April Winner ~ Tell Us Your Boulderado Story

One of the components of the Boulderado's 100 year anniversary is the Tell Us Your Boulderado Story campagn, which is a collection of memories and narratives from the last century about the Hotel Boulderado. Our goal is to collect 100 stories which will be compiled into a coffee table book. The Boulderado selects a monthly favorite, and May's winner is Karen Berger. Enjoy her story, "We'll Always Have the Boulderado."

"As a single woman in her mid-twenties, my friends and I regularly enjoyed live music and drinks on the Mezzanine at the Boulderado on Fridays after work. On this particular Friday in early May after enjoying several days of gorgeous, warm weather along the Front Range, the fickle Miss Nature Colorado dumped about twelve inches of wet, heavy snow.

My good friend and object of my secret affection, Bill called me toward the end of my work day to ask me for a ride as he had bicycled to work in Boulder from Longmont that day wearing shorts and a tee-short and was now stranded in the snowy cold. Of course I got there as soon as I could to make the rescue. We decided to continue our F.A.C. tradition at the Mezzanine, rather than doing the sensible thing of returning home for warmer clothes. The rest of the gang didn't venture out that afternoon, so I was able to enjoy Irish coffee, great music, and the warmth of that lovely man's company all to myself!

Bill moved out of state to finish his master's degree as planned, and my attraction was never confessed, but we shared a special connection and I've often wondered, 'what if?' My friends and I began marrying and raising families, and the Boulderado visits faded to memories until . . .

After years of very infrequent correspondence, Bill visited Colorado at the tail end of 2009 and we spent an amazing evening dining and dancing at the Boulderado's superb New Year's Eve celebration. Who knows how this reunion will develop from here, but in any case . . . We'll always have the Boulderado!"

March Winner ~ Tell Us Your Boulderado Story

One of the components of the Boulderado's 100 year anniversary is the Tell Us Your Boulderado Story campaign, which is a collection of memories and narratives from the last century about the Hotel Boulderado. Our goal is to collect 100 stories which will be compiled into a coffee table book. The Boulderado selects a monthly favorite, and March's winner is Gary Richardson. Enjoy his story, "Meeting Mr. Lawry."

"I was working for the Community Corrections Program within the Boulder County Justice System starting around September 1977, when I went with a friend, Bart Costello, who also worked within the Justice System, to have lunch down on the 'new' Pearl Street Mall. Bart had gone to CU and was very knowledgable about Boulder and was going to take me to one of his favorite eateries.

On the way to the Mall he told me about Fred Shelton and his restaurant and especially his connection to the Hotel Boulderado and the 'denizens' of the largest and most renowned hotel in town. When we pushed through the front door I realized why Bart, being a guitarist, had a warm spot for Fred's when I spotted what appeared to be a gorgeous Gibson L-5 guitar in a stand on a small stage up front.

As we were seated, Bart told me about our host's love of music and the often impromptu jams that had a habit of occurring in the restaurant, with Fred helping out on guitar. I was really hoping for some music to occur, but was disappointed when our waiter told us that Fred was gone for several hours. Bart promised that he'd get back later and so we went on discussing our work and the beautiful fall day that we were experiencing.

I remember Bart saying something like, "Here he is" and looked around. Coming from the entrance was a fairly small, very old man with a beard, wearing a nondescript dress coat. He was moving slowly and wasn't paying attention to the patrons of the restaurant as he made a beeline for a small, out-of-the-way table in the back near the waiter's door. As he neared his table, one of the wait staff moved over to stand ready, should he require any assistance getting seated. Evidently, today there was no need, so the waiter just moved on to other duties. I asked Bart who the old man was.

My friend told me that Mr. Lawry was a long-time resident of the Hotel Boulderado, and, due to his advanced age, had usually eaten his major meal of the day in the hotel at Fred's Steakhouse which was on the premises, until Fred's moved to Pearl Street which had just become "the Mall." Bart wasn't quite sure of his age, but guessed him to be around mid-eighties and told me that Mr. Lawry was "a bit poor" and had no other place to call home. Since he was seated where I could watch, I was able to observe how the whole wait staff took care of him, bringing him a fine lunch soup and other menu items at his request. About five minutes into his lunch, he seemed to drift off into a small nap. The next waiter to come by bent down and gently took his soup to place it under a warming lamp to keep it hot until he woke up ten minutes later. Another waiter returned the warm soup and he continued eating as though nothing had happened.

