Real estate appraisal card. 108 Lower (or North) F Street, lots 24-26, block 5, in Salida, Colorado.
This building appears to have been erected between the fire of March 1886 and the time of the Sanborn map in September 1886. The previous building on the site was destroyed in the fire of March 1886 (as verified by a historic photograph), but this building appears on the September 1886 Sanborn map. The 1886 Sanborn map indicates the building housed a jewelry store, as it did on the 1888 and 1890 maps. The 1887-88 Colorado Business Directory listed two jewelry stores in Salida, that of L.F. Cornwell and that of William Carpenter (no specific addresses were provided in the directory). Both men were cited in the Salida News: Holiday Edition, 1889. William Carpenter had been a jeweler for more than 40 years in 1889: "Salida has many handsome stores, among the most prominent of which is Mr. Wm. Carpenter's jewelry establishment. Mr. Carpenter carries a magnificent stock of rich jewelry, diamonds, watches, clocks, and silverware, which he sells at exceptionally reasonable prices." On the other hand, L.F. Cornwell was described as "the proprietor of Salida's jewelry palace, one of the handsomest stores in Colorado...Fine repairing is a specialty. He is a licensed watchmaker to the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad Company."
In 1893, the building was indicated as vacant. By 1898, a restaurant was operating here. The 1903-04 city directory listed the Donmyer & Haley Restaurant, operated by William J. Donmyer and Joseph E. Haley, who also had a restaurant at 214 Lower F. By 1905, this had become the Golden Gate Restaurant, operated by John E. Haley and Lawrence J. Taliaferro. The restaurant advertised that it was open day and night. The Golden Gate Restaurant was also listed here in 1909. The 1914 Sanborn map also showed a restaurant in the building. By 1922, the Commercial Cafe was listed here. A.J. Pope was proprietor of the restaurant, which provided "First Class Meals at Reasonable Prices," and was open all night. The cafe was still listed at this address in 1927-28. In October 1927, the "Salida Mail" reported, "The Commercial Cafe at 106 Lower F street is one of the up-to-the-minute restaurants that caters to a big trade and that is an especial favorite with tourists and traveling men." The restaurant was then owned and operated by Mrs. Minnie Sylstra and her son, Harry Conley. Mrs. Sylstra had been operating at this location for 12 years, while the restaurant had been in business for more than 20. A restaurant was still shown on the 1945 Sanborn map. In 1951, the Atomic Bar and Cafe (Manuels LeVine, owner) was here. The 1981 survey form indicated that the building housed Dooley's Bar.
History Colorado's Architectural Inventory Forms have more information and are available at the Salida Library.
