Casper Confidential Tours: First And Center Building [VIDEO,GALLERY]
Have you ever wondered about some of the buildings and places in and around town? This is the first in a series of places that we will take you that you may or may not have seen before.
This first tour is of the First and Center building. This is a building that actually started out as an addition to the Gladstone Hotel. The original hotel sat just to the south of this building and has since been torn down. In 1954 when this annex was opened it was labeled as the tallest building in the state and the 9th floor was a restaurant called the Sky Room and even then boasted floor to ceiling windows.
This addition also had an additional 40 hotel rooms and had a lounge on the ground floor called the Peacock Lounge.
Over the years there have been a number of changes including in the 1970's the Gladstone was knocked down and the 40 hotel rooms were converted into offices, although a quick look through the gallery will show a few of the bathrooms surviving the remodel. In the late 70's the Sky Room was a popular disco called Studio 9 and the Peacock Lounge changed to the Drawbridge and for the last several years was a sandwich shop. In some of these pictures you might recognize the entrance to Studio 9 and some of the offices in the building.
Just over a year ago the building was bought for a conversion back to a boutique hotel, but with the swing in the economy the current owners have chosen to sell it. Steve Johnson with Century 21 has it listed and would be happy to show it to anyone who has interest in revitalizing this piece of Casper history. Call him at 307-473-9990