Hough Block — Built 1880-82

Hough Block — Built 1880-82. . , Both adversity and opportunity were the result of the Great Fire of 1879 which destroyed the major business district of Lake City. The fire started during the early morning hours of November 8 in a one-room saloon known as "Billy's Place" on Third Street; before the blaze could be brought under control it had leveled the major portion of Block 55, destroying a total of three major business blocks and 21 storerooms. , Losses in the fire, the majority of which were uninsured, totaled $50,000 in buildings and $15,000 in merchandise that was either burned, stolen or ruined during the fire. , The "Burnt District," as it was to be known, was not to remain vacant for long. Within a few months of the conflagration, Lake City businessman and capitalist John Simpson Hough (pronounced 'huff') was finalizing plans to erect a splendid brick commercial building, the Hough Block, over the ashes on this site. He planned to construct a block offering commercial space for two businesses on Silver Street, with a suite of rooms for professionals on the upper floor. , Hough, who was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1833, was a former trader on the Santa Fe Trail who was well acquainted with the legendary Kit Carson; he was a second cousin of President Ulysses S. Grant who reportedly once offered his cousin the position of U.S. Postmaster General. Hough promptly rejected the offer, exclaiming, "I'd never serve under any damn Republican!" , John Hough moved to Lake City from West Las Animas, Colorado, in 1876 and opened a general merchandise store with his brother-in-law, John Prowers. He soon disposed of the business, however, and in the intervening years became heavily invested in city real estate and mining. A portion of the funds used to erect the Hough Block came from profits of his best known silver mines, the Palmetto and Frank Hough, the latter named for his son. , Hough completed the two sections of his business block, each approximately 25' in width by 100' in depth, in 1880/81 and 1882. The degree of craftsmanship and materials used in the construction of the building are remarkable given the fact Lake City existed in what was at that time a remote section of Colorado. The bulk of the building's brick and stone is of local origin, the brick being produced by Joseph A. Hunt at a kiln on the northern outskirts of Lake City. Finish stone used in the construction also came from a quarry north of the city. , The building's plate glass windows (the largest of which measured 6'2" by 12') and approximately seven and a half tons of ornamental cast iron were freighted to Lake City. Also shipped in by wagon were an estimated five tons of white sandstone from Gunnison which was used as lintels for the building. Local craftsmen involved in the project included S.M. Tarkington and Daniel Hurd, who served as general contractors at different times; A.J. Fjelle, woodwork; J.J. Mayers, painting, glazing and graining; and the hardware firm of Kraft and Mullin which produced the block's ornate metal cornice. , The lower floor of the corner building was occupied by Simon Hartman's clothing and dry goods store when the building was completed in March, 1881; Smith and Bascom, a grocery store, rented the adjoining storeroom when it was finished in 1882. Mining entrepreneur Albert E. Reynolds consolidated both ground floor storerooms in 1883 with a stock of hardware and groceries; Reynolds was succeeded in 1885 by the grocery and hardware firm of Patz and Richards, operated by Conrad Patz and George J. Richards, which was one of the city's most substantial business firms prior to its reorganization in 1897. The firm was thereafter known as Foster and Richards, Powderhorn rancher C.P. Foster joining Richards in the business. Foster sold the business to Henry T. Hoffman in 1921. , The basement portion of the Hough Block was occupied by an elegant "gentlemen's resort," the "Hole in the Wall" saloon, in 1881 and 1882. The SILVER WORLD newspaper noted, "It is the intention of the proprietors to make their establishment a pleasant and quiet resort for gentlemen, to which end all the adornments and arrangements of the place are of the most elegant character, while they who have tasted their cigars and spirituous compounds do say that they are of the best brands." , Upstairs rooms in the Hough Block were occupied by a variety of dentists, doctors, mine managers and attorneys through the years. These included Gunnison attorneys Sapp and Sapp and Brown and Nourse in the 1890's; Dr. D.M. Comfort, a dentist, in 1899; Crystal Lake Masonic Lodge; and the town's telephone and telegraph offices. Madam Francis conducted seances and told fortunes in upstairs Room 8 in 1898. Josephine Propper offered comfortable accommodations in the upstairs rooms of the block from 1895 until 1899 when Emma Mayer took over the business. Rev. M.B. Milne of the Baptist Church organized the Lake City Library and Reading Room in the Hough Block in 1918; the Lake City Library returned to the building in 1979 and remained until 1991. , In more recent history, Mike and Stella Pavich purchased the Hough Block in 1932. Between 1932 and 1945 they ran Mike's Place Cafe, which was expanded to include a bar, pool tables and slot machines. The Paviches offered six hamburgers for a quarter and t-bone steaks for 50-cents. The cafe was replaced by the Pavich Grocery in 1945; the grocery continued in business until 1975., In the corner room of the Hough Block, the Paviches operated Lake City's first retail liquor store from 1934 until 1975, and in a separate area ran an 80-seat movie theater (1945-1949) which featured adult tickets at 30-cents; children, nine-cents. Mike and Stella Pavich rented upstairs rooms in the Hough Block as part of the Alpine Hotel. , John H. Parker, who purchased the Hough Block in 1975, finished extensive renovation of the building to return it to its original appearance. Through the efforts of Parker and the Hinsdale County Historical Society, the Lake City Historic District, including the Hough Block, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.