Day 122 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Vanity

Unique antiques like the vanity pictured here are just one of the authentic historic touches you find at the Hotel Boulderado. Just to think of how many faces have been reflected in the mirror over the decades is enough to humble me every time I see it.

Day 121 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Bolder Boulder Print Collection

Every year for the Bolder Boulder, a new collectible print is released. We've been collecting them for years, as you can see from this photo. They all hang behind the front desk where the reservation agents work.

Day 120 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Grandfather Clock in 304

This is the only grandfather clock that resides in one of the Hotel Boulderado's guest rooms. Aside from the one in the lobby, this is the only other grandfather clock in the hotel, and it occupies 304.

Day 119 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Mezzanine Lounge Sign

This sign directs guests up the staircase to our most famous function space, the Mezzanine. The Lounge part refers to the Mezz's history back in the 1980s, when it was Boulder's coolest place to listen to local jazz and enjoy a cocktail.

Day 118 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Connecting Hallway

A lot of the suites found in the Historic Section of the Hotel Boulderado have a small hallway like this one that connects the bathroom, living room, and bedroom. What most guests don't realize is that these suites used to be two separate hotel rooms that shared a single bathroom. (This was a more luxurious option dating back from our opening in 1909; most of the guest rooms didn't have a bathroom, and guests shared a community one.) When we renovated the Historic Section in the early 1980s, the rooms that shared bathrooms were converted into suites.

Day 117 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Grandmother Clock

I can't remember a time when I didn't know what a grandfather clock was. I even grew up with one in my childhood home. But it wasn't until I had been working at the Hotel Boulderado for a few years that I learned there is such a thing as a grandmother clock. They look very similar except for size; the grandfather clock is tall and stands on the floor, while the grandmother clock is like a miniature version that is hung on the wall. Pictured above is a grandmother clock that lives in 505, one of our Presidential Suites.

Day 116 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Lobby

Here is a shot of the lobby at the Hotel Boulderado as seen from the landing of the staircase that overlooks it.

Day 115 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Old School Recliner

I always tend to think of this old school recliner as the original Lazy Boy chair, even though one probably has nothing to do with the other. You can recline what looks like an otherwise normal armchair using a mechanism that is similar to modern poolside lounge chairs.

Day 114 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Mezzanine Ceiling Close Up

Here is a strangely angled close up shot of the stained glass canopy ceiling that sits over the lobby and Mezzanine of the Hotel Boulderado. Rumor has it that the glass used in those smaller centered squares were from the original stained glass ceiling that broke in 1959.

Day 113 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ 4th Floor Interior Courtyard

Here is a glimpse of the interior courtyard at the Hotel Boulderado -- also known as the space between the roof and above the stained glass canopy ceiling that perches over the lobby. This vantage point is from the fourth floor of the Historic Section.

Day 112 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Front Desk Key and Message Cubbies

This collection of cubbies resides behind the Hotel Boulderado's Front Desk. Way back when actual keys (instead of electronic key cards) were used to open hotel doors, this was the spot where they were kept. Today, it's used to store key card packets waiting for guests to check in.

Day 111 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Staircase "Cross Section"

I like to think of this shot of the Hotel Boulderado staircase as the "cross section" shot.

Day 110 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ North Wing Atrium Tile Floor

When the Hotel Boulderado expanded in the 1980s, one of the biggest challenges we faced was keeping the historic feel of the Boulderado in a newer space. One piece of continuity between the original and expanded sections are the tile floors. This photo is of the tile floor in the atrium of the North Wing, and was meant to echo the tile floor pattern in our lobby.

Day 109 of 365 Day of Boulderado Photos ~ Q's Restaurant Entrance

In an interesting follow up to yesterday's post about The Porch Room, did you know that Q's Restaurant (entrance featured here) actually started out in The Porch Room? Back in the late '90s, Dave Query started Q's Restaurant with just 10 tables located in The Porch Room. When Teddy Roosevelt's decided to close, the Hotel Boulderado offered the dining room space to Query. Query decided to move on with his own restaurants, but offered his head chef, John Platt, the opportunity to bring Q's down to the dining room. The rest, as they say, is history!

Day 108 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ The Porch Room

This quick shot shows off The Porch Room, one of the function spaces at the Hotel Boulderado. The Porch Room was originally an open-air porch that guests were welcome to use at their leisure. Click here to learn what happened to these porches.

