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Distant View of Double Welcoming Arch for the 1904 Industrial Exposition, Second Street and Center, 1904.
With the arrival of the railroad and the discovery of oil in the Salt Creek Field about fifty miles to the
north, Casper was set to take off. In 1904, the the citizens of the town hosted the second Industrial Exposition. The first had
been held in Sheridan the year before. A double welcoming arch was constructed at the intersection of
Second Street and Center. Other arches were constructed near the railroad depot.
View of Double Welcoming Arch, Second Street and Center, 1904.
With the success of the Industrial Exposition, Casper made an effort to land the State Fair. The effort failed,
the State Fair went to Doublas.
Grand Central Stables, West Second Street, approx. 1900.
The stables were owned by Martin M. "Shorty" Castle. Mounted on the white horse
is Blake Horn (1882-1955). Horn ran away from home in Alabama at about age of 15 in 1897 to become a cowboy.
For a time he worked on the Tobin Ranch. Later he became a rodeo cowboy and homesteaded his
own ranch proving up his claim in 1922.
Grand Central Hotel, Center and 2nd Streets, 1907.
Note the doors on the second floor opening onto nothingness. The hotel, owned by liquor dealer Hugh L. "Colorado" Patton, was located on the
southwest corner of Center and 2nd Steets.
Second Street looking east to Center.
Grand Central Hotel on right. Charles H. Townsend's Clothing and
Dry Goods Store on the left.
As indicated by the doors on the second floor in the upper view and by the undated
photo to the left,  the hotel
originally had a porch on the front. The second-floor doors were
ultimately closed in. The hotel was badly
damaged by a 5.8 Richter Scale earthquake on November 14, 1897. As a result of the
quake, a crack in the brick work formed all the way from the first floor to the third, causing the
terrified occupants of the hotel to flee into the street. Not withstanding Patton's nickname,
he was born in Michigan.
Townsend's Clothing Store was opened in 1898. The building depicted above was constructed in
1903. Townsend later went into the banking business. The building housed both of his banks,
The Stockmen's National Bank of Casper and the First Trust & Savings Bank, at the same
time. Townsend served as Worthy Master of Casper Lodge No. 15 in 1897 and became Grand Master of
the Wyoming Grand Lodge in 1900. In 1903 he became the Worthy Grand Patron of the
Eastern Star. In 1924, Townsend opened his lasting contribution to
the skyline of Casper, the Townsend Hotel at 115 N. Center discussed on a later page.
On February 11, 1928, Townsend withdrew from the
banking business. Nevertheless, he continued with civic and fraternal affairs serving as District
Governor of the Rotary in 1930 and becoming Most Worthy Grand Patron of the Eastern Star in 1940. Casper Lodge
No. 15 A.F. & A.M. at 105 N. Center is the four-story building immediately past the Townsend Hotel in the
1938 view above.
Intersection of 2nd Street and Center, approx.
1905.
C. H. Townsend's Stockmen's National Bank is on the far corner. The buildings on the
right were later replaced by the Rialto Theatre discussed on a subsequent page.
Wood and Foshay Furniture Store, 1911.
The Wood and Foshay store, located on the south side of Second Ave., between Center and Wolcott, became the Chamberlain
furniture store in 1914 and for a short time was the site of J. C. Penney's Golden Rule Store. Its site is
now occupied by the Consolidated Royalty Building constructed in 1917.
Center Street looking north, approx. 1912. Photo by
Ralph Doubleday
Casper Photos continued on next page.
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