Day 275 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Tree with Ladders

The bottom half of the tree is decorated using our three tallest ladders. Stay tuned for a special "behind the scenes" photo in December that shows how we decorate the top half!

Day 274 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Tree Strategizing

Here you can see three members of the Tree Team discussing their strategy for placement of ornaments and ribbon to make the best Christmas tree ever.

Day 273 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Victorian Clothing Ad

This advertisement for ladies clothing dates back to the Victorian era. To view it here at the Hotel Boulderado, head to the west side of the third floor of the Historic Section, where you will find it in a display case with other period items.

Day 272 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Christmas Tree Decorations

Our Christmas tree will arrive this week, so we have pulled all the decorations, accessories, and tools in preparation. We have a dozen jumbo tubs filled with ornaments, not to mention the HUGE tree stand we need to anchor our lobby tree.

Day 271 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Blue Feather Fan

I just love this soft blue feather fan we have on display right now -- makes me wish there were more social occasions I could attend with a fan like this!

Day 270 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ First Christmas Lights

We have been getting ready with some garland and Christmas lights to make the lobby feel more festive. Can you believe the pair of hands you see in this photo have been wrangling our Christmas decorations for the past 23 years?

Day 269 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! These turkeys are ready for roasting and will be ready for our guests to enjoy at our annual Thanksgiving Buffet.

Day 268 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Salt and Pepper Shakers

It's the day before Thanksgiving, and our catering department is hard at work inside the kitchen and out in preparation for tomorrow's buffet. Even the salt and pepper shakers are lining up to march!

Day 267 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Mezzanine Ceiling Center Square

The next time you are in the lobby at the Hotel Boulderado, look up and really study the panels of the stained-glass ceiling. If you look long enough, you will start to notice that the color and clarity of the "center squares" are quite different from the rest of the ceiling. Rumor has it that the glass used in the center squares were from the original stained-glass ceiling.

Day 266 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Lobby Tree from 1920s

Our annual Christmas tree will be delivered and decorated next week, so to celebrate I thought I would share a photo from the 1920s of a Boulderado Christmas lobby. This photo gave us the idea in 1988 to bring back the larger-than-life Christmas tree, which usually ranges in size from twenty-five to twenty-eight feet tall. Click here to learn more about our Christmas tree, and how it could help you win an overnight stay at the Hotel Boulderado!

Day 265 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Damaged Original Stained-Glass Ceiling

In a follow-up to yesterday's post, this black-and-white photograph shows the damage done to our lobby's original stained-glass ceiling in 1959. That Halloween, an early season snow storm hit Boulder and dumped heavy, wet snow across the city. The weight was too much for the skylights built into the the Hotel Boulderado's roof, which had been installed to allow the bright Colorado sunshine to stream through the stained glass into the lobby. One of the skylights broke, and the snow and debris fell through the canopy to the lobby's floor. Luckily, it was about 7:00am when it happened, and most of our guests were still sleeping in, so there were no injuries. I'm sure, however, that whoever was working behind the Front Desk that morning found this to be a very unique "wake up call."

Day 264 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Original Stained Glass Ceiling -- In Color!

This is my absolutely positively FAVORITE photo of the Hotel Boulderado that isn't available to the public, and I'll share why. This innocent looking photo is the only color photograph we have of the original stained-glass ceiling. You aren't able to see more because by this time, the ceiling had been damaged and the glass was waiting to be taken down.

Day 263 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ 1960s South Entrance

I've decided to show you some old photos from the hotel's collection over the next couple of days. This photograph, provided by June Howard, is of the hotel's south entrance from the early 1960s. There are two items in this photo of the hotel that no longer are there -- the stone portico structure over the south entrance, and the neon sign on the roof.

Day 262 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ "Old Boulderado"

This is another photo I can't take credit for. Jeffrey Spahr-Summers, a Boulderado employee, took this the west side of the Historic Section and focused in on the fire escape that dates back to the 1920s.

Day 261 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Foyer

Guests who are familiar with our Events Center will recognize the Foyer pretty readily. The Foyer is a pre-function area available for guests who book the Ballroom or Executive Boardroom. The Foyer also leads to our only outdoor space, the Plaza.

Day 260 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Three Ladies, One Hat

This image is from a postcard we have on display. The hat is so big it takes three women just to wear it!

Day 259 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Tri Pattern

One thing the Victorians absolutely loved was patterns. Something they loved even more was combining patterns. The Hotel Boulderado, having been built and opened during the Victorian era, strives to keep decor that would pleased the Victorians. Which is why you can find multiple patterns in one place quite a bit. Here, I found three different floral patterns all in the same place -- the west area of the Mezzanine.

Day 258 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Fan Detail: Figure Playing Trumpet

I've passed by this fan dozens of times through the last year or so, but it wasn't until I look a very close look at the detailing that I realized there is a figure playing the trumpet on this blue fan in our displayed collection.

Day 257 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Clipboard Room

Welcome to the Clipboard Room! This is how we share information, notes, and updates with the staff regarding all of our events.

Day 256 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Victorian Vignette

This shot came from a display case of interesting Victorian items found on the west side of the third floor of the Historic Section.

Day 255 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Caberet Table on Mezzanine

This is my first time experimenting with black and white images, which is certainly nothing new to the Hotel Boulderado. Color photography didn't reach the Boulderado until the early 1960s, but sometimes it's fun to see things as they used to be.

Day 254 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Steamer Trunk

This is the last in the mini-series on trunks at the Hotel Boulderado. The steamer trunk (aka flat-top) first showed up in the late 1870s, though most of them date between 1880 and 1920. Their signature flat lid and durable coverings in canvas, leather, or patterned paper made them durable for long travels.

Day 253 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Dome Trunk

This is a dome top trunk that is also included in our antique trunk collection. The name derives from the curved top of the trunk. This particular dome top is known as a hunch-back or hump-back because of the slat placement found on its top. These trunks date from the 1870s-1900s and were among the most popular of the antique trunks.

Day 252 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Dresser Trunk

You've already seen the collection of trunks that are on display on the 3rd floor. But when I shared that with you, I had no idea the history behind the different types of antique trunks. I will be correcting this over the next few days.

Pictured above is a dresser trunk, aka pyramidal trunk, which dates from the 1900-1910 era. They have distinctive lids that open up almost the entire front half of the trunk. They are extremely rare when they have all the drawers, trays, and lids intact, but the one we have is the outer shell minus all the insides.

Day 251 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Wedding Wishes Card

What better photo to share on the day of our annual Wedding Show than this antique card promising "A Wedding Wish For You."

Day 250 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Upholstery Pattern and Wooden Roses on Sofa

I just love how the upholstery pattern on this sofa works so well with the roses carved into the wooden frame.

Day 249 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Half and Half in Catering Cooler

Have you ever seen so much half and half? Again, this reminds me of that incredibly well-stocked kitchen seen in The Shining . . .

Day 248 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Antique Photo of Taxi Drivers

Meet Florence Molloy and Mabel MacLeay, who started their own taxi business in Boulder in 1922 and became the city's first female taxi drivers. They spent a lot of time shuttling guests to the Boulderado, Chautauqua, and all around town. Click here to learn more about this fascinating piece of Boulder's history.

Day 247 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Snow with Red Vine

The last two Wednesdays in a row, Boulder was hit with sudden snowfalls. I captured the snow resting on the red leaves of the vine clinging to the north side of the Historic Section.

Day 246 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Exterior in November

Happy November! We're expecting some snow all across the state today, which is why the background is so gray and cloudy. You can see all the leaves have dropped off the trees out front, and we're cleaning up the inside from Halloween and preparing for the holiday rush.