Harrah's Glory Hole Saloon (Meyer Building)

Reflecting the shifting fortunes of a mining town, this structure has seen a wide variety of uses over the years. Its two-foot-thick stone side walls survived the 1874 fire, although the rest of the structure was gutted. Various restaurants, a funeral parlor, the post office, and the Gilpin County Observer were here before 1897, when Ignatz Meyer added a second story, put his name on the cornice, and reopened the building as a saloon.

In 1992 the old two-story building was enveloped inside a four-story brick building to become what was then the largest casino in Colorado. The $13 million Glory Hole Saloon and Gaming Hall incorporates restored Main Street facades and a handsome new brick and stone rear entrance on Pine Street opposite St. Mary's Church. The old back bar was preserved and doubled in length, while the tiny upstairs living quarters were rehabilitated as private dining rooms. New pressed metal ceilings, Victorian wallpaper, heavy velvet draperies, and fake palm trees adorn this gambling haven, where the saloon's old potbellied stove reappeared with perpetual cellophane flames. Amid all the Victoriana, an escalator incongruously carries customers to 535 slot machines and twelve card tables.