Filed Under Butte

Push Saloon / Silver Dollar Saloon

Butte National Historic Landmark District

Butte saloons bragged of their diversity, specialization, and peculiarities. Frenchmen drank white whiskey at the Canadian, and the Scotch were entertained by bagpipes at McGregor’s. Swedes patronized the Scandia Hall and blacks the Silver Tip. Engineers frequented Jerry Clifford’s saloon, “high class miners” the Southern, and theater-goers the Orpheum. In addition, the nearby red light district (commonly called the “twilight zone”) boasted “very, very naughty saloons.” When the Push Saloon opened in this building in 1894 it was one of Butte’s 165 saloons. A four block walk up Main Street offered a choice of 35 similar establishments. During Prohibition owners sold “soft drinks and cigars” here, and later the Midget Creamery at this location accepted shipments from distant Virgelle, Montana—a place too accessible to the border and “bootleg” not to raise eyebrows. The Silver Dollar, established after Prohibition in 1934, is today a working link to this colorful and distinctive heritage.

Images

Push / Silver Dollar
Push / Silver Dollar facade Source: Montana Historic Society Creator: Bryan Baldwin Date: August 8, 2022
Ghost Signs
Ghost Signs South elevation ghost signs Source: Montana Historical Society Creator: Bryan Baldwin Date: August 5, 2022
Push Saloon/Silver Dollar Saloon
Push Saloon/Silver Dollar Saloon Push Saloon/Silver Dollar Saloon (PAc 91-51 B1 RollCBD08 F08). Front to side view of the building, facing west to northwest on the corner of South Main Street and West Mercury Street. B&W. Source: Montana State Historic Preservation Office from the Photograph Archives at the Montana Historical Society Creator: Photographer unidentified Date: 1985
Push Saloon/Silver Dollar Saloon, Butte, MT
Push Saloon/Silver Dollar Saloon, Butte, MT View of south elevation along Mercury Street with ghost signage Source: iPhone 8 image capture, jpeg Creator: Martha Kohl, photographer Date: May 28, 2021

Location

133-135 South Main Street, Butte, Montana | Private

Metadata

The Montana National Register Sign Program, “Push Saloon / Silver Dollar Saloon,” Historic Montana, accessed March 29, 2024, https://historicmt.org/items/show/1983.