Real estate appraisal card. 142 Lower (or North) F Street, part of lots 1-4, block 5, in Salida, Colorado. This is currently 140 Lower F Street.
The building was erected between 1904 and 1909 and has always been a restaurant. It first housed the Rio Grande Cafe, then the Chili Parlor Restaurant, then the Star Cafe. Mae Prunty bought the place for $1 in 1943 and was subsequently contracted by the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad to serve food to the railroad crew 24 hours a day. In 1951, Neal Prunty took over and renamed it Neal's Cafe.
The characters drawn on the inside walls were done by a restaurant employee, Bill Blake. Each of the caricatures represents a person who frequented the cafe.
History Colorado's Architectural Inventory Forms have more information and are available at the Salida Library.
