Real estate appraisal card. 101 Lower (or North) F Street, part of lots 14-16, block 4, in Salida, Colorado.
On December 30, 1890, the Salida Mail observed, 'No building has added more to the appearance of the town than the one constructed by N.R. Twitchell on his property at the corner of F and 1st Streets. Some unsightly one-story wooden holdings occupied this corner until this spring when they were swept out by fire. The fire proved to be a blessing to the town and also to the owner of the property for the building that now occupies that site is an ornament to the town and a source of greater profit to the owner than the poor building which formerly occupied this valuable ground ... This property is worth at least $16,000. The erection of this building gave an impetus to building in this town; it set the ball to rolling. It seemed to establish confidence among property owners and as a result we see fine structures going up on every side. D. Chenowith is the architect and builder of this fine block.'
N.R. Twitchell was a pioneer real estate and insurance agent in Salida, whose name appears in the 1887-1888 State Business Directory. Twitchell represented the Salida Land Company.
The Twitchell Building, erected in 1890, is significant for its influence on the growth and development of downtown Salida, having been one of the most substantial buildings erected in the downtown after the fires of 1888 and 1890. The building is notable for having housed a saloon in its beveled corner storefront until Prohibition, and later a longtime grocery, as well as several barber firms. The building is associated with N.B. Twitchell, a pioneer Salida real estate and insurance agent, who erected the building, and is representative of the work of D. Chenowith, architect. The building's architectures is representative of the larger brick business blocks erected in Salida during the period after the fire of 1888, and is notable for its segmented arched second story windows with hood molds, beveled corner, and storefronts with serpentine metal columns and paneled kickplates.
History Colorado's Architectural Inventory Forms have more information and are available at the Salida Library.
