Entry No. 12 — the Durango file — filed under: art-immersive
Mancos Common Press
“They boarded it up in 1970 — press, type, newspapers and all. It waited forty years.”
When the Mancos Times-Tribune left in 1970, somebody just boarded up the storefront — the 1890 Cranston press, drawers of metal type, and a century of newspapers all still inside. The town pried it open in 2013 and found a print shop frozen mid-sentence. Penn preservationists restored the room to its 1911 photographs, and now it runs again: the eight-foot Cranston still pulls full newspaper-size sheets, and workshops put your hands on type that waited forty years in the dark.
The story
When the *Mancos Times-Tribune* packed up in 1970, nobody bothered to clear out the building. They simply boarded up 135 West Grand Avenue, turned the key, and left a turn-of-the-century print shop to sit in pitch darkness for forty-three years. Inside, an eight-foot 1890 Cranston cylinder press remained parked on the floor, surrounded by wooden drawers of metal type, ink bottles, and a century's worth of archived newspapers.
When the town pried the doors back open in 2013, they discovered a room frozen mid-sentence. Rather than turning it into a sterile museum behind velvet ropes, local advocates partnered with preservationists from the University of Pennsylvania's Stuart Weitzman School of Design. Working from archival 1911 photographs, they restored the shop floor to its exact historical layout and got the Victorian heavy machinery running again.
Today, the space functions as both an active time capsule and a working print studio, expanded in 2024 with the Mancos Commons addition behind the building to house extra studio space for resident artists. You don't just admire the gear—you roll up your sleeves, set type that waited four decades in the dark, and pull news-sized sheets on an eight-foot iron press.
What it's like
Don't expect to just stroll off Grand Avenue and buy a ticket at a gift shop counter; there are no drop-in public hours here. You need to email ahead through their website to book a tour or reserve a spot in a letterpress workshop. Once inside, you'll be standing in a tight, working shop filled with the scent of old wood, machine oil, and printer's ink. Plan your visit as part of a broader western Montezuma County trip: Mancos sits thirty minutes west of Durango, and the entrance to Mesa Verde is just another ten minutes down the highway.
The move: Book a letterpress workshop for two, set a line in the shop's original metal type, and pull a print to take home.
📍 Before you go It is the restored storefront at 135 W Grand Avenue on Mancos's short main street, with easy street parking out front; the 2024 Mancos Commons addition connects behind it with extra studio space. There are no drop-in hours — tours and workshops run by appointment and scheduled classes, so email through the website before driving out. Mancos sits about thirty minutes west of Durango, and the Mesa Verde entrance is another ten minutes on, so the two pair naturally.
- 📍 Mancos
- 💸 $$
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 135 W Grand Ave, Mancos, CO 81328
Hours: Added 2026-06-11 — confirm current hours before you go.
⚠ Seasonal or scheduled — always check before you go.
Pair it with
- Columbine Bar & Grill — Walk down Grand Avenue after your printing session to grab a drink at this historic Mancos saloon.
- The Cowboy Forge Blacksmith School — Pair letterpress printing with coal-forge ironwork just two miles down the road.
- Giant Arrows at the Hogan Trading Post — Drive under three miles west to check out telephone poles converted into giant roadside arrows.
- Mesa Verde National Park Night Sky Program — Head ten minutes further west down US-160 after your workshop to catch an evening star party at Mesa Verde.
Good to know
Can I just walk in during the day?
No. The shop does not hold regular drop-in hours, so you must schedule a tour or register for a workshop online before driving out.
What do you do in a letterpress workshop?
You get hands-on instruction setting lines of text using the shop's original metal and wood type, then pull your own physical print on historic machinery.
Where is Mancos Common Press located?
It sits at 135 W Grand Ave on the main street of Mancos, Colorado—about 30 minutes west of Durango.
What is the 2024 addition behind the shop?
The Mancos Commons addition connected to the rear of the original 1911 building to provide dedicated studio and workshop space for printmakers and community artists.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site · ksut.org · design.upenn.edu
last checked: 2026-06-11