The emerging talent of architect H. M. Patterson is evident in this early example of his work, built circa 1890. Named for prominent local resident and Civil War veteran Colonel J. C. C. Thornton (who died in 1887), the stately hotel featured first-floor commercial space and upper-level apartments. Patterson’s distinctive Richardsonian Romanesque-inspired style here includes grand third-floor arches and the mixed textures of brick and stone on the façade, elements that were soon to invigorate Butte’s streetscape. The first-floor interior boasts an open oak staircase, cast-iron columns, and ornate tin ceiling, which no doubt impressed hotel guests.
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