The Forum Caf? / Union Hotel / United States Trio Hall / The Forum Caf? / The Blue Bell Caf

The Forum Caf? / Union Hotel / United States Trio Hall / The Forum Caf? / The Blue Bell Caf (HM18CW)

Location: Placerville, CA 95667 El Dorado County
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Country: United States of America
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N 38° 43.699', W 120° 48.124'

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Inscription

The Bookery

Saloons and gambling halls provided the main form of entertainment for miners during the gold rush. One of Old Hangtown's largest gaming halls, The United States Trio, once stood on this site. Owner and entrepreneur, Benjamin Nickerson, first engaged in the business of promoting the short-lived bloody sport of bull and bear and donkey fighting on Circus Hill. When public opinion shut his bull ring down, Nickerson turned his marketing skills toward liquor and cards. The gaming tables of his large canvas tent groaned with bags of gold dust and glittering piles of coins.

Business proved so lucrative that Nickerson soon replaced the hall with a two story wooden building in 1852. The prosperous proprietor enlarged the structure which offered 75 sleeping rooms and included two parlors and a ten pin alley. He then gave his establishment the more dignified name of the Union Hotel. Flames razed the hotel in 1856.

Years later the Forum Caf? occupied this spot until fire forced it's (sic) closure in 1938. That year one of Placerville's most famous landmarks, The Blue Bell Coffee Shop, opened it's (sic) doors at the same location. For many years the restaurant served "Hangtown Fry" which consisted of a mixture of bacon, oysters, and eggs. Originally the Blue Bell housed a candy store, soda fountain, and a cocktail lounge. On opening night, Owners C.A. and Veva Butts hired a vaudeville troupe from San Francisco to entertain it's (sic) first customers.

Today The Bookery provides readers with a treasure of quality used books covering a multitude of subjects.
Details
HM NumberHM18CW
Tags
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Placed ByHeritage Association of El Dorado County
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Sunday, September 14th, 2014 at 11:14am PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)10S E 691058 N 4288921
Decimal Degrees38.72831667, -120.80206667
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 38° 43.699', W 120° 48.124'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds38° 43' 41.94" N, 120° 48' 7.44" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)530, 916
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 330 Main St, Placerville CA 95667, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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