Bart said that Mr. Lawry came in every day to sit at the same table and would eat for an indeterminate amount of time (with several interspersed naps) before wandering back to the hotel, where he'd find a soft chair to nap in.

He told me that he'd met Mr. Lawry a bit ago and had talked with him in the past. With that he got up and invited me to come with him as he headed over to the small, solitary guest. When he came up to the table, Mr. Lawry kept eating, until Bart caught his attention as he inquired about his health. Mr. Lawry seemed to remember my friend and they carried on a small dialogue for several minutes. Then Bart introduced me as a friend of his. Mr. Lawry reached up and took my hand with a 'Nice to meet you' before focusing back on Bart and starting to get back to his lunch. We both said, "Good day," and went back to our table to take care of the bill, since we had to get back to work.

On the walk back, we both discussed what we both saw as such a wonderful support system for an old man that needed a hand doing for himself. Bart told me that, when he finished his meals, he'd just get up and wander back to the Boulderado, with Fred's sending a monthly statement to someone at the hotel who would pay the bill from either a small pension or contribution fund to keep our friend fed. Since he was basically penniless, it appeared to us that the hotel and Fred's were taking on the care needed to keep a piece of 'Old Boulder' comfortable in his old age.

I saw Mr. Lawry several more times down at Fred's over the years, always around the lunch hour and always at his table before hearing that he'd passed away. I was so pleased when Boulder kept him in our collective consciousness with a Lawry Lane to remember a part of our history. Thanks to the Hotel Boulderado, Fred's Restaurant, and the people of Boulder for showing true kindness."

Editor's Note: According to a former owner of the Hotel Boulderado from this era, Dick Dorman, the only source of income Mr. Lawry possessed was veteran benefits he collected from serving in the Spanish-American War of 1898. The staff members, particularly the waitresses and housekeepers, doted on Mr. Lawry to the point that he did not want for anything.

Mr. Lawry napping in the Boulderado Lobby, circa 1975, and Gary Richardson, circa 2010 (

January Winner ~ Tell Us Your Boulderado Story

One of the components of the Boulderado's 100 year anniversary is the Tell Us Your Boulderado Story campaign, which is a collection of memories and narratives from the last century about the Hotel Boulderado. Our goal is to collect 100 stories which will be compiled into a coffee table book. The Boulderado selects a monthly favorite, and January's winner is Douglas Dellinger. Enjoy his story, "She said that I needed to sit down."

"My wife and I met in Palo Alto, California. She was originally from Montpellier, France, and I had grown up in rural Iowa. I had lived in Boulder in the 80's while attending graduate school so I was quite familiar with The Catacombs. When I asked my wife to marry me, she tearfully told me that she could never have children as a result of an endrocrine condition that was diagnosed when she was a teenager. Being a medical researcher myself, I contacted a friend who specialized in similar disorders, and he sent us to a local colleague at Stanford Medical School. The physician at Stanford confirmed my wife's condition and explained that our only option for having a family was through adoption; a pretty heart-wrenching depressing realization for my wife.

A few weeks later I traveled to Boulder on business and stayed at the Hotel Boulderado. To cheer my wife up, I arranged to stay at the Boulderado through the weekend and have her fly in to join me. After picking her up from the airport, she was quiet for the whole trip back to Boulder. The minute I got her suitcase into the hotel room, she said that I needed to sit down, that she had something to tell me. She told me that she was pregnant; the joy on her face was probably as remarkable as the shock and disbelief on mine! That weekend we so enjoyed Boulder that we schemed a plan to eventually move to Boulder to raise our family. Our first daughter was born November 15th of 1999 and we moved to Boulder two years later in December of 2001. We currently have three children, two of which were born at Boulder Community Hospital. Still, every time we walk by the Boulderado, my wife and I have to talk about that night and how it changed our lives."

December Winner ~ Tell Us Your Boulderado Story

One of the components of the Boulderado's 100 year anniversary is the Tell Us Your Boulderado Story campaign, which is a collection of memories and narratives from the last century about the Hotel Boulderado. Our goal is to collect 100 stories which will be compiled into a coffee table book. The Boulderado selects a monthly favorite, and December's winner is Glenn Donharl. Enjoy his story, "Well, it's a radio."

"We spent our first night in Boulder at the Boulderado.

Nearly 40 years ago, during the first week of January 1973, Margaret and I moved to Boulder. Our apartment was not ready the first night, so we booked a room at the Boulderado. While definitely not the 'new' Boulderado, the experience was distinctly Boulder of the 1970s. The hotel restaurant then was Chinese.

We stayed in a corner room facing Spruce and 13th Street.

It was a bitter cold, windy, snowy night. Remember, this is when Colorado still had significant winters. The wind whistled through the bricks, serenading the room with an icy banshee-like quality. The wind blew hard all that night. Heat came randomly, clanging loudly through the accordianed iron heater.

As sparse as the room was, it did have a TV. Not knowing Boulder, we decided to stay in, because of the weather, and watch TV. Given the ambiance of the Boulderado at that time, we should not have been surprised when the TV had no picture but did have sound. We called the front desk. A disembodied voice (in a prescient imitation of Carlton, the doorman on the Rhoda TV show the following year) said, 'Well, it's a radio.'

We got up in the morning, shook off the cold, listened to the 'radio' and moved into the future with Boulder and with a distinct memory of the 'old' Boulderado.

The rest is history."

November Winner ~ Tell Us Your Boulderado Story

One of the components of the Boulderado's 100 year anniversary is the Tell Us Your Boulderado Story campaign, which is a collection of memories and narratives from the last century about the Hotel Boulderado. Our goal is to collect 100 stories which will be compiled into a coffee table book. The Boulderado selects a monthly favorite, and November's winner is Laurie Thornton. Enjoy her story, "My Wedding Gift."

"Like many other couples, my husband Ernie and I were married on the staircase of the Hotel Boulderado. We had a lovely wedding and reception, but one of the things I remember most about that day was receiving my wedding gift from Ernie. I had recently graduated from veterinary school at CSU and have a very creative husband, so my gift arrived in the most unique way.

The entire wedding party stayed at the Boulderado the night before the wedding. I had told Ernie 'no seeing the bride the day of the wedding,' so I was sure that the knock at my room door the morning of our wedding was not him. I was startled to hear knock, knock, knock, followed by oink, oink, oink! I opened the door to find this adorable little battery-powered pig whacking into the door with her nose and oinking. Looking closer, I discovered she was wearing my wedding gift -- pearl earrings to wear at the ceremony!

We just celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary. We still have the pig, the earrings, the memories of our wonderful day, and each other."

July Winner ~ Tell Us Your Boulderado Story

One of the components of the Boulderado's 100 year anniversary is the Tell Us Your Boulderado Story campaign, which is a collection of memories and narratives from the last century about the Hotel Boulderado. Our goal is to collect 100 stories which will be compiled into a coffee table book. The Boulderado selects a monthly favorite, and July's winner is David Grimm. Enjoy his story, "Affection for the Boulderado."

"For those who remember, there was a bar at the Boulderado called Le Bar. It was a tiny room tucked in behind the main desk. You had to know it was there to find it. At best there was room for five people at the bar and maybe five small tables in the room. For its matchbox size it was nonetheless the favorite watering hole for a number of us downtown types. We might have shown up occasionally at the Walrus or Catacombs or Potter's, but Le Bar was home on most days. Back then there were no tourists to contend with and decor was not a concern.

In 1972 when I started frequenting Le Bar the Boulderado was past its prime -- way past. The hotel was hovering between renovation and demolition and it seemed the wrecking ball had the odds over renewal. At the time my group, two errant radio writers and a late-night disc-jockey (myself), were drinking gin and tonic and Le Bar had a healthy supply of Bombay of which we made ample use each afternoon beginning at five o'clock.

One of the regulars during the summer months was a quiet man who always sat at the bar. He was thin and sad and routinely dressed in a 1950s vintage black suit and black tie. He seldom spoke except to the bartender and then only to order another. He was William S. Burroughs. He was occasionally joined by a younger, boisterous, shaggy, ill-kept man. Then Burroughs would leave his lethargy behind and become animated in conversation. The shaggy man was Allen Ginsberg.

I had no acquaintance with the works of the 'Beat' poets and so had no reason for either alarm or adulation. The two were simply patrons of Le Bar.

One night a television set was brought in by request so that we could watch a Muhammad Ali boxing match. I can't recall whom Ali was fighting but it was of great interest at the time. As the match progressed round by round it became clear that Burroughs and Ginsberg were as big of Ali supporters as the rest of our little group, lending their voices to the alternating cheers and boos.

One night, encouraged by the affectionate attention of a stunning blonde, I went to the front desk to seek a room. In those days there were plenty of rooms available and no reservation was required. It was my good luck to receive a large, airy corner room with private bath on the fourth floor facing front. The cost was two dollars. Three days later when the blonde left for Santa Monica, I kept the room. I had an apartment just two or three blocks away on Arapahoe, but I kept the room at the Boulderado. In the end I kept it for over nine months. It was nice to have a restaurant and bar just downstairs. I always had lodging for visitors and the company of Mr. Lowry in the lobby.

For me the Boulderado has always been my home away from home. Over the years I have often taken a room for the weekend simply to spend time with my old friend and breathe in the Boulderado air.

At some time during the early 1980s while working for KGNU radio, I had the opportunity to host a daily morning talk show at the hotel. It was called "Breakfast at the Boulderado." We filled the airwaves every weekday morning from a booth in what was then the Fleur de Lis restaurant. My co-host, Tom Swope, and I ate breakfast on the air and interviewed governors, senators, mayors, actors, musicians, parolees, and panhandlers. In fact we interviewed anyone who would sit down at the table. One of my favorites was Joni Mitchell, who stopped because she simply wanted a cup of coffee and was willing to sing a cappella to get it. The hotel's venerable general manager, Sid Anderson, was a regular guest keeping the public informed of Boulderado events and making weekly sports predictions. After more than 20 years in the media, I am still asked why we ever quit doing "Breakfast at the Boulderado." The simple answer is that I got married and my wife preferred me at the breakfast table at home. Not so much for my charm as for my cooking skills.

My affection for the Boulderado remains undimmed and untarnished. Many of my fondest memories of Boulder have occurred under its roof. It has always provided for me the perfect setting for public meetings and private occasions. Decisions which have shaped our community have been made there, and both of my daughters had their first 'restaurant' dinners at the hotel.

Today I had a glass of champagne outside at the Corner Bar and listened to the downtown church bells celebrate Boulder's 150th anniversary. The only place to be."

306

In recognition of the Hotel Boulderado's 100 Year Anniversary in 2009, I've decided to profile several of our signature guest rooms and suites over the coming months. Last time we took a peek inside 444, a North Wing Classic King with amazing views. Today I'm taking you back to the historic section to peek inside our other Presidential Suite, 306. (You may remember our visit inside 505 back in April.)

Room 306 is easily one of the most posh and luxurious at the Hotel Boulderado. It was originally two rooms -- 306 and 307 -- but was modified to create an extra-large suite for brides, VIPS, and celebrities alike. The living area is well-suited for entertaining, with plenty of seating, a large table for meals or small meetings, and a beautiful antique bar.

Photos by Allison M. Fleetwood, Jr.

The bedroom is tucked away through a small hallway, making it quieter and more removed from the traffic sounds outside the hotel. Like most of our suites, there is an extra television in the bedroom to make viewing more convenient. More antique style can be found here, like the mirror, the headboard, and the artwork. Like all our rooms, the bed is the ultimate in comfort and the bedding is premium and fresh. Waking up in 306 at the Hotel Boulderado is best way to start the day in Boulder.

June Winner ~ Tell Us Your Boulderado Story

One of the components of the Boulderado's 100 year anniversary is the Tell Us Your Boulderado Story campagn, which is a collection of memories and narratives from the last century about the Hotel Boulderado. Our goal is to collect 100 stories which will be compiled into a coffee table book. The Boulderado selects a monthly favorite, and June's winner are Chuck Gower and Cheryl DiPanfilo. Enjoy their story, "The 17,000 Question."

"Our story begins in August of 1980. I came out here from Newburyport, Massachusettes to visit my sister who was living in Gunbarrel and climb Long's Peak with her friends. No on truly believed a flatlander could make this climb. My now husband, Chuck, was a neighbor of one of the people going on the hike. We were all over there on her deck planning the last details. He was out in his yard skipping rope and had an enormous garden. He offered us some vegetables and we accepted and so the tale begins.

We invited him to come over to my sister's house for a swim and as the day progressed we invited him to accompany us on our climb. He had been up Long's several times before and could perhaps be of help. He and I linked up as hiking partners, the most experienced with the flatlander. We made it to the top and in the eighteen hours that we spent together we fell in love. Over the next few weeks we courted at a feverish pitch. One morning while we were still in bed he called his stockbroker. His broker advised him to sell his gold penny stock, a very hot commodity at the time and to come and get his $17,000 profit. At this stage of the courtship he was always trying to impress me. So we went to Denver and instead of picking up a check, the sensible thing to do, he insisted the bank give us cash. He had me put it in my purse for safe keeping and we proceeded to celebrate all over town. We came back to Boulder with the cash still tucked away in my purse and went to the Boulderado for an evening of blues and dancing on the Mezzanine. The bar was getting ready to close when he surprised my with a room key, room 419. We spent the night and in the morning as he prepared to leave for work, I noticed that I didn't have my purse or the $17,000.

We instantly became frantic and Chuck began to think that instead of me being a dream come true, I was the nightmare from hell. We scoured every corner of the room. No luck. We went to the front desk and inquired if anyone had turned in a purse. No luck. They said there was a remote chance that they locked it in the bar upstairs for sake-keeping but we would not be able to check until late that morning. Chuck left for work, sheet pale. This was a lot of money at the time. I waited anxiously in what is now Q's over coffee with my girlfriend. Chuck returned and we went to the bar. We asked, they searched, and we waited. Alas, the purse was found and returned to us. In our minds we were sure the money would be gone. We opened the purse and shrieked with joy. All the money, all $17,000 was still in the purse untouched. We went back to Denver that day to spend some of the lucky money on jewelry. We were engaged the next month and we have been married 28 years as of June 13th. We still have the jewelry we bought and the rest of the $17,000. To this day we often come and stay in room 419 for special occasions. Top that Boulderado story!"

444

In recognition of the Hotel Boulderado's 100 Year Anniversary in 2009, I've decided to profile several of our signature guest rooms and suites over the coming months. Last time we took a peek inside 509, a richly decorated Classic King in the historic section. Today I'm showing you Room 444, another Classic King room, but this one is in our North Wing.

The North Wing was constructed in two phases during the 1980s. It was during the second addition in 1989 that room 444 was built. Here is a photo of the room during the construction phase:

As you can see, the room had a promisingly spectacular view of the Flatirons. A corner room on the fourth floor, 444 overlooks Spruce Street and Broadway. Here is another photo, taken from roughly the same angle, as it looks today:

Room 444 has become a popular guest room at the Hotel Boulderado precisely because of its views. In the summer of 2008, during a one-night stay, Scarlett Johansson and Ryan Reynolds discovered how beautiful the views in 444 were when they stayed with us.

Stay tuned for upcoming profiles of other guest rooms at the Hotel Boulderado!

May Winner ~ Tell Us Your Boulderado Story

One of the components of the Boulderado's 100 year anniversary is the Tell Us Your Boulderado Story campagn, which is a collection of memories and narratives from the last century about the Hotel Boulderado. The goal is to collect 100 stories which will be compiled into a coffee table book. Our staff selects a monthly favorite, and May's winner is Kim Saporito. Enjoy Kim's recollections of her time as a waitress at the Boulderado.

"When I first came to Boulder with my new husband I took a job as a waitress on the first floor of the Boulderado -- this was 1971-1972. At that time there were some full-time residents at the hotel. I remember an elderly gentleman who ate very little healthy food but loved his pie. We all tried to get him to eat a little more of his meal before he ate the pie. He would also give us his paperback books that he had finished. He dressed impeccably and was always so very polite -- he was from another era. The Boulderado was a bit unorganized but there were beautiful antiques all around and it still smelled and looked like olden days (no remodels yet). My parents and my husband's parents would always stay on the fourth floor corner with a view of the mountains when they came to visit. The hotel was a bargain in those days."

509

In recognition of the Hotel Boulderado's 100 Year Anniversary in 2009, I've decided to profile several of our signature guest rooms and suites over the coming months. Last time we took a peek inside 505, one of the two Presidential Suites we offer. If you walk down the hall towards the west, you will encounter room 509, the next stop on our virtual room tour of the Hotel Boulderado.

In addition to being a downright gorgeous room, 509 has the distinction of being the only Classic King in the historic section of the hotel. (Classic King rooms feature one king-sized bed and are larger than our standard Boulderado Kings -- considered a "junior suite.")

Above Photo Provided by Allison M. Fleetwood, Jr.

Room 509 features a lush red and gold decor and is known by some Boulderado employees simply as "the red room." A built-in wet bar and antique furniture add character to the room, and the views of the Flatirons and downtown Boulder are spectacular.

Stay tuned for upcoming profiles of other guest rooms at the Hotel Boulderado!

