Samuel Service built the Samuel Service General Store in 1905 and later transformed it into an Honor Bright grocery store in 1929, eventually becoming a Safeway. In 1941, it was repurposed as the Coffee Bar Cafe. This building, one of the first to be established on Elkhorn Avenue, was constructed between 1905 and 1906, shortly after the village of Estes Park was mapped out and its lots were sold. Also, this was not the 1st building on Elkhorn Ave.

Image courtesy Estes Park Museum (1989.006.008), for more information, visit estes.org/museum.

The original Estes Park Junior and Senior High School, completed in 1939, responded to a significant rise in local school enrollment, which had nearly doubled during the prior decade, growing from 146 to 285 students. The building featured 14 classrooms, administrative offices, and various activity rooms to serve the expanding educational needs of the community.

In the early 1960s, a new high school was constructed, and this facility transitioned into an elementary school for another ten years. Following a major remodel, the building found a new purpose in 1974, reopening as what is now Estes Park's Town Hall.

Image courtesy Estes Park Museum (2016.005.0312), for more information, visit estes.org/museum.

115 West Elkhorn, known as Ye Lyttel Shop, in Estes Park, Colorado, was once the storefront of Fred Payne Clatworthy, a pioneer in early color photography. Clatworthy used the space to showcase and sell his hand-colored photographs and Western-inspired goods. Over time, the shop became a cherished piece of Estes Park’s history, adding to the town's unique character and charm.

Image courtesy Estes Park Museum (2004.024.016), for more information, visit estes.org/museum.

The establishment of the Estes Park Steam Laundry in 1907 marked a significant milestone, as it relieved local hotel and lodge owners from the time and cost of sending their linens to Front Range towns or the laborious task of handling it themselves.

Image courtesy Estes Park Museum (2001.019.001), for more information, visit estes.org/museum.

The Old Plantation Restaurant, located at 128 E. Elkhorn Avenue in Estes Park, Colorado, was a cherished dining establishment that served locals and visitors from 1931 to 1992. Renowned for its English pub decor and menu, the restaurant provided a unique dining experience where waitresses donned pinafores and mop caps, and patrons could once fish for their trout from a stocked pond behind the restaurant. In the 1940s, Jean Weaver, later celebrated as the Estes Valley Recycling Queen, worked at the Plantation. This role was pivotal in her journey toward environmental activism, eventually establishing regional recycling initiatives. ​

Image courtesy Estes Park Museum (2006.040.121), for more information, visit estes.org/museum.

At 145 East Elkhorn, Harriet Rogers Byerly's National Park Hotel first opened its doors in 1919. Harriet Byerly arrived in Estes Park in 1912 to attend a YMCA camp conference. She decided to settle in the area, marrying photographer and resort owner Frank W. Byerly. After their marriage ended in 1916, Harriet opened the Pine Cone Tea Room on Elkhorn Avenue, west of Sam's Services store. In 1919, she relocated the tearoom to the rear of the property to make way for a ten-bedroom hotel. Business flourished in Estes Park during the 1920s, and by 1926, Mrs. Byerly expanded the hotel with a two-story addition. Harriet managed the National Park Hotel until her passing in 1955. Her children continued to run the hotel until it was sold after the 1972 season, when the new owners transformed it into a Ripley's Believe It or Not museum.

Image courtesy Estes Park Museum (2016.005.0791), for more information, visit estes.org/museum.

In 1908, John Manford, a pioneering businessman in Estes Park, constructed the 21-room Manford Hotel, also known as Manford House. This new establishment was located diagonally across from the Hupp Hotel, on the northeast corner of what is now Big Horn Drive. The site was initially occupied by a house built in 1888 by postmaster John Cleave, which Manford purchased from Cleave for $3,000 in 1907. Spanning six lots, the Manford Hotel was larger than its competitor across the street. Later that same year, Manford sold the hotel to Josephine Hupp for a reported $16,000.

Image courtesy Estes Park Museum (2016.005.0742), for more information, visit estes.org/museum.

The headquarters for RMNP from 1915 to 1923. When Charles Russell Trowbridge, the first superintendent of the newly established national park, arrived in Estes Park in July 1915, one of his initial actions was to find rental space for the park's headquarters. He found a small frame building on lower Elkhorn Avenue, on blacksmith Jim Boyd's property, directly across from Sam Service’s general store. Although small and somewhat cramped, this building served as the park headquarters for eight years, until October 1923, when it was relocated to East Riverside Drive. This building was moved to Riverside Drive, then moved again to the Estes Park Museum grounds, where it currently resides.

Image courtesy Estes Park Museum (1968.006.001), for more information, visit estes.org/museum.

Estes Park lacked a formal church building until 1907, with early worship services in the community building. Following the town's platting in 1905, the need for a permanent place of worship became evident. In 1907, a lot on West Elkhorn was acquired, and by 1909, volunteers had completed construction of the Presbyterian Church of Estes Park. To accommodate a growing congregation, the church was expanded in 1935. However, in 1959, members opted to relocate the church, and the original site was transformed into the Old Church Shops, which became home to boutiques and a restaurant for many years.

Image courtesy Estes Park Museum (2014.036.361), for more information, visit estes.org/museum.

In 1909, Ed and Ralph Macdonald established their "Popular Shop" in Estes Park, Colorado. The father-and-son duo had arrived in the area just a year earlier, in 1908, and acquired a store on the eastern corner of Elkhorn Avenue and Moraine Avenue. Macdonald and Son operated as a general store offering various goods, such as books, groceries, and equipment. As time passed, the store's focus shifted increasingly toward books.

Image courtesy Estes Park Museum (2018.FIC.001), for more information, visit estes.org/museum.

Constructed in 1916 for Mrs. Josephine Hupp, the hotel featured the Cafe Josephine. The Josephine Hotel was the second downtown establishment created by Josephine “Josie” Hupp, one of the many enterprising women who significantly shaped Estes Park’s business community.

Image courtesy Estes Park Museum (2014.039.004), for more information, visit estes.org/museum.

The Stanley Hotel, nestled in Estes Park, Colorado, is celebrated as an architectural gem with a compelling history. Founded in 1909 by Freelan Oscar Stanley, co-inventor of the Stanley Steam automobile, the hotel was inspired by Stanley's admiration for the area's invigorating air and scenery during his recovery from tuberculosis. At a time when Estes Park was still developing and accommodations were primitive, Stanley envisioned a luxurious resort modeled after East Coast grandeur. With modern innovations like electricity and telephones, alongside exquisite Georgian architecture, the hotel quickly became a premier destination for affluent visitors, including celebrities and politicians. Stanley and his wife Flora also played pivotal roles in modernizing Estes Park, introducing electricity and water systems to the community.

Adding to its allure is the hotel's haunted legacy, which emerged after Stephen King stayed there in 1974, sparking the creation of his iconic novel The Shining. While the film adaptation was shot elsewhere, the Stanley embraced its paranormal reputation with ghost tours and events, focusing on rooms like 217, 401, and 428 known for supernatural activity. Today, the Stanley Hotel remains an operational historic landmark, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and has expanded to include a museum, concert hall, wedding venue, and horror-themed film center, blending its rich heritage with an enduring fascination for the mysterious.

Image courtesy Estes Park Museum (1984.094.016), for more information, visit estes.org/museum