The Coronado Apartment building at Montezuma and Willis was built shortly after the turn of the century as a boarding house for railroad workers, according to the Courier. (The old depot and railroad yard were just around the corner, back when trains actually came into Prescott.) The historic building is no more, following a fire that gutted it last Wednesday.
Fortunately, only one tenant of the structure was injured. But it's sad to see history disappear right in front of our eyes. If I engaged in magical thinking, I'd say that this block of Montezuma is jinxed. Remember the former restaurant/bar up the street? On the other hand, there is another old apartment building (this one without an historic sign in front) which did survive a fire nearly a year ago.
What's the future of this corner? It's well underway across the street from the burned out hulk; the Compass Bank will occupy much of this new edifice; don't worry -- the yellow is slowly disappearing beneath a brick skin. I would guess that the apartment fire has created a choice piece of downtown real estate.Note: Despite today's pictures, I'm not attempting to do on-line news -- for that, you might consider an on-line subscription to the Courier. Not only is the newspaper now posting its entire content, but it even features blogs written by staff members and its new web editor. Also the paper links to locally oriented blogs (including Walking Prescott--thanks, guys!) Free to present subscribers, but cheaper on-line only.
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