Chimayo

The Frankel Building

The building originally located on this site is believed to have been constructed in the mid-1800s, but was leveled by the great fire of 1898. The lot stood empty until 1907 when this one-story brick structure was built for prominent Park City merchant Julius Frankel. His clothing store was housed here and was a thriving part of Park City's commercial district for several decades. Renovation of the building in 1966 created the Silver Palace Saloon. In the 1970s the Mt. Air variety store was located here and then the structure was converted to a restaurant in 1980. In 1983 the building reverted to its original use as a clothing store, and then was completely renovated in 1988 and used again as a restaurant. The Frankel Building is a typical example of mining town vernacular architecture and features the large display windows and recessed entryway seen in most commercial buildings of its time. The brick walls illustrate the preoccupation with using more fire retardant materials generated by the 1898 fire. Of particular interest are the pressed metal ceiling and the exposed brick foundation on the south side of the building. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a contributory period structure to the main street commercial district.