good coffee in a nice space in a bank building
More to Explore
For more information: smalltownresearch.org
