Historic maps and early directories reveal that this splendid business block was constructed circa 1890. Morris Auerbach, in business with Israel L. Israel and Adolph Marks during the 1890s, was the original occupant. Their Boston Clothing Company carried gentlemen’s furnished goods and advertised “One Price, Square Dealing, Plain Figures.” Upstairs were gambling and furnished rooms. During Prohibition Helena’s red light neighborhood disbursed, resurfacing in the Boston Block in 1927 when well-known madam Ida Levy located upstairs. She moved next door in 1933, and Pearl Maxwell operated the Royal Rooms in the Boston Block until 1953. The handsome building was a worthy companion to the flamboyant Novelty Block, also owned by Auerbach, which once stood several doors up to the north. The elaborately crowned twin bays of the two buildings were a downtown highlight. The cupolas of the Novelty Block today top the two kiosks on the north walking mall. The Boston Block’s handsome second story escaped the remodeling that changed its storefront. Sensitive rehabilitation during 1970s urban renewal assured this Victorian-era treasure its rightful prominence along Last Chance Gulch.
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