College Inn Bar

College Inn Bar
Location103 N. 2nd St., Douglas, Wyoming
Coordinates42°45′35″N 105°23′06″W / 42.75974°N 105.38511°W / 42.75974; -105.38511
Arealess than one acre
Built1906
NRHP reference No.79002608[1]
Added to NRHPJuly 10, 1979

The College Inn Bar is the oldest continuously operating business in Douglas, Wyoming and Converse County to remain at its original location. It was established in 1906 by Theodore ("Llee") Pringle on the site of an earlier bar he had operated since 1887, known as "Lee Pringle's." The 1906 structure is a two-story masonry building constructed on the footprint of the original frame building, which was relocated two blocks away and still survives.[2]

Architecture and interior

The College Inn Bar is a rectangular two-story masonry building with 25 feet (7.6 m) of street frontage and 100 feet (30 m) of depth. The bar itself was manufactured by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company of Chicago and features elaborate woodwork, including a mirrored back bar of marble and wood. The mirrors were painted with Western scenes in 1953. The barroom is decorated with taxidermy mounts and an arched transom screen with stained glass inserts, surmounted by two mounted golden eagles. Adjacent to the barroom is a lounge that originally contained ten curtained private booths, which were removed during Prohibition; the lounge retains its call buttons and painted murals.[2]

The second floor originally comprised nine elaborately furnished guest rooms and a tenth room designated for gambling. The building's construction incorporated railroad steel and steel cables in an early application of reinforced concrete techniques. The basement functioned as a storeroom for liquor and beer.[2]

Historic designation

The College Inn Bar was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 10, 1979.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ a b c Leonard, Peg Layton (December 9, 1978). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: The College Inn Bar". National Park Service. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
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