Iconic St. Anthony inn under renovation is full of history that draws people worldwide
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BIZ BUZZ
ST. ANTHONY
Historic inn in St. Anthony undergoing renovations
ST. ANTHONY – For more than 100 years, the Silver Horseshoe Inn at 22 North Bridge Street in St. Anthony has been a popular destination for patrons all over the world.
People from as far away as Germany and China are lured in by its iconic history and folklore tied to the American West and the Chicago mafia.
A major renovation project is currently underway at the 114-year-old building, which includes a dozen rooms, a restaurant, bar, massage and spa services.
“It’s a full renovation from top to bottom,” manager Randall Smith tells EastIdahoNews.com. “The glaring thing when you walk in is the lack of maintenance and improvements to the property over the last 50 years or longer. We decided to do it right.”
Smith runs the business with his brother Lawrence.
One of the recent additions is a new floor in the saloon. Tile soaked in beer from numerous bar fights over the years had previously been covered up but not replaced.
This created unevenness and an odor that Smith says needed to be eliminated.
“Instead of actually pulling the floor out and putting a new one in, they would just put another floor on top of the old floor. It wasn’t just a matter of the odor — it was also a matter of it not being level. It’s difficult to operate a restaurant or a bar without level floors so we replaced it,” says Smith.
Smith says one of the biggest challenges is “blending the old with the new.” His No. 1 goal is to respect the building’s “architectural integrity” by adding some cosmetic improvements that are authentic to the time period it was built.
A storied history
The Silver Horseshoe Inn dates back to 1910. Smith isn’t sure who opened it initially, but it was the Powell family that “put it on the map.”
“Roy Powell was the chef-owner,” Smith says. “I believe he had the place for a couple of decades (beginning sometime in the 1960s). He’s also related to Gayle Powell, the original owner of Mrs. Powell’s Bakery, which started in this building.”
Gayle’s family visited the inn last winter, and Smith says they’re looking at offering cinnamon rolls at the restaurant in the future.
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In the basement, Smith says some of the support columns are wrapped in Chinese newspapers. The reason for that is unclear, but Smith says this could’ve been a result of the influx of Chinese immigrants during that time.
They came looking for work and many of them had jobs on the railroad and on farms doing irrigation work.
“There was a restaurant here called The Chinese Clipper,” Smith says. “We found a menu, and we’ve heard it from some of the locals.”
There are also stories of underground tunnels used for bootlegging. Smith confirms the tunnels are real, though they were blocked off by the city years ago.
The legend that’s been passed down by locals is that the inn was once a hideout for family members of the Chicago mafia. They reportedly came to the hotel if they were under heat by the federal government, earning St. Anthony the nickname “Little Chicago.”
“They didn’t want the family to be under investigation so they would send them out West to what was called ‘cooler towns,'” Smith says. “We’ve heard mafia family members would get bored and get involved in bootlegging. The tunnels could’ve been connected to that or may have had something to do with Chinese labor.”
Many locals believe one of the tunnels led to the old opera building on Main Street where Housley Pumps Sales & Services now sits.
And there are other legends of ghosts who visit the Silver Horseshoe Inn.
Though it’s all unverified, the history is part of the inn’s allure that draws people across the globe. Smith would like to see it listed on the National Register of Historic places one day.
‘The memories and nostalgia … make it special’
Many have fond memories of the restaurant’s wall of cattle brands collected from cowboys across the U.S. Smith isn’t sure when this tradition started but he recalls a recent visit from two men in their 90s who cried when they saw it.
“One of them was 96,” says Smith. “His wife had passed years earlier, but he had memories of dancing at the Silver Horseshoe with his wife. The memories and nostalgia is what really makes it special.”
Smith says they recently acquired the Spokes & Spurs Saloon next door, which will be part of an expansion project.
Renovations will likely be completed sometime next year. He’s looking forward to unveiling it to the community at that time.
Meanwhile, it’s still open for reservations, but some of the amenities are limited.
“We’re hoping to have the restaurant up and running this summer,” Smith says. “The saloon we hope to have open in the next couple of weeks.”
TAKE A TOUR OF THE BUILDING IN THE VIDEO ABOVE.
BIZ BITS
INL hires new deputy laboratory director, chief research officer
IDAHO FALLS – Todd Combs, a highly respected leader and seasoned national laboratory expert, was selected this week as Idaho National Laboratory’s next deputy laboratory director for science and technology and chief research officer.
Combs replaces Marianne Walck, who left INL earlier this year to become the laboratory director at the National Energy Technology Laboratory. Combs’ hiring follows an extensive nationwide search. He will begin his new role June 3.
Since 2017, Combs has been INL’s associate laboratory director for the Energy and Environment Science and Technology directorate, which oversees a broad clean energy research and development portfolio. Under his leadership, the directorate made measurable progress in several initiatives vital to INL’s mission.
Combs grew up in Red Hook, New York, and graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point. He spent 14 and a half years in active Air Force duty and more than 12 years in the reserves. Combs worked at the Pentagon, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, and at the headquarters of Air Combat Command and Air Force Reserve Command, where he advised U.S. Air Force leadership.
Combs also held leadership positions at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee and Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois before coming to INL seven years ago.
He and his wife, Laura, live in Idaho Falls with their three children.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT…
Pocatello’s Ross Park Aquatic Complex opens for 2024 Season May 25
New youth residential mental health treatment center under construction in Idaho Falls
Two local museums re-open under one roof and you’re invited to the grand opening
Reed’s Dairy building destroyed in fire earlier this year is being demolished
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