Day 107 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Armoire in 405

This armoire currently resides in Suite 405. Armoires were very common in the Victorian era. Bedrooms didn't have built-in closets, but any room could be converted into a bedroom by adding an armoire. Large and roomy attics were the "walk-in closet" of the era and were used to store a variety of items. Armoires came in different sizes, with or without mirrors, and were most often made from oak, walnut, or mahogany.

Day 106 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Flags

In honor of Flag Day, I thought I'd share a photo with you of the three flags that fly over the 13th Street entrance. Every day, we proudly fly the U.S. flag, the Colorado state flag, and our burgundy Boulderado flag.

Day 105 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ 3rd Floor Porch

This is the last remaining open-air porch at the Hotel Boulderado. When we first opened in 1909, there were porches like this one on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th floors on the east side. As time wore on, the management realized that travelers were no longer congregating with each other; they were more likely to spend their time on their own, writing a letter, reading a book, etc. So it was decided that the porches would be modified. The fourth floor porch was sealed off entirely. The third floor, which is what you see here, was converted so that it could only be accessed by two guest rooms (304 and 302). The second floor porch was renovated into a function space, The Porch Room.

Day 104 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Detail on Bar in 306

Here is another close up shot of the detail work on my favorite antique at the Hotel Boulderado.

Day 103 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Mosaic Bench

This mosaic bench was created by Michele Burke as part of a fundraiser sponsored by the Women's Art Museum in the 1990s. Several artists were each given a bench and challenged to turn it into a piece of art. We love Burke's creation so much that we purchased it in the early '90s, and it now resides on the north side of the building on the plaza.

Day 102 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ No Smoking Sign

People often inquire about the signs they see (like the one above) around the Hotel Boulderado. When the second expansion of the North Wing was completed in 1989, the Hotel Boulderado was still a "smoking" hotel. By the early 1990s, five rooms throughout the hotel were converted into non-smoking rooms. As demand for non-smoking rooms grew over the years, we added more. From the original five, we added non-smoking sections, then non-smoking floors. As each floor became non-smoking, signs like the one pictured here were installed to remind guests. By October of 1998, there were approximately 25 non-smoking hotel rooms, with two floors in the North Wing designated as non-smoking. The next step was to convert the Historic Section to non-smoking status. By 2008, all 160 guest rooms at the Hotel Boulderado were non-smoking.

Converting a former smoking room to a non-smoking one is no easy task, by the way. The walls, baseboards, and doors are washed with a vinegar solution to cut through the nicotine. The rooms would often need to be repainted because of the build up from the smoke. The drapes, carpet, and upholstery were then steam cleaned using special cleaning agents to neutralize the residual build up. New beds were installed, and all the bedding was replaced with newly washed bedding. Last but not least was the final stage, installing signs that read "This is a non-smoking room."

Day 101 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ B Carpet with Lobby Tile

While walking around the Hotel Boulderado, I found one of our "B" carpets paired with some of the original floor tiles in a rear entrance.

Day 100 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Telephone

This telephone, which now can be found in our North Wing, was in fact in use for many years behind our Front Desk.

Day 99 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Valet Stand

For many guests, this is the first thing they see when they pull up to the 13th Street entrance of the Hotel Boulderado - the valet stand!

Day 98 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Ivy Climbing North Wing Tower

This shot of one of the towers of the Hotel Boulderado's North Wing really captures the ivy climbing up the side of the building. Maybe Rapunzel is actually in one of those high-floor guest rooms?

Day 97 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Wallpaper Pattern in 316's Living Room

This particular wallpaper pattern always makes me think of the lickable wallpaper Willy Wonka had in his chocolate factory -- though I don't think you'll find any snozzberries here.

Day 96 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Winnie's Piano

This piano, which now lives in the North Wing of the Hotel Boulderado, used to be found right in our lobby. It would be used by guests as well as locals for holiday sing a longs and other community events, and it was originally purchased by a former owner, Winnie Hutson.

Day 95 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Antique Photo of Valentine's Hardware Store

You can find this same photo in a few different spots around the Hotel Boulderado. It's a photo taken of Valentine's Hardware Store, which used to be located at the corner of Broadway and Pearl Streets. The cash register in our lobby that I already introduced you to came to us from the same Valentine's Hardware Store.

Day 94 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Leaded Glass

The next time you walk through the front doors of the Hotel Boulderado on 13th Street, take a moment to admire the leaded glass details in the entryway. These windows are original from our opening in 1909.

Day 93 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Exterior in June

I'm willing to bet that the forecasted temperature in the 90s today will burn off that morning overcast coverage, but in the meantime, you can see all our trees bursting with green finery.