Do You Know This Building?
Answers: 1. b) Ouray; 2. b) 1887; 3. c) Victorian Eclectic This three story brick building sits at the corner of Fifth and Main in Ouray, a town nicknamed the Switzerland of America that lies in the shadows of the San Juans. Built to lure investors, architect O. Bulow drew up plans for the elegant hotel and work began in 1886. The official opening ball was held July 22, 1887 with much fanfare. The interior was modeled after Denver’s Brown Palace Hotel and featured a rotunda encircled by balconies, cathedral glass skylights, rosewood paneling, and a sweeping oak staircase. The building was lighted by electricity, and is believed to be one of the West’s first hotels wired with alternate current electricity. Steam heating and hot water were also featured. The hotel sat across the street from six saloons and became a grand centerpiece of the promising mining town. In its heyday, the hotel attracted guests such as Theodore Roosevelt, Herbert Hoover, Chipeta (wife of Ute Chief Ouray), and Lily Langtry. Sarah Bernhardt was known to belt songs from the balconies and King Leopold of Belgium demonstrated his mountain-climbing skills by dangling from the second-story railings. By the early 20th century, the hotel suffered from financial setbacks, but tourism picked up again after World War II. Falling into disrepair, the once chic hotel, painted a raffish pink, sat empty for more than 30 years. Known by the locals as the pink elephant, it was an eyesore with broken windows and crumbling façade. To add insult, the roof partially collapsed in the mid-80s. Locals swore the ghost of a waitress, who was murdered by a drunken pastry cook shortly after the hotel opened, haunted the building. Despite the dilapidated condition and ghost, Dan and Mary King purchased the hotel in 1998 for $850,000 and began the painstaking task of rehabilitating the building. Anything that could be saved was restored, including marble sinks, wainscoting, the glass atrium above the lobby, and the rooftop weathervane. Although the restoration project qualified for a State Historical Fund grant, the new owners turned it down as the time frame would have exceeded the target opening date of July 2002, the hotel’s 115-year anniversary. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, the Beaumont Hotel was the recipient of the Governor’s Award for Historic Preservation in 2003. The Kings were also presented with a 2004 Preserve America Presidential Award. |
