20's brick buildings

[MountainMan]

In most western towns buildings were put up as fast as possible, with no regard to a fancy front. You would find the fancy stone work on the front of buildings in San Francisco, probably Denver, and Seattle in the 1800's. Los Angeles was pretty much a village until oil was discovered in the early 1900's at the same time the movie industry moved out here to get away from Thomas Edison and his patent on movies. I'm not sure when businesses would have started to paint brick. Unreinforced masonry was a common construction method until the Long Beach earthquake in 1933 caused brick and stone work to fall onto the sidewalk.

Depends on the town. Cripple Creek was rich, and appearances were considered important. The old brick buildings are still there, and the decorative touches and architectural flourishes are quite noticable. Same thing in Canon City and Florence. This is the front of the Victor undertakers.



Raynolds Bank Building, Canon City:



Two views of Main Street, Canon City - note the decorative fronts:




The Old Sante Fe Depot in Canon City:



And Main Street in Cripple Creek - again note the architectural embellishment: