Day 180 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Managers Part Two

Here is the other side of the Front Desk with the rest of the managers portrait collection, continued from yesterday. This part of the collection features Bill & Winnie Hutson, Ralph Hume, Ed Howard, and Louis Winterberger.

Day 24 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Pipe and Sprinkler Head

This photo represents a lot more than just the pipe and sprinkler head you see above. To the casual passerby, it's just a pipe and sprinkler head. To me, it's what saved the Hotel Boulderado. During the 1960s, the city of Boulder was concerned about the lack of sprinkler systems at the hotel, mostly because of the giant wooden staircase that spans five floors (and the basement). If the staircase was ever to catch fire, the whole hotel could be in danger. The city brought their concern to the attention of the owner and manager of the day, Ed Howard. They gave Ed three options: install a sprinkler system, encase the entire staircase in sheet rock, or tear down the hotel in favor of a parking lot. Ed made the decision that saved the integrity and beauty of the hotel; he installed the sprinkler system. I'm reminded of this act whenever I pass by a sprinkler head.

Videos from the Oral History Luncheon

Back in September of 2008, the Hotel Boulderado hosted a luncheon in our Spruce Room. We invited a variety of people from the community to come in, sit down, and share a memory of the Hotel Boulderado. Here's a rundown of who we talked to and what they had to say:

• Dee Demmon remembers dancing in the lobby and getting her spiked heels caught in the tile floor
• Sandy Hume recollects his impressions of the original stained-glass ceiling -- "It contained every color in heaven."
  
• Don Hume tells stories of his visits to the Boulderado as a young child
• Betty Chronic shares what led to her first visit to the Boulderado dining room
• Virginia Patterson's connections to Boulderado weddings and the old barber shop
• June Howard remembers what it was like running the hotel in the 1960s, with her husband, Ed
• Gwen Winterberger and her husband, Louis, ran the hotel in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and Gwen took some time to call us and share some memories
• Dick Dorman recalled his involvement with restoring the stained-glass ceiling
  
• Frank and Gina Day, our current owners, remember how their relationship with the Boulderado began
  
• Sidney Anderson, our current general manager, and his impact on the hotel
  
• Laurel McKown tells us how she was hired to restore, photograph, and catalog the Boulderado's extensive collection of antique furniture
• Sandy Hale shares the multitude of parties she threw at the hotel
  
• Mary Ann Mahoney recalls the opening of the North Wing and the new meetings market it served
• Silvia Pettem shares her experiences as the Hotel Boulderado historian
• Dan Corson remembers when the hotel was named a historic landmark
• Dorothy Sage recollects a memorable holiday tea at the Hotel Boulderado
  

Check out our collection of videos on our website!

William Brantmeyer

It's true that when it comes to the Hotel Boulderado, some of our managers did more than others across the span of our hundred-year history. Hugh Mark put together the first promotional materials for the hotel. Ed Howard saved the building from condemnation by installing the fire sprinkler system. William Brantmeyer was at the helm for a relatively short time, but in that time he made one of the most lasting and inspirational changes for the hotel.

When Brantmeyer took over with his business partner, Dick Dorman, in September 1977, the first thing he set his gaze on was the lobby's canopy ceiling. Since 1961, red, white, and blue Plexiglas had dominated the space, and Brantmeyer's feelings about it were clear from the start: "I've hated that plastic since I first laid eyes on it." Brantmeyer and Dorman hired Marie Garcia to design, create, and install a new stained-glass ceiling, which she did while working out of a hotel room on the Mezzanine level. The end result is the amber and golden glittery spectacle we know and cherish today. Brantmeyer and Dorman sold their shares in the Boulderado just one year later to a group of partners known as Boulderado Landmark Ltd.

Ed and June Howard

Boulder has long been known as a hippie haven, and no decade conjures up the hippie in the mind's eye more than the 1960s. It was a tough time by then for the Hotel Boulderado. A guest left a note summing up the stay: "Toilet got stuck in night, had a hard time stopping it. Towel rak fell down when I hung up towel. Lamp switch out of order, won't always turn off. Shades too small and don't keep out streetlights. Pillows like rocks. I scarcely slept, all things taken together."

It took a brave spirit to take on a hotel in the condition the Boulderado was in, and that spirit was embodied by Ed and June Howard. The Howards had been friends with the Hutsons for years and agreed to lease the Boulderado from Winnie Hutson beginning in June of 1961. The Howards worked hard to keep the hotel running -- Ed represented management, maintenance, and also worked as a desk clerk, while June also worked behind the desk, connected incoming and outgoing phone calls, and worked briefly in the dining room.

Ed and June cultivated a family atmosphere in the lobby. When the Boulderado first opened in 1909, an orchestra played to entertain guests. The lobby orchestra was replaced by a Victrola, then a radio, and then during the 1960s, a television that guests could gather round and watch. The Howards encouraged the community to come in during the holidays for sing-a-longs. Many of the hotel's guests at the time were permanent residents, mostly elderly folks who could no longer live on their own.

Not everyone in Boulder thought the Boulderado was worth holding on to. City administrators declared it to be a fire hazard because of the cherrywood staircase that stretched from the basement up to the fifth floor and wished to tear the hotel down to make more room for parking downtown. They gave the Howards two options: either encase the entire staircase in sheet rock, or install a sprinkler system throughout the hotel. Ed effectively saved the Hotel Boulderado by deciding to install the sprinklers.

