Anaconda in Deer Lodge County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)
408 East Park Avenue
Anaconda Commercial Historic District
Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, July 11, 2021
1. 408 East Park Avenue Marker
Inscription.
408 East Park Avenue. Anaconda Commercial Historic District. Anaconda Copper Mining Company carpenter Daniel R. Beck built this small brick building in 1896. He lived in one half and rented out the other half. Beck was an early resident of Anaconda, arriving in 1883 when it was still a hodgepodge of shacks and tents. After Beck died in 1901, the building housed an ever-changing array of tenants and businesses. Irish widow Margaret Crews operated a dressmaking shop in 1905 and 1906. Patrick C. Reagan ran a barber shop from 1908 to 1909 when he left Anaconda to pursue gold mining at Pike’s Peak, Colorado. Greek cook Gus Olanes opened the Plaza Café in 1917 with the slogan, “Good Food Makes Good Health.” In 1921, Olanes paid waitresses $17.50 a week (Union waitresses made $22.50). A large T-bone steak with potatoes, bread and butter, and coffee or milk cost sixty cents. Croatian Paul Kriskov operated a café here from 1923 to 1930. Kriskov’s enormous menu offered steaks and chops, fish, Truzzolino’s tamales, chile con carne, and upscale entrées. Breaded veal cutlets with new potatoes in cream cost fifty cents.
Anaconda Copper Mining Company carpenter Daniel R. Beck built this small brick building in 1896. He lived in one half and rented out the other half. Beck was an early resident of Anaconda, arriving in 1883 when it was still a hodgepodge of shacks and tents. After Beck died in 1901, the building housed an ever-changing array of tenants and businesses. Irish widow Margaret Crews operated a dressmaking shop in 1905 and 1906. Patrick C. Reagan ran a barber shop from 1908 to 1909 when he left Anaconda to pursue gold mining at Pike’s Peak, Colorado. Greek cook Gus Olanes opened the Plaza Café in 1917 with the slogan, “Good Food Makes Good Health.” In 1921, Olanes paid waitresses $17.50 a week (Union waitresses made $22.50). A large T-bone steak with potatoes, bread and butter, and coffee or milk cost sixty cents. Croatian Paul Kriskov operated a café here from 1923 to 1930. Kriskov’s enormous menu offered steaks and chops, fish, Truzzolino’s tamales, chile con carne, and upscale entrées. Breaded veal cutlets with new potatoes in cream cost fifty cents.
Location. 46° 7.715′ N, 112° 56.886′ W. Marker is in Anaconda, Montana, in Deer Lodge County. It is on East Park Avenue (State Highway 1) near Cedar Street, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 408 East Park Avenue, Anaconda MT 59711, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in andspecifically outhwest Montana, in Gold West Country, in Mining Country. It is also in the American Mountain West and in the Lewis & Clark Corridor. Globally, it is in North America, the Rocky Mountains, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once Rupert’s Land and also the Louisiana Purchase.
Credits. This page was last revised on December 27, 2024. It was originally submitted on October 10, 2021, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 386 times since then and 8 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on October 10, 2021, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.
