The
railroads came next. In the 2,000 miles of wilderness between St. Louis
and California, the two most opulent railroad stops became Denver and
San Francisco.
In
this golden age, Denver was a city of dreams filled with cattle barons
and overnight gold-rich millionaires – the “Queen City of the Plains.”
The wealth of the mountains was poured into parks filled with lakes and
flower gardens and linked by 17 tree-lined boulevards. Colorado marble
and granite was used to construct banks, hotels, and mansions and Denver
boasted the highest building and the first elevator west of the
Mississippi River.
Today,
at nearly the same pace of the gold rush, these wonderful old
structures are being restored or transformed into hip breweries,
chef-owned restaurants, bakeries, cafes, museums, and trendy boutiques.
Here's where to take a new look at the Old West in Denver.
Where to Taste the Old West
The Buckhorn Exchange
has been serving Old West fare since 1893 and is the oldest saloon in
Colorado. The walls are covered with some 575 taxidermy specimens,
including big horn sheep, moose, buffalo, jackalope and even a
two-headed calf. Hanging beside them are 125 historic guns and Western
mementoes, including a sword once owned by George Armstrong Custer that
was presented to the restaurant by Chief Sitting Bull.
The
historic dining spot was founded by Henry H. “Shorty Scout” Zietz, a
lifelong friend of Buffalo Bill Cody. The menu includes buffalo prime
rib, elk, salmon, quail hen, and baby-back pork ribs, and of course has
appetizers like alligator tips and Rocky Mountain Oysters.
Over
the years, five presidents and countless Hollywood legends have dined
on the red-checkered table clothes or had a drink at the bar that was
built in 1857 and imported from Germany. The restaurant is easily
reached from downtown by taking light rail to the Osage stop.
The Fort
is an authentic re-creation of Bent’s Old Fort on the Santa Fe Trail
and is made with more than 80,000 adobe bricks of mud and straw, each
brick weighing 40 pounds. The original fort was an important fur trading
post in 1833. The new fort opened in 1963 and today serves more than
80,000 buffalo entrees a year.
Diners
enter through the fort’s gates into a courtyard, to be greeted by a
roaring fire, mountain men and a trading post in a tipi. The menu
features a selection of new and early West dishes including beef,
buffalo, game and seafood. Try roasted buffalo marrow bones (Julia
Child’s favorite), braised bison tongue or wild boar sausage.
The
“Hailstorm” was the first Colorado cocktail when it was served in 1833
and is still The Fort’s signature drink. President Bill Clinton
selected The Fort for dinner for the world’s top leaders when the Summit
of the Eight met in Denver in 1997.
Where to Sleep in the Old West
The Brown Palace Hotel
opened on Aug. 12, 1892 and has remained open and welcomed guests every
minute since. The doors have never been locked. Every U.S. president
has visited The Brown Palace since Teddy Roosevelt (1905), with the
exception of Calvin Coolidge.
When
the Brown Palace opened, every room had a fireplace and none of the
rooms had bathrooms. Today, it is one of the most luxurious hotels in
the West. High tea is offered every day in the spectacular eight-story
atrium, which is topped with a stained-glass ceiling.
The
walls contain 12,400 surface feet of onyx, a semiprecious variety of
quartz. At the time the hotel was constructed, it was the most onyx
ever used in a single building.
The
hotel's original artesian well is located 720 feet deep beneath the
Ship Tavern floor and still provides water to every faucet in the hotel.
President Eisenhower often stayed at the hotel for extended periods,
making it the “The Western White House.” Historic tours of the hotel
include a visit to the Eisenhower Suite.
The Oxford Hotel
is Denver’s oldest grand hotel and was originally constructed in 1891
across the street from Union Station. Colorado’s leading architect,
Frank E. Edbrooke, designed this five-story brick structure the year
before he designed the Brown Palace.
Antique
oak furniture, marble and carpet floors, frescoed walls, silver
chandeliers and stained glass decorated the hotel, which had its own
dining rooms, barber shop, stables and a splendid saloon.
Another
novelty, a “vertical railway” or elevator, carried guests to the upper
stories. Notorious Western gunslingers Bat Masterson and Doc Holliday
knew the hotel well. With the decline of the railroads, the hotel fell
into disuse. But in 1983, after a $12 million restoration, it reopened
as one of Denver’s historic gems.
Highlights today include the plush lobby filled with Western paintings and a wood-burning fireplace; and the famous Art Deco Cruise Room bar, which is on the National Historic Register.
The Crawford Hotel
will be a brand new hotel when it opens in July 2014, but it will be
built in Denver’s historic Union Station. This high-end, independent
112-room hotel will be affiliated with the existing 80-room Oxford
Hotel, located across the street.
The
hotel is named after local developer and preservationist Dana Crawford,
who in 1969 was responsible for preserving Larimer Square and
transforming the block of brick and stone Victorian buildings into one
of the city’s hippest shopping, dining and entertainment centers.
Union
Station, designed in the Beaux Arts style, was completed in 1914. The
restored Union Station will incorporate dozens of details from the
“Golden Age” of railroading and have eight new restaurants and retail
shopping.
The
old waiting room will be re-christened “The Great Hall”. With its
soaring arched windows and architectural details, this grand room will
be open to the public 24-7. The old ticket windows are being turned
into The Terminal Bar, which will feature more than 30 Colorado craft
beers.
The
hotel will come with three styles of rooms. The "Pullman" rooms on the
second floor are modeled after the luxury private sleeping cars of old.
The "Classic" rooms on the third floor come with tall ceilings and large
windows. The former attic area will host "Loft" rooms, featuring
exposed wood timbers and vaulted ceilings.
Marriott Renaissance in the Colorado National Bank Building is another new 230-room hotel being constructed in a historic building and is scheduled to open in May 2014.
The
original Colorado National Bank was constructed in 1915 with an
interior and exterior of white marble that came from the same quarry as
the marble used in the Lincoln Memorial and the Tomb of the Unknown
Soldier.
The
spectacular lobby is surrounded by huge, wall-size murals painted by
local artist Allen Tupper True. Considered one of Colorado’s premier
native-born artists, True focused his work on Western subjects. The
murals in the bank building depict the lives of American Indians on the
Plains before white people arrived. A lounge will overlook the lobby,
which will also feature a signature restaurant and meeting rooms
constructed in the old bank vaults.
The Capitol Hill Mansion Bed & Breakfast Inn
is a historic 1891 ruby sandstone mansion built in the historic
neighborhood of Capitol Hill. This area was once known as “Millionaires
Row” because of the elaborate mansions built here by Denver notables,
many of whom struck it rich gold mining, such as “Unsinkable Molly
Brown,” who lived a block away. The mansion is a Denver and National
Landmark and has been given historic designation from the Landmark
Preservation Commission. Eight elegantly appointed rooms and suites
offer turn-of-the-century opulence with modern day flair. Some rooms
feature private balconies, gas fireplaces, and whirlpool tubs. It is
short walk to the Colorado State Capitol and downtown.
