The Story
The Franklin opened June 4, 1903, funded partly by financier Harris Franklin, who matched community contributions after the project stalled. Built in Greek Revival style for roughly $100,000, it was startlingly modern — elevator, steam heat, electric lights, telephones, and private baths in half its 80 rooms. Over the decades its guests included Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft, John Wayne, Buffalo Bill Cody, Babe Ruth, and John L. Sullivan. After 1989's gambling legalization it merged with the adjoining Silverado into the Silverado Franklin complex.
Surprising Facts
→ Guests over the years included two U.S. presidents, John Wayne, and Babe Ruth.
→ It opened with an elevator and electric lights in 1903 — extraordinary for a mining town.
→ Only half its 80 original rooms had private baths — still luxurious for 1903.