Denver's Brown Palace Hotel
The historic Brown Palace: the best-known hotel in Denver, Colorado
The Democratic National Convention is held in Denver in 2008, and city hotels will be busy. Denver's historic Brown Palace Hotel has hosted almost every US President
It would be interesting to see the guest list for Denver's Brown Palace Hotel for August 2008, when the Democrats are in town. Is Hillary Clinton booked in, or Barack Obama? And will either of them be staying in the Eisenhower Suite, which was previously the Presidential Suite? Almost every US President in history has stayed in the hotel since 1905, when Teddy Roosevelt came to Colorado to go bear-hunting.
Ordinary visitors can get a glimpse of that Eisenhower Suite on one of the Brown Palace Hotel's Historic Tours. These take place every Wednesday and Saturday at 2pm. Only groups of ten or more need to book, otherwise simply turn up in the hotel's wonderful bar, the Ship Tavern.
THE SHIP TAVERN
The Ship Tavern is a historic Denver landmark in itself. It first opened its doors in 1934 soon after Prohibition was repealed, and its nautical decor has hardly changed since then. Today it's one of the many excellent bars in Denver, and offers a wide range of beers from the barrel or the bottle, from all over the world. Belgian, English and Czech beers sit next to Denver Pale Ale, Sam Adams, Budweiser and of course the local Coors. The bartenders know their brews and are happy to talk beer. When the Great American Beer Festival arrives in Denver every fall, the Festival's Brewmeisters drink in the Ship Tavern.
ROOSEVELT AND EISENHOWER
After President Roosevelt's visit in 1905 he was back again on the campaign trail in 1912. In 1955 President Eisenhower came to the Brown Palace, and a dent in the fireplace in the Eisenhower Suite was made by a golf ball when Ike was practicing his golf swings in his room. Later visitors included the Beatles, who stayed in what is now the Beatles Suite in 1964.
BROWN PALACE HISTORY
The Brown Palace Hotel was opened in August 1892, when the city of Denver was only 34 years old, and the hotel has been open 24/7 ever since. The hotel is eight storeys high, and the atrium soars that full 8-storey height. It is an impressive sight today, so what must it have seemed like in 1892 when Denver was little more than a rough and ready western mining town?
With such a long history behind it, little surprise that the Brown Palace has its own historian and archivist. Julia Kanellos also leads the Historical Tours twice a week, and oversees the artefacts in the hotel's archives and in its lobby displays. So when the Democratic National Convention comes to Denver in August 2008, the Brown Palace Hotel is sure to add a few more tales to its fascinating history.
Check the Brown Palace Hotel website by clicking here.
For information on Denver, the Mile High City, call (800) 2-DENVER or visit www.denver.org
