Three story 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 rear end of the building, was placed by
Sweet's Candies, a Salt Lake City company that remains in business today.
A rare signed sign, this was painted by Frank G. Meinhart, originally of St. Louis.
This wall sign on the east side of the Imperial Block advertises Sweet's Candies, a Salt Lake City company that kept early Butte walldog Frank G. Meinhart busy decorating walls with ads for their products. How do we know? He was a rare sign painter who signed his work. According to his obituary, Frank G. Meinhart came to Montana from St. Louis when he was a young man, and lived and worked in Butte in a shop at 119 South Main Street until about 1927, when he and his wife moved to Hamilton. There he began accumulating land in the Bitterroot Valley and the Big Hole Valley. He drowned at the age of 73.
Two of his signed projects remain with his name and this is one of them. The other is the Smoke Dry Climate Cigars sign on the south side of the Alano Club at 721 S. Utah Street.
Sweet's Candies is another regional or national company that took advantage of the fact that at its peak nearly 100,000 souls populated the streets of Butte 24 hours a day. Coca Cola, cigars, chocolates, whiskey all vied for premium real estate on the walls of Uptown Butte with the hope of capturing the attention of potential customers on the streets below. Sales must have benefitted as a result of Sweet's marketing approach because they are still in business in Salt Lake City
From the Main Street Butte