The arts in Salida – grassroots grow deep

The history of the arts in Salida go way back, all the way to when the railroad stopped providing the hub of people to the area and the mine at Climax closed. Salida was nearly a ghost town, at least where the business district was concerned. Yet what appeared to be over night to most of the long time locals was a resurgence of vitality to the area. Store fronts which were once closed where now full of life, streets and café’s where bustling with a a gang of artist. Groups were formed to gather more artists into collective galley spaces and there was live music by locals in the parks. This was the first wave of the arts in Salida.

It was at the height of productivity and economic health around the summer of 1986 or so that our town took a double punch to the gut. The sidewalks were removed from F street and remained in constant reconstruction for the remainder of the summer months and it was also at this time that Wal-Mart and McDonald’s moved in. Many of the thriving restaurants closed and even some of the long established icons like Woolworth’s did not survive. Salida was again nearly a ghost town.

Slowly over the years, the roots of the arts which were first planted in the the late sixties began to find the light of day again. Much work was done to restore the Steamplant to become a cultural center, there was one remake of the Riverside Park amphitheater and a couple galleries began to fill in the empty store fronts, Christo and Jeanne-Claude made their first presentation for the “Over the River” art instillation. As this movement began to gather momentum our town began to rebuild, from the highway providing an excellent tax base and small business’s starting again to continue our small town feel. It was during this time that the Art Walk began, much to the surprise of the long time locals again. Soon it was common to see an art showing in one of the banks or hear live music in the parks. Aspen Concerts started performing world class music during the summers and there were acts being performed live at the Steamplant. There was a new surge of life and of hope for the arts.

By the year 2000, Salida was on her way to becoming a full blown arts town. With articles by national press being printed almost monthly, the word was out that this was a town with radiance and a growing passion for the arts. Now that we are approaching 2009, it is easy to notice that the landscape of our little town has gone through some major changes. It will be these new changes that we will be discussing in further articles.

This was a brief history of the roots of the arts in Salida. I personally have made Salida my home since 1984 and would love to gather much more of the details of the history of this town as it relates to the arts. There are many things which need to be remembered as we move forward as a community together. There are many challenges ahead of us to keep the velocity of the growth of the arts moving along, and I believe we have what it takes to keep the arts a sustainable, vibrant and dynamic community.