Editing Ridgway, Colorado (section)

==Tourism and culture==
Ridgway is poised on a highway that leads tourists to several other mountain towns of the San Juan region. Ridgway itself is a major tourist town. Ridgway is 37 miles east of [[Telluride, Colorado|Telluride]] and 10 miles north of the [[Ouray, Colorado|Ouray]]. The area is also set at the base of the [[San Juan Mountains]] providing excellent views especially when viewed from [[Log Hill Mesa]].

===The Grammy Awards===
The [[Grammy Award]] trophy is hand crafted exclusively by John Billings (the 'Grammy Man') and his team of craftsmen at Billings Artworks in Ridgway.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100423143542/http://www.billingsartworks.com/grammy_making.php billingsartworks.com]</ref> The trophies are all hand cast in an alloy called grammium, then hand filed, ground and polished before being plated in 24k gold.

===Certified Colorado Creative District===
In 2011, in collaboration with Ouray County and the City of Ouray through numerous public meetings and pursuant to a request from the State of Colorado for a "Bottom Up" Economic Development Plan, a county-wide economic development plan was created. Goal 3 of this plan called for participation in statewide efforts to grow and nurture creative industries as an economic development driver for the State. The Goal 3 ("G3") committee was formed and approached the Ridgway Town Council for support and leadership in submitting an application to become a certified Creative District with the State. The City of Ouray, Ouray County and Town of Ridgway volunteers all agreed that the Town of Ridgway would be the applicant for District certification in 2012. 15 awards were issued through Colorado Creative Industries, and Ridgway was one of 5 districts awarded Prospective District status.

The Ridgway Creative District was awarded Prospective Creative District status in 2012 under the State of Colorado legislation, House Bill 11–1031, signed into law by Governor Hickenlooper in 2011. After a year as a Prospective District, on June 26, 2013, [[Colorado Creative Industries]] and the Boettcher Foundation announced that the Ridgway Creative District had achieved State-Certified Creative District Designation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ridgwaycreativedistrict.com/how-we-got-here|title=How We Got Here}}</ref>

===The Sherbino Theater===
The Sherbino/Cherbeneau/Charbonneau family have been a part of Ridgway since before Ridgway was even incorporated. And their local legacy – ''The Sherbino – still plays a major role in downtown Ridgway today.''  In 1877, Louis Sherbino purchased several lots in downtown Ridgway from Samuel Wade. Louis, who was born in Canada but was working in the timber mills in Michigan, moved to Lake City, then Rico, then Colona and finally Ridgway in the late 1800s. On May 21, 1915, rumors that had been circulating were confirmed, as Louis presented an application to the town for permission to erect a "pressed brick veneered building" on Clinton Street and a 6' sidewalk along the Cora Street side.  ''The building turned out to be a theater designed by Gus Kullerstrand of Ouray and it opened to much fanfare on Saturday, September 11, 1915.'' The newspaper coverage from September 17 says, "Close to 400 people took in the event, all parts of the country being represented by a goodly number of persons. The lineup of rigs and automobiles in front of the building gave the town a citified look." The article went on to mention there was seating for 300, running hot and cold water, and toilets! What is now the Colorado Boy Brewery was part of the theater at the time, accounting for the reported amount of space for seating. The Sherbino family ran the theater for less than a year as another local built a "motion picture business" and most people went there.

The Sherbino building went on to be used as a community center. Local residents gathered there in 1917 to learn that the US had entered WWI. In 1924, many local residents who had come into the region by wagon in the 1870s were invited to the Sherbino to view the movie "The Covered Wagon" which commemorated the adventuresome spirit that lead them here. Since the Sherbino opened, folks have gathered to enjoy Chautauqua-style entertainment such as orchestra performances, melodramas, plays, traveling troupes, and educational events. The building has played host to graduations, public meetings, and was used as a roller rink and (for at least one night) a boxing arena. The exterior had a bit part in the 1968 original movie True Grit that included a false porch built onto the addition on rear of the building. At some point the original interior was split into 2 sections. The section with the original doorway (now Colorado Boy's entrance) served as the post office, a drug store, and the Colorado Yurt Company headquarters. The building interior underwent major renovations in the 1970s, again in the early 1990s, and again in 2018. In August 1991 the Sherbino received designation on the Colorado State Register of Historic Places.

With the support of many local residents, The Ridgway Chautauqua Society (RCS, a Colorado non-profit 501c3) is now a proud owner and steward of two of Ridgway's remaining historic structures - the remodeled Sherbino at 604 Clinton Street, and The 610 Arts Collective at 610 Clinton Street, next door.<ref>{{Cite web|title=home|url=https://sherbino.org/|access-date=March 5, 2021|website=The Sherbino Theater|language=en-US}}</ref>

===Water===
Water plays an important part of local Ridgway culture. The town maintains a marina in a northern inlet of the [[Ridgway Reservoir]]. During the warm summer months many tourist and locals take advantage of the Ridgway Reservoir, often [[wakeboarding]] or enjoying a day at its beach.

The town also features ''Orvis Hot Springs'', a clothing-optional, natural-hot-springs resort near Ridgway with an indoor, clothing-required pool.