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Show A Few Notes on Historic Main Street Many of Main Streets historicjbuildings have fallen prey of heavy snows, periods of neglect, and Park City's oldest enemy, fire, leaving vacant lots where bustling commercial enterprises once stood. The elaborate Salt Lake House Hotel once located next to Mama Teresa's is gone, as is the historic Park Record Office formerly next to Mileti's. Gone also is the American Theater, which stood next to Day's Market, The Woodside Store, Fontain's Jewelry, Hp-n"s Cafe, and the Candy Kitchen, which one soaring -5ace between the present Record office j hennan'igans are gone, as are countless other stat taca(jes However, much of historic Main Street remains, and, despite its total destruction by fire in 1898, retains much the same unique mining town atmosphere as it did in the 1880's. Prior to the great fire, many of Main Street's hastily built wooden buildings had been replaced by fine edifices of stone and brick, much like City Hall and Meyer Gallery, which are the only buildings rebuilt to pre fire detail. Once the rubble was cleared, winter was but a few months away and many of Park City's buildings were rebuilt quickly out of wood, the most readily available resource. Because of this, Park City's architecture resembles more the boomtown e.-as of the 1880 than the elegant Victorian age of the 1890's evident in other Western Mining Towns. The buildings which remain are steeped richly in tfie history of the American West and are reminicent of an ags where fortunes came and went like the seasons and boisterous miners hit town once a month to spend their wages on whisky, gambling and ladies of the night. They also stand as reminders of the growth of organized labor and countless good times followed by equally countless bad times. Although rennovation and new uses have altered Main Street's facades and interiors, much of its history is physically still evident in subtle reminders. The original Bull Durham sign on the side of the Red Banjo has been restored, reminding one of the days when the building housed Black Mike's Saloon. The Back bar in the Banjo is original and reflects wetter days. The bar at the Motherlode is original and the big back room is still large enough for dance hall queens to perform, as well as hold a dozen faro, poker and 21 tables. There is . a tunnel in the Mother Lode which once led to a hidden still. Inside the Silver Snowflake gift shop there is also an original back bar which dates from the time the space was occupied by the Mint Bar. The Bar at the Cozy is authentic as is the Club's. The Club has changed little since the turn of the century, when it was a favorite rendezvous of union organizers, whose conversations were carefully noted by Pinkerton Spies employed by the mine owners. Even the present library was a saloon, which is evident by the two doors one for ladies and the other for men. In the basement of City Hall, the old jail remains, and a careful eye can still see the emblem of the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World), known as the One Big Union, drawn carefully on the wall when union men were jailed during the strike of 1919. At the entrance of Mt. Air Variety, the word "Frankel's" appears in mosaic tile, evidence of a former tennant. There is not much left indicating that the Young Apartments wer once Rasband's Hall, a roller skating rink and dance hall, and you can hardly tell Art Durante s was once the Odd Fellows Hall or that the old safe from the Oak S.iloon (reportedly once robbed by Butch Cassidy) can be found in th.; Alamo. |
