Three storys and brick from top to bottom, the Imperial Block was built in 1900 by investor Abraham Wehl. One of several remaining Butte buildings with a cast iron façade on the ground floor, the Imperial Block was built primarily as a rooming house, but was built with retail space for two establishments across the front of the ground floor. The rest of the building housed as many as fifty miners in its early years, as well as a few prostitutes. In later years the prostitutes were caused to leave, being replaced by young families, some with children.
On the east side of the building, facing an empty lot and Wyoming Street, are a pair of large painted signs, obviously placed high on the building to make them visible over the building that once occupied the vacant lot. This sign, at the front end of the building, was placed by Sweet Caporals. This is about the only type of cigarette advertisement one will see any more - one many decades old.
Sweet Caporal was one of the oldest names in cigarette brands that only ceased production in 2011.
The brand was originally produced by the Kinney Bros. Tobacco Company, New York, beginning in 1878, and became very popular. Kinney Bros., which was merged into the pre-1911 giant American Tobacco Company.
When the American Tobacco Company's monopoly was broken in 1911, the Sweet Caporal trademark was retained by the restructured company.
One of the brand's distinguishing features was the inclusion of collectible "cigarette cards" in each pack. Sweet Caporal cigarettes pulled its Honus Wagner card from the market in 1915 after the slugger complained he didn't want kids to see him associated with tobacco products.
From the Main Street Butte