Goldman saloon/card room place of famous murder
By Linda Jones
Three business buildings, or blocks, as they were called in the 1800s, comprise the Lawrence Street side of the Century Casino. All of these buildings – the Bacharach Block, the Hense Block and the Miller Block – were constructed after the fire of 1874. On the corner of Lawrence and Main is the Miller Block. Originally, there were three stores on the street level and eight rooms on the second floor that were rented as offices. The prize corner location was Goldman’s saloon/card room from 1878 to 1911. Goldman also operated a fruit stand and liquor store in the building. In 1896 a famous murder was committed above the card room.
In 1896, the most popular man in Gilpin County was murdered in the stairwell between Goldman’s card room and the offices on the second floor. Richard “Dick” Williams had served as Gilpin County sheriff, Central City mayor and Gilpin County commissioner. He was beloved because of his prowess at wrestling, his skill at horseracing and his honesty in business; he owned Williams Stables, across from the Opera House. A workman who probably did not know Williams was intent on killing the county judge, whose office was above Goldman’s.
Century is located in what used to be the Goldman saloon/card room building. Photo by Linda Jones
When Williams heard the cries for help from the card room, he ran down the street from the stables, grabbed a pistol from a card player and ran up the stairs, along with Central City Marshall Keleher. Covington was at the top of the stairs and shot both. Keleher lived, but Williams died four days later. His funeral was the largest the county has ever seen. The 750 seats in the Opera House couldn’t hold the crowd, and people filled Eureka Street outside the opera house’s four doors.
The next building on Lawrence, the Hense Block, had two street-level shops, a jewelry store and a grocery/bakery store. Upstairs was a billiard hall. The Bacharach Block, next down Lawrence Street, had shops on the first level and a residence above. The Miller and Hense buildings were connected around 1911, creating the New Hotel; in 1915, the Goldman stores were remodeled into the hotel office and restaurant and the hotel was renamed the Central City Hotel. When the Bacharach Block was joined to the Miller and Hense Blocks, the resulting hotel was renamed Chain O’ Mines Hotel and provided overnight lodging for many an opera patron.
A look back at the old Central City blocks when the Toll Gate Saloon was still a popular spot and long before Century Casino came along. Photo courtesy of Gilpin County Historical Society
In 1982 the hotel was bought, remodeled and renamed the Golden Rose Hotel. The new owners used exquisite Victorian furnishings and patterns in the lovely hotel, which became the Golden Rose Casino. The stairway and the fireplace in the Golden Rose Hotel were both declared Victorian Landmarks and cannot be destroyed. The fireplace mantel contains a stone from every county in Colorado, making it unique. Don’t look for the stairway – it’s saved but is hidden behind walls.
The one-story building on Lawrence Street was originally built in 1881 as a blacksmith and carpenter shop. When the structure was remodeled as Miner’s Pick Casino, only the façade was left.
Along Main Street, the Century Casino occupies the Harris Block, well-remembered as the home of the Toll Gate Saloon. The Hense Block, in the middle of the Century Casino, was built soon after the 1874 fire and was home to a market, a saloon and an antique shop. The corner building, the Harris Block, has sheltered every kind of business imaginable, including an undertaker’s business, which may explain the many ghosts remaining in the building. For more than 30 years, it housed the Toll Gate Saloon, fondly remembered by servicemen who were stationed at Lowry during WWII.
Under the Toll Gate, in the basement, was Madam Gail’s Bar. An unusual and typical Central City feature in Madam Gail’s was the bar with every Little Kingdom Come centerfold preserved for posterity.
A small, one-story building behind the Toll Gate Saloon was incorporated into Century Casino also. This building, called the Dorris Building, had at one time been the post office – and a saloon, restaurant, gambling hall and the school lunchroom. In November 1991, it became the Pony Express Casino.
