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All the United States Colorado Telluride Mahr Building

Mahr Building

This otherwise unremarkable ski town building marks the site of Butch Cassidy's first robbery.

Telluride, Colorado

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jen
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The Mahr Building today.   Frank Swift on Flickr
The Mahr Building today.   Frank Swift on Flickr
The plaque remembering the robbery.   Frank Swift on Flickr
Butch Cassidy   Wikipedia
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About

Despite looking identical to the standard faux-rustic edifices surrounding the building on either side, the Mahr Building in Telluride, Colorado sits on the site of famous outlaw Butch Cassidy's first bank heist. 

Every famous criminal has to start somewhere and for Butch Cassidy (at the time, simply a petty thief with dreams of outlaw status) that beginning occurred at the San Miguel Valley Bank on June 24, 1889. Following a plan devised by accomplice Matt Warner, Cassidy and his brother-in-law robbed the Telluride bank for $20,000. Warner simply walked into the bank and placed his gun under the teller's nose while Cassidy robbed the place and the brother-in-law watched the horses. As they fled the scene the outlaws created a ruckus, alerting the entire town to the robbery that they would have otherwise simply gotten away with. Luckily, no one in town knew the mens' identities so they were clear nonetheless. However this anonymity would not last, as Cassidy and his fellow crooks ran across a rancher who Cassidy and Warner had worked for previously. Once the town posse caught up with the rancher, the outlaws names were out and the hunt was on. It was this identification that would turn Butch Cassidy into a full time outlaw as he was now a very wanted man.

The San Miguel Valley Bank burned down a few years after the robbery and was replaced by the current Mahr Building which stands in its place, housing both commercial and residential space. The pivotal role of the location is remembered by a plaque denoting the robbery, although the town of Telluride may now be the last place anyone would think of as a place for outlaw history.       

Related Tags

Wild West Crime And Punishment Crime

Know Before You Go

Continue along Colorado Ave. as you enter the town of Telluride. The robbery site is on the corner of Pine St. and Colorado Ave. on the left corner.

Community Contributors

Added By

tiredandwired

Edited By

Rachel, EricGrundhauser

  • Rachel
  • EricGrundhauser

Published

January 15, 2014

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Sources
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butch_Cassidy
  • http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM41H0_Butch_Cassidys_First_Bank_Robbery_Telluride_CO
  • http://ski.curbed.com/archives/2012/11/own-an-original-piece-of-downtown-telluride.php
Mahr Building
129/131 West Colorado Avenue
Telluride, Colorado, 81320
United States
37.937602, -107.811363
Get Directions

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