Brief by Central Staff
Salida history – July 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
Salida’s museum has opened for the summer with some new exhibits. The museum, which shares a building with the chamber of commerce at Centennial Park on Highway 50 by the swimming pool, will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day except Wednesday.
One new exhibit includes robes and other regalia from the local chapter of the Knights of Pythias, a fraternal order which flourished about 75 years ago.
The other new exhibit features historic memorabilia from Salida’s FIBArk festival, which began in 1949.
That material had been stored in the FIBArk boathouse next to the river. However, FIBArk’s directors decided to sell the building to Ray Kitson, owner of the adjacent building (the old Manhattan Hotel at the end of F Street).
That deal hasn’t closed yet, but the directors earlier this year leased the building to Kitson for a kayaking school, and that meant there was no place for the FIBArk collection — so it went to the museum.
The museum could extend its operating hours — it is staffed by volunteers — if it had more volunteers. If you’re interested in helping, just drop by and speak up; they’ll be glad to hear from you.