In 1967, just six years after taking over, the Howards had had enough and passed the ownership and management of the Boulderado over to Louis Winterberger, whom we will meet in a future blog post. If you are interested in reading more about the Howards and the Boulderado in the 1960s, check out Ed's oral history or June's Boulderado story.

Ralph Hume

Ralph Hume is an interesting figure in the Hotel Boulderado's history. He started out as a bellman in the mid-1930s and then moved up to desk clerk, making friends with Bill Mark, Hugh Mark's son along the way. In the late 1940s, when owner Bill Hutson was losing interest in running the hotel, he turned to Ralph, who took over the managerial duties until 1961.

The times, they were a changing during Hume's era. More and more people were able to afford purchasing a family car, and many travelers bypassed downtown Boulder in favor of the new, modern motels that had spring up on the outskirts of town. The motels offered amenities that the Boulderado couldn't compete with, like swimming pools. Even after adding a new parking lot, the only travelers who seemed to want to stay at the Boulderado were lawyers who wished to be near the courthouse. To compensate for the drop-off in occupancy, Hume decided to open up the Boulderado's rooms to more permanent guests who paid by the week or the month.

It was during Hume's tenure that a few panels fell from the stained-glass ceiling. The hotel in general was in need of freshening up, so Hume decided to remove the remainder of the ceiling and start over. He hired local contractor Moss Miles to install red, white, and blue Plexiglas in its place. A young Bill Hutson III (the Hutson's son) helped Miles with the installation, and admitted years later, "Even then I knew it was tacky."

Stay tuned to learn about the next couple that owned and managed the Hotel Boulderado during the 1960s, Ed and June Howard. For a sneak peek, you can read our transcript of an oral history from Ed on our website.

A Brief History of the Stained-Glass Ceiling

One of the things people always remember about the Hotel Boulderado is the ceiling in the lobby -- a stained-glass canopy of glitter and light that has become a defining feature of the Boulderado. The ceiling itself has a fascinating history that few of our guests ever hear. It's time to share that history.

When the Hotel Boulderado first opened in 1909, a colorful and ornate stained-glass ceiling hovered over the lobby and Mezzanine. The glass was from Italy and was high-quality enough to be used in European cathedrals. Few pictures captured the true beauty of the original ceiling, as most of them are in black and white. A rare color photo, seen below, from the Howard family collection (c.1960) shows off the patterns and hues of the ceiling.

In 1959, a late-season snowstorm came to Boulder. At the time, only a skylight separated the canopy ceiling from the elements. When the skylight gave way under the heavy, wet snow, the ceiling was the next stop, and two panels broke under the weight. It wasn't until September of 1960 that the rest of the cathedral glass was removed and taken down to the basement. The ceiling remained bare for some months until management installed red, white, and blue Plexiglas panels. Ed Howard, who owned and operated the Boulderado in the 1960s, struggled to find someone who would want the original panels from the ceiling. Americans were not as concerned with historical preservation as they would be in future decades, and no local organization responded to Howard's pleas. The feeling at the time was that the ceiling was old-fashioned and outdated, and the Plexiglas was installed to bring some modernity to the hotel. Howard eventually had to move the ceiling panels to the local dump.

In the late 1970s, William Brantmeyer took over management of the Boulderado, and vowed to replace "that awful Plexiglas." He dreamed of restoring the ceiling to its original stained-glass and enlisted the help of local artisan Maria Garcia. Garcia and her husband worked out of a hotel room (#202, now converted into the Driftwood Room) for several months painstakingly designing, cutting, and installing the glass. The photos below document Garcia's work and the transition from the Plexiglas to the ceiling we recognize today. (Photos courtesy of Garcia)

The finished ceiling today is one of the many prides of the Boulderado. Many guests who stay here are compelled to photograph it. Events taking place on the Mezzanine are bathed in the amber golden glow, and more than one wedding album features the ceiling in the backgrounds of shots of brides, grooms, and families. The stained-glass canopy ceiling has been a part of the Boulderado's history since its opening and will continue to be so in the coming years.

A Life Exposed Photography

"You'll Never Forget the Boulderado"

Working in a historic hotel like the Boulderado can be a lot of fun for a history nerd like me. Around every corner, there's another piece of antique furniture, or a pair of shoes left behind by a workman from 1905, or photos that suddenly turn up showcasing a long-gone era. What we do today, in the moment, can lose its significance, but when someone else finds it fifty years later, it's a precious gem.

Take this example: June Howard, who owned and operated the Hotel Boulderado with her husband, Ed, from 1961 to 1967, sent us a copy of a marketing brochure they used. The hotel is still very much recognizable as the Boulderado we know and love -- the staircase leading up to the Mezzanine, the front desk, and the signature exterior architecture. But looking deeper into the pictures in the brochure, certain nuances unique to that time are also visible. Fred's Steakhouse stands where Q's is today. Ashtrays are seen inside the lobby. Guest room televisions are black and white consoles. The ceiling of the lobby is not featured at all, probably because at the time it was red, white, and blue Plexigas, not the exquisite stained-glass that is so familiar to us today.

"Guests at the Hotel Boulderado relax in Western comfort in 80 rooms like the one above. Historical atmosphere prevails from beds to lobby to