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Do You Know This Building?

Interior of Hotel Boulderado at Christmas.

Answers:
1.b) Boulder; 2.b) 1909; 3.b) Mission Revival

When it opened January 1, 1909, this was Boulder’s largest and most luxurious hotel.
Designed by the local architectural firm of Redding & Son, the five-story building had brick walls four courses thick and contained no additional insulation. The curvilinear-shaped gabled walls, square corner towers, round-arched windows, and wrought iron balcony railings are defining characteristics of the Mission Revival style. The style, popularized by the Santa Fe and Southern Pacific railroads, was often used for resort hotels in the Southwest at the turn of the century. The lobby occupies a large skylighted atrium and contains an impressive cherry wood staircase that was built from the basement to the fifth floor.

The hotel was the culmination of community efforts to fund the construction of a major downtown hotel. In 1905, residents believed Boulder was not growing quickly enough. They decided the only one way to bring more business opportunities, cash and people to Boulder was to build a large first-class hotel. The headline of the local newspaper echoed this sentiment with “Boulder is Alive and is Hotel Mad.” Stocks, priced at $100 per share, were advertised to raise the necessary funds. The local community demonstrated an outpouring of support and construction began on the hotel the following year.

Upon its completion, the hotel quickly became a focus for social life and a prime address for commercial and community services in Boulder. Service groups such as the Kiwanis, Lions, and Rotary gathered for weekly luncheon meetings. The hotel hosted dances and other social functions for University of Colorado fraternities and sororities. The staircase on the second floor (mezzanine) was a popular spot for weddings. Salesmen laid out their wares in the six designated “sample rooms” on the fifth floor. A travelling physician stayed at the hotel and gave free consultations. Several early day professionals had offices in the building, including Dr. Margaret Johnson, who used the hotel for her home and office. Female taxi drivers, Florence Molloy and Mabel MacLeay, ran their taxi service from the hotel.

The Hotel Boulderado—whose notable guests included Billy Sunday, Clarence Darrow, Helen Keller and Robert Frost—is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.