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Molly Brown House

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1890, William Lang. 1340 Pennsylvania St. (NR)
  • (Damie Stillman)
  • (Carol M. Highsmith Archive, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division)

“Typical Brown luck. We're unsinkable!” Molly Brown told the crowd waiting in New York City to meet survivors of the 1912 Titanic sinking. The irrepressible wife of a successful miner from Leadville was snubbed by Denver society but accepted on the East Coast and in Europe, and her story eventually inspired a Broadway play and movie. Molly never sank, but her house almost did. After her death in 1932, it became a home for wayward girls, then a target for demolition. Historic Denver, Inc., was formed in 1970 to rescue and restore this example of Queen Anne Style, built in rough-faced pink and gray rhyolite. As one of America's most flamboyant self-made women, Molly would probably be tickled pink to know that her home is now a popular house museum, faithfully restored from the anaglypta-covered entry hall to the stone lions in front. Interiors are fussy and rich with carved wood-work and a wealth of furnishings from the Brown era. The two-story carriage house has been converted to a gift shop and visitor reception area.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Thomas J. Noel
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Data

What's Nearby

Denver Women's Press Club (Burr Studio)
St. John's Episcopal Cathedral
Dunning-Benedict House
First Baptist Church
Old State Museum

Citation

Thomas J. Noel, "Molly Brown House", [Denver, Colorado], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/CO-01-DV092.

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