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Western Hotel

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1891, John Johnstone and Frederick Mayol. 210 7th Ave., 1 block west of Main St.
  • Western Hotel (Tom Noel)
  • (Carol M. Highsmith Archive, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division)

Rising three stories, this large frame hotel covered in shiplap siding has a full-length front porch with a roof-top balustrade that becomes a second-story balcony. Francis Carney laid the stone and brick foundation, but carpenters probably installed the elaborate boxed cornice and false pedimented front. The expansive plate glass on the first floor has elongated transoms and ornate side lights. The first floor has a large dining room, saloon, and sample rooms where drummers (traveling salesmen) displayed their wares.

Stable management and electricity came in 1897 when the Western was taken over by Denver hoteliers William Holt and H. P. Foster, whose names still decorate the pediment. The hotel became a home for many miners, while tourists gravitated to the more elegant Beaumont. Maria “Ma” Flor, who ran the hotel from 1916 to 1961, welcomed even the poorest and sickest miners and never let anyone leave hungry. After it was closed, then used as a museum and as a jeep rental, the Western reopened in 1982 as a fifty-room hotel with a first-floor restaurant and saloon.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Thomas J. Noel
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Data

What's Nearby

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Citation

Thomas J. Noel, "Western Hotel", [Ouray, Colorado], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/CO-01-OR06.

Print Source

Buildings of Colorado, Thomas J. Noel. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997, 571-571.

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