April Winner ~ Tell Us Your Boulderado Story

One of the components of the Boulderado's 100 year anniversary is the Tell Us Your Boulderado Story campagn, which is a collection of memories and narratives from the last century about the Boulderado. The goal is to collect 100 stories which will be compiled into a coffee table book. Our staff selects a monthly favorite, and April's winner is -- me, I'm embarassed to say. I hope you enjoy reading my Boulderado story, "Halloween Night."

"I started working at the Hotel Boulderado in December of 2007. Within my first few weeks, I heard that there were alleged 'ghosts' occupying our hotel, but decided to keep an open mind on the subject. Sometimes odd things will happen in our office – a door will open by itself, a bell will ring for no reason, or sometimes I hear someone else in here when I am completely alone. But the most interesting ghost experience I’ve had here – so far – happened on Halloween of 2008.

I had made plans to stay at the hotel with my boyfriend, Justin, and we were fortunate enough to be upgraded to one of the poshest suites in our inventory. Justin and his young son happened to stop by while I was still at work that day, taking a break from the Munchkin Masquerade on Pearl Street. I took them up to the suite to show them the room, and Justin’s son had fun exploring the room – climbing all over the bed, looking out every window, even testing out the television.

We returned to the room later that evening, after the dinner-hour, to freshen up before we went out to Pearl Street. Justin made a phone call home to say good-night to his son, and I laid down to take a brief nap. He was in the suite’s living room, and I was in the bedroom. There is a heavy door separating the two rooms, and while I was laying down, I saw this door shut very suddenly and firmly. I assumed Justin shut it to have more privacy on his phone call, and thought nothing of it at the time.

I returned to the living room a short time later, and asked Justin how his son was. 'Fine,' he replied. 'Sorry if I was too loud, I didn’t mean to disturb you while you were sleeping. I felt bad when you shut the door.'

'I didn’t shut it, I thought you did,' I answered.

'No, I was on the couch the whole time I was on the phone.

The rest of the night was peppered with 'Are you sure you didn’t shut the door?' from each of us, until finally we both accepted that the other hadn’t touched the door. Later, I remembered that according to the hotel’s history, a former manager had lived in the suite with his small son while his wife and daughter shared a similar set-up a few floors below. I wonder now if by bringing in Justin's son, and the phone call Justin made to him, stirred up some energy already heightened by the holiday. Or maybe I’ve just seen too many of those ghost shows on cable. Regardless, that Halloween night proved a memorable one for me."

CU's Graduation

Congratulations to the graduating class of 2009! Every year, the Hotel Boulderado is packed at this time of year with proud parents and other visitors who are celebrating the achievements of the new graduates. Being just one mile from CU's campus, the Boulderado is a natural setting for graduation parties and accommodations.

Did you know that CU students used to live at the Boulderado? Back in the '60s, the University of Colorado experienced such a rise in registration that they ran out of housing. Administrators turned to the Boulderado for the extra rooms they needed, and students became residents for the duration of their school year. The following was taken directly from a transcript of an oral history taken from Ed Howard, who owned and operated the Boulderado from 1961 to 1967

"There was one more interesting chapter in that hotel in ’60. The university was just absolutely out of bedrooms, and they leased that for thirty women – girls – students. They lived throughout the hotel in different rooms and the manager told me he had the darndest time keeping the male students outta there, ‘cause they would come up the side of the hotel, onto the restaurant roof, up into the fire escape and into the hotel, and they knew where they were headed, and he said they were always in there. I didn’t get them back the following fall. They put those girls somewhere else. I took in boys in ’63, took in about thirty young men, and it didn’t work very good. Course boys aren’t worth a darn trying to cook a meal, and living in a hotel they had to eat every meal out, which was expected. So they gradually moved out during the school term, a few lasted until the end." (To read Ed's transcript, visit the 100 Year Anniversary page on our website.)

June Howard, Ed's wife, sent this photo of the girls who lived in the hotel during school. Wonder where they are today . . .

505

In recognition of the Hotel Boulderado's 100 Year Anniversary in 2009, I've decided to profile several of our signature guest rooms and suites over the coming months. First on my list is Room 505, a top-floor Presidential Suite that offers spectacular views of downtown Boulder and the Flatirons.

When the Boulderado first opened in 1909, room 505 was not in the original inventory. The top corners of the hotel were used as open corner porches, according to Silvia Pettem's Legend of a Landmark, which quotes a 1910 Daily Camera article: "The upper story of the Hotel Boulderado was never finished or furnished. Because of the great patronage of the house, Messrs. Wallace, the leasees, have begun, by cooperation with the hotel company, to divide great garret-like rooms into comfortable living rooms, and furnishing them with windows and all the comforts of the other rooms in the splendid house."

The hotel manager used it as his own apartment, and is mentioned in a story recalling the first
Boulderado wedding ceremony. When Hugh Mark took over the manager's position in 1917, he and his young son moved into 505, while his wife and daughter lived in an apartment a few floors below. Mark turned much of the operations over to different family members, turning the Boulderado into a family-run business; his brother Leonard was a front desk clerk, brother William became an engineer in charge of the coal furnace, and yet another brother, Frank, took over operating the dining room with the help of his wife, Alza.

Today, 505 is one of our most popular rooms, with everyone from brides, celebrities, and VIPs staying in the Presidential Suite. Its beauty, spaciousness, and views make it a truly unique stay for any guest. A full-sized living room with a stereo and conference table leads into the bedroom.

Photo by A Life Exposed Photography

Photo by A Life Exposed Photography

Photo by A Life Exposed Photography

Over the years, people have left their mark on the window ledges found outside 505. Some are newlywed couples, others are just looking to add to the room's history.

Stay tuned for upcoming profiles of other guest rooms at the Hotel Boulderado!

March Winner ~ Tell Us Your Boulderado Story

One of the components of the Boulderado's 100 year anniversary is the Tell Us Your Boulderado Story campaign, which is a collection of memories and narratives from the last century about the Boulderado. The goal is to collect 100 stories which will be compiled into a coffee table book. Our staff selects a monthly favorite, and March's winner is Gordon Wickstrom, whose grandmother (pictured) was a resident at the Boulderado until she died in 1953. The following is Wickstrom's story, "Grandmother Lulu."

"Lulu W. Hatch, my grandmother, was resident at the Boulderado Hotel during the five years preceding her death in 1953. She occupied a spacious room in the southwest corner off the Mezzanine. Grandmother found the hotel life exactly suited to her needs, which were as little housekeeping, cooking, and general upkeep as necessary. Here she was able to study and sew gentlemen's fine custom neckwear.

Grandmother was a thoroughly public woman. Her interests were social, political, and commercial. She was a downtown lady, a good, old-time progressive who found conversation with the gentlemen of the hotel on matters of politics, society, and religious life down in the lobby precisely to her liking. The world was her study. The role of women, the aging, and her church life were her particular concern.

She had, earlier, with my grandfather John T. Hatch been a strong partisan on behalf of the Townsend Plan, which, in the days before and just after the advent of Social Security, had proposed a national pension payment of $200 monthly for every citizen over sixty-five. It was projected that this money pouring into the economy would greatly help to end the Great Depression.

Grandmother had sold medicinals door-to-door as one of the very first women to drive about town in a Model T Ford. Later she became the agent for the distinguished Bernat knitting yarns with which she became Boulder's first lady of knitting techniques and styles. She held style shows of ladies knit dresses and gowns in the Broadway family home, her daughters acting as models. But, for all that, it pleases me most to think that were Grandmother alive today, and forty years old, she would be a power in national liberal politics. She loved it and thrived on intellectual give and take.

It is interesting to note that during those years that my grandmother lived in the hotel, her son Byron Hatch, my uncle, owned and operated the hotel barber shop in exactly the space of the bar in the elegant Corner Bar.

The Hatch family of six had come from Cimarron, Kansas, to Boulder in 1921. Twin daughters, of buffalo chip incubation, stayed behind in Cimarron to marry. The rest came to Boulder for the benefits of the mountain air and the university. My grandfather opened a barber shop on the south side of 1100 block of Pearl Street. Upon his retirement in 1939, his son, my Uncle Byron, took over the shop until moving to the Boulderado location, circa 1949.

In addition to Byron Hatch, were the three Hatch daughters: my mother, Thelma M. Wickstrom of the Boulder City Bakery family, Christabel Fonda, of the Fonda Bottling Company family, and Irmagene Murrin, of Sterling, Colorado.

One of my great pleasures to have lunch with Grandmother in the hotel restaurant downstairs, on the tile floor, spacious, suffused in light, and the blue-plate special lunch a flat thirty-five cents. With Grandmother, I, Gordon Wickstrom, always felt substantial."

Check out the rest of the Memories of the Boulderado collection. Which is your favorite?