The Brown Palace Hotel and Spa is a grand hotel in Denver, with a sweeping atrium lobby that rises nine floors to a canopy of stained glass. The elegant, grand hotel has been open for business every day since it first opened in 1892.
From the years of 1937 to 1985 permanent guests lived in the twenty apartments on the top two floors of the hotel. During renovations the hotel’s historian, Julia Kanellos, conducted a series of historical tours which highlighted the stories of some of these residents. One of the stories was about Mrs. Louise Crawford Hill who lived in room 904 from the years of 1940 to 1955 and who ruled Denver society.
Her story of lost love and heartbreak were recounted on the historical tours. Soon after these sad tales were recounted the hotel’s main switchboard began to receive calls from room 904. The hotel operator would answer and find there was nothing but static on the line. These phone calls were a mystery because the room had been stripped of everything including phone lines. Mrs. Hill’s saga was eliminated from the tour and the strange telephone calls from room 904 ceased.
The hotel’s main dining room is now called Ellyngton’s, but it used to be named the San Marco Room. The San Marco Room was home to big bands and the San Marco Strings. One evening, past closing time, a houseman heard sounds coming from the dining room and saw a quartet of formally dressed musicians practicing their music. The houseman said, “You’re not supposed to be in here.” The musicians replied, “Oh, don’t worry about us,. We live here.”
A hotel engineer on night duty encountered a ghost in an old-fashioned train conductor’s uniform The spirit slowly disappeared through the wall of the former railroad ticket office. The former railroad ticket office in the hotel is now occupied by a United Airlines ticket office.
History the Brown Palace Hotel & Spa in Denver, Colorado
The Brown Palace Hotel & Spa has been open every day since it opened in 1892. Brown’s Palace is one of Denver’s most elegant hotels.
In the late 1800s people were flocking to Denver, Colorado to seek their fortunes in gold and silver. The fortune seekers stopped in Denver, either on their way to of from the mountains. Whether these people stayed in Denver or were just passing through, they all needed a place to stay.
Henry Cordes Brown was a real estate entrepreneur who was formerly a carpenter. Brown moved from Ohio to Denver in 1860. Brown purchased several acres of land in Denver, including a triangular plot at the corners of Broadway, Tremont and 17th Street. Brown made a name for himself by donating land for the State Capitol building and by giving the first $1,000 for the founding of Denver’s first library. Henry Brown sold off the rest of his land on Capitol Hill and made a fortune.
No expense was spared on the building of the Palace Hotel. designed by architect Frank E. Edbrooke. The Italian Renaissance style building used Colorado red granite and Arizona sandstone for the building’s exterior. A detailed finishing touch was provided by artist James Whitehouse, who was commissioned to carve 26 medallions in stone. Each medallion depicted a native Rocky Mountain animal.
Edbrooke designed an atrium lobby with balconies rising eight floors above the ground, surrounded by cast iron railings with ornate grillwork panels. Onyx was imported for the lobby, the Grand Salon (now the Onyx Room) and the eighth floor ballroom. The hotel building was the second fire-proof building in Denver.
The Brown Palace Hotel cost a remarkable $1.6 million. An additional $400,000 was spent for furniture. Rooms rented from between $3 and $5 per night. The grand hotel featured two banquet halls, a Grand Salon, a smoking room, a ladies lounge, a men’s bar and at least 18 stores.
The Brown Palace Hotel has a triangular shape, which gives the hotel many unique features. All rooms face the street. The hotel water comes from its own artesian well.. A huge carousel oven turns out baked goods on a daily basis/.
Unlike many historic hotels, The Brown Palace Hotel was been open every minute of every day since it opened. The hotel has been remodeled, refurbished, updated and redecorated on an ongoing basis, without closing down..
Today the Brown Palace Hotel boasts a $3 million spa and four distinctive dining experiences. Brown Palace Hotel and Spa is a Four-Star and AAA Four Diamond Hotel.
