Laserfiche WebLink
Louisville directories from 1900 and 1903 show Di Francia again operating a saloon. However, it is <br />thought that he likely leased and didn't own a saloon building at that time (and leases were not <br />necessarily recorded with the County). <br />In 1904, Eusebio Di Francia purchased Lot 1, Block B, which was just two lots north of his previous <br />saloon. It is appears that he had the current building at this location of 740 Front constructed in the <br />same year, 1904. According to information the Fischer family of Louisville, it was built by the Fischer <br />construction business, which was responsible for the construction of many downtown structures. The <br />following aerial photo from the 1930s, from the collection of the Louisville Historical Museum, shows <br />the relationship between the two saloon buildings. (The two story saloon building on the right, which <br />was later owned by the Mossoni family, was torn down in the 1970s or 1980s.) <br />The architectural and historical survey of 740 Front that was conducted in 2000 raised the question of <br />just what this saloon was been called. It has been found from a review of newspaper articles that it was <br />referred to as "Francia's Saloon" and "Di Francia's Saloon," and this was in accordance with common <br />saloon naming practices of the time in Louisville. <br />Di Francia continued his affiliation with the Union Brewing Company that had started with his other <br />saloon, and in the meantime it had become the Tivoli -Union Brewing Company. <br />Front Street was the location of saloons and blacksmiths, and historically was a male -dominated area <br />where most women didn't venture. Carolyn Conarroe, in her book The Louisville Story, stated that the <br />town allowed saloons to be located only on Front Street, and that at one early time there were thirteen <br />or fourteen saloons in a three block area of Front Street. It should also be noted that due to sometimes <br />frequent changeover in ownership and operation, there were actually many more saloon businesses <br />than just thirteen or fourteen known to have been operated in Louisville over many years. On Front <br />Street, the Old Louisville Inn building is the only one still in operation as a bar. (Another historical saloon, <br />which was Lackner's Tavern, is still in operation close by, but has a Pine Street address — Casa Alegre, at <br />1006 Pine). <br />The following photo from circa the 1910s shows Front Street looking south, with an arrow indicating the <br />location of what is today 740 Front Street. Steinbaugh's with its distinctive roof can be seen just to the <br />north of it. <br />5 <br />