While in Denver, touring The Brown Palace Hotel was definitely on the list of things to see and do. The Brown Palace Hotel opened its doors in downtown Denver in August 1892. Architect Frank E. Edbrooke was hired to design the hotel and work began in 1888. Edbrooke played a significant role in Denver’s history, designing several landmark buildings, including Central Presbyterian Church and the Masonic Temple Building, among others. The hotel is designed in the Italian Renaissance style, using Colorado red granite and Arizona sandstone for the building’s exterior. For a finishing touch, artist James Whitehouse was commissioned to create 26 medallions carved in stone, each depicting a native Rocky Mountain animal. The interior has an atrium lobby with balconies that rises eight floors above ground, surrounded by cast iron railings with ornate grillwork panels. Two of these panels were installed upside down and remain so to this day. Every U.S. president has visited The Brown Palace since Teddy Roosevelt (1905), with the exception of Calvin Coolidge.
If you are an architectural and interior design buff, then you must tour this property. It is worthwhile and the tour guide is charming and extremely knowledgeable. All in all, a fabulous tour that we thoroughly enjoyed and maybe next time we stop in for a spot of tea.
*Tina
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