08/26/2026
Located near Silverton, Colorado, Animas Forks is an old mining ghost town. Its first log cabin was built in 1873, and the settlement eventually grew into a busy community with 30 cabins, a hotel, a general store, and a saloon. At 11,185 feet, it was a harsh place to spend the winter, so residents moved to warmer Silverton each fall. As mining profits declined, Animas Forks became a ghost town by the 1920s.
Richard Frankel of Fishers, Indiana, captured this interior view of one of the cabins that remains today. This is Richard’s first year in the Delphi Opera House Photography Exhibition, and he already has an intriguing project underway. Inspired by the photographs and large-format film cameras used by early 20th-century photographer Edward S. Curtis, Richard hopes to honor Curtis’s legacy through “Time Was,” an antiquarian bookshop, print shop, and photo gallery he plans to open in Noblesville, Indiana, in spring or summer 2027. Curtis’s 20-volume set, The North American Indian, includes about 2,200 of the 40,000 images he created over 30 years. I look forward to visiting Richard’s shop.
Visit with Richard this Saturday around noon at the Opera House Gallery to learn more about his upcoming bookstore.
The Exhibition closes this Saturday with a luncheon at Paretta’s Italian Ristorante, next door to the Opera House, attended by nearly all participating artists.
Friday is the final day for the public to vote for the People’s Choice Awards, which will be presented during the luncheon. Visitors may stop in to vote Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Opera House Gallery is located on the square at 107 S. Washington St. in Delphi, Indiana.