Hotel...
Park Lane Hotel
The Park Lane Hotel at 450 S. Marion, built 1928 at the north end of
Washington Park (demo’d 1966).
Quite a hotel, you could see big bands or comedians (like Henny Youngman)
in the Top of The Park Lounge, but they also had acts in the Sky View Room,
the Copper Lounge and the Poolside Cafe. Local lounge favorites the
Leigh Barron Trio broadcast nightly from here on KOA from 1961-63.
February 23rd, 2013 / 1 Comment » / by Tom Lundin
DeVille Motel
The DeVille Motel on Colfax at Galapago. First the original architectural illustration…
Then the final result, with a different design for the sign. This is now just an empty shell
between the Denver Diner and the new courthouse, destined to be torn down soon, I am sure.
February 23rd, 2013 / 1 Comment » / by Tom Lundin
The Tepees in Evergreen
The Tepees roadside motel, restaurant & curio shop in Evergreen circa 1951. Designed
and built by F. S. Saum in the early-1940s (I believe), this finally closed in the early ’70s.
This was located across the street from El Rancho, where the McDonalds sits today.
December 23rd, 2012 / 1 Comment » / by Tom Lundin
Red Slipper Lounge
A postcard for the Red Slipper Lounge, located in the Cherry Creek Inn which
formerly stood at 600 S. Colorado Blvd (corner of Colorado & Cherry Creek).
Run in the early 1960s by Frank Turner, it had a turn-of-the-century theme and would usually feature ragtime or honky tonk piano players like the famous Johnny ‘Crazy Otto’ Maddox.
December 7th, 2012 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Aristrocrat detail
Detailed look at the concrete-shell roof and a suspended globe
lamp at the Aristrocrat on Colfax.
May 30th, 2012 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Alexandra in the Cruise Room
My daughter Alli with camera in the Cruise Room bar in the Oxford Hotel.
Alli is a great photographer, here is a recent favorite of mine that she has taken.
May 16th, 2012 / 1 Comment » / by Tom Lundin
Oxford Hotel
I took advantage of last week’s Doors Open Denver 2012 event to show my daughter
the beautiful Oxford Hotel.
This 400 hundred+ room hotel was designed in 1891 by Frank Edbrooke, the Denver architect
who designed much of downtown, including The Brown Palace (which The Oxford predates).
The hotel is designed in the Richardsonian Romanesque style,
named after master architect Henry Hobson Richardson.
In the days before modern steel construction, cast iron columns enabled architects
to build taller buildings without the thick walls required to support the weight.
After prohibition ended in 1933, the hotel employed Charles Jaka to design the
award-winning Art Deco Cruise Room bar, inspired by the lounge on the Queen Mary.
It is decorated with reliefs showing drinking toasts from countries around the world,
often with themes that are considered slightly politically-incorrect today.
Here is a photo of an Art Deco house designed by Charles Jaka
a few years before the Cruise Room.
Because of Doors Open Denver, the hotel was kind enough to open up
some of their rooms, especially this one which continues the Art Deco theme.
And finally, I know that this isn’t in the best taste, but I always like to visit the
bathroom in the basement of the Oxford to marvel at these enormous urinals.
April 19th, 2012 / 5 Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Driftwood Hotel sign
The Driftwood Hotel sign on E. Colfax. It points to the hotel on the other side of the street!
The driftwood from the Driftwood Hotel.
January 25th, 2012 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Troutdale
Troutdale In The Pines ad from 1958.
Troutdale was a three story hotel, built in 1920 with 6,000 wagonloads of local rock. A 4th story was added in 1927. The hotel had a large lounge, a dining room that seated 250 and a dancing pavilion called the Rainbow Ballroom (which you can see in the ad hanging over the lake.)
The first floor had private dining rooms, a billiard room, a bar, a barber shop, a drug store, kitchens and a bakery, guest rooms were on the 2nd, 3rd & 4th floors.
I am guessing, but I would assume the architect was J. B. Benedict, who designed many similar stone based buildings in the Front Range.
Famous guests included Teddy Roosevelt, Greta Garbo, Douglas Fairbanks Sr., Mary Pickford and the Marx Brothers!
December 11th, 2011 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
