Car 19

Built early in the 1900s as a candy and sporting-goods store, this Main Street building found its real character in the 1940s as the Orange Blossom Confectionary — ice cream and soda water served in front, drinks and dancing in back, and rooms to live in upstairs. It went quiet after the mines faltered, until the late 1960s, when Park City began turning from a fading mining camp into a ski town and a local named Bob Murphy pushed to save the old Main Street. This was among the first buildings brought back.

What the plaque says

Built in the early 1900's, this building originally served as a candy and sporting goods store. By the 1940's it was known as the Orange Blossom Confectionary, and was a popular gathering place during the wartime years. Ice cream and soda water were served in the front, and alcoholic beverages and dancing were provided in the rear. The second floor was living quarters. A change in ownership in the 1950's resulted in a new restaurant which operated for only a brief tenure. The building was then vacant for many years, except for a small notions shop occupying the north section. In the late 1960's, when Park City's transition from a mining town to ski town was beginning to congeal, the late Bob Murphy urged renovation of the historic Main Street buildings. This structure was one of the earliest efforts, and was remodeled to accommodate a bar and restaurant. The basement was cleared of decades of debris and dirt to expose the stonework which is part of the lower restaurant's decor today. Compared to the typical, very simple mining town architecture of early Park City, this victorian commercial structure is unusual in its elaborate detailing. The stamped metal front was readily available by mail order catalog at the turn of the century. The pressed metal detailing on this building is Main Street's last example of this once common facade treatment. Remodeling undertaken in the late 1970's emphasized the Victorian detailing, and added the wooden canopy which is a dominant feature of the building today.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Park City — 0.2 mi
  Silver built it. Snow saved it.
• Park City Main Street — 0.2 mi
  A historic mining town turned world-class ski and film festival destination
• Park City Mountain — 0.8 mi
  The largest ski resort in the United States, grown straight out of a 19th-century silver town.
• Deer Valley — 1.5 mi
  A ski-only luxury resort above Park City, now in the middle of the largest expansion in U.S. ski history.

More markers nearby

• Rocky Mountain Bell Telephone Office — steps away
• Frank Andrew Building — steps away
• War Veterans Memorial Building — steps away
• The Oak Saloon — steps away