Steamboat Springs, CO – A longtime fixture in Steamboat will be missing this ski season as the Tugboat Grill & Pub, an après-ski institution at this Colorado resort since 1972, is apparently no more.

After being seized by officials with the Colorado Department of Revenue in August for $10,846 in delinquent sales taxes, the watering hole in Ski Time Square was auctioned on Wednesday morning by Buster Cattles Auction Service of Grand Junction, Colo. Kitchen and bar equipment including nine kegs of beer, and even the ski memorabilia and taxidermy gracing the iconic bar’s walls, much of which was donated by the resort town’s many Winter Olympians, World Cup athletes and celebrity visitors, was sold to those with cash or certified funds. A total of $31,720 was raised, far more than the delinquent tax bill.

It’s difficult to overstate The Tugboat’s significance in the history of resort skiing in Steamboat and its importance to year-round members of the community. Its hand-carved cherry wood bar dates back to the 1850s, when it first served the Log Cabin Saloon in Baggs, Wyo., a frequent stop for Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid along with other outlaws. The Tugboat’s stage was one of the most popular in Steamboat for live music, and featured  area luminaries with band names like Cow Patty and the Meadow Muffins, along with regional acts that frequently made the trip to Steamboat from the Denver metro area.

The Tugboat survived the wrecking ball as the only original building left standing through the recent redevelopment of Ski Time Square. But it appears that the Tugboat can’t survive the tax collector.