Knights of Pythias (Mellor & McFarlane) Building

Ben Dugan
GCN Historical Writer

1/19/2006 - From 1872 – 1882 McFarlane and Company, comprised of the brothers Peter and Will, built many buildings, stamp mills, and mine structures throughout the Central City area. In 1875 their services were secured by Central City Banker John Mellor to build where Spring and Gregory streets meet. The railroad had not yet arrived in Central City and this was undeveloped real estate.

  As in all major construction projects, the exterior of the buildings was completed first. This has also been true of the many casino projects that have gone up in recent years, including The Isle of Capri (1999), Lodge Casino (1998), Riviera (2001), Mardi Gras (2002), and the current construction of the Toll Gate Golden Rose Casino Project in Central City. The project began in the summer and the buildings were completed by November. Clothing merchant William Trounstine opened his store on one side of the two asymmetric structures and Benjamin Franklin Pease on the other.

  In January 1876 the Knights of Pythias had occupied an upstairs room for their rituals and practices. The Knights of Pythias were a national organization began in 1864 in Washington D.C. by Justus T. Rathbone. They were among the many fraternal organizations that were popularized in the 1800s by the remoteness of the many mining camps throughout the West. As the population spread west, so did their clubs and interests.

  The Meuller Commission Co. used the building for ten years before Angelo Balaria opened the Central Bottling Works in 1901. Mountain States Telephone Company used the building to the south as storage for their equipment. These buildings were later vacant and abandoned for many years as Central City’s population declined. In the 1950s the fronts of both buildings required substantial repair and replacement. Major brickwork was done to form the two southern buildings into one solid brick building. Currently the holes in the roofs of both buildings show the birds where they can hang out in the summers. The Pythias Building was to be part of the new municipal parking garage that was to be attached to the Fortune Valley Casino, but voters declined that proposal in the general election last November.