“No year has favored the business section like 1910. And best of all, the buildings are of a better class than last year,” enthused the Ravalli Republic. Part of this boom, the First National Bank building replaced two wooden structures that housed a general store and Hamilton’s first hospital in the mid-1890s. The second floor of the new masonry building was divided into inexpensive apartments. The building’s first-floor façade reflected its dual purpose as a bank and store. Large display windows with an aluminum mullion frame marked Hub Clothing, which occupied the business block’s south half. Double-hung windows accented by brick voussiors (wedge-shaped bricks or stones) adorned the more formal façade of the First National Bank. F. H. Drinkenberg, president of First National Bank, also owned an interest in Hub Clothing. Mayor of Hamilton in 1910, his real estate investments reflected his faith in the town’s future. In addition to this building, Drinkenberg owned interests in two other Second Street business blocks also constructed 1909-1910.
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