By Jake Romero | Gaslamp Landmarks
The three-story brick and steel building that occupies 756-760 Fifth Ave. is known as the Fritz Building. Louis Fritz was the founder of the famed Golden Lion Tavern, a popular eatery and saloon established in 1907. This structure, built in 1908 at a cost of $30,000, is of the Renaissance Revival style, a 19th-century style drawing inspiration from a wide range of Italian classical influences.
This building bears the initials of its builder on ornate decorative cast filigrees on the left and right sides of its facade.
The Fritz Building was initially erected under the supervision of architect C.H. Edmond Blachmann. It is a simple structure with several notable features. Rising 50 feet, the lines of the structure coincide with the adjoining Loring and Company Building to the north. Support of the floors was achieved by an economical yet ingenious method that utilized steel beams and columns encased in concrete. This construction method proved to be durable while maximizing space and greatly reducing cost.
The first floor was fitted for restaurant use with a large plate-glass front with spacious vestibule wainscoted with fine, well-matched onyx and dark Tennessee marble base. The main room was quite grand with a coved ceiling and dentilled cornice supported by pilasters forming panels decorated with hunting scenes. Unfortunately, none of these interior details have survived to present day.
Upon opening in 1909, one of the first tenants was the Denver Bachelor Apartments operated under the management of Alice S. Poole.
Mrs. Poole’s apartments provided fine, first class accommodations for gentlemen. Furnishings were elegant and comfortable. Lavatories were the very best and fitted with instantaneous heaters. No children or ladies were admitted under any circumstances, nor cooking of any kind permitted.
In later years, the building housed the Minneapolis Hotel and Restaurant, a business known for catering to the prostitutes and their patrons in the Stingaree District.
Throughout the years, this building has housed numerous restaurants. At the time of this writing, the first floor is unoccupied.
—Jake Romero is the director of operations of the Gaslamp Quarter Historical Foundation, located at 410 Island Ave., Downtown, in the historic Davis-Horton House. For more information visit gaslampfoundation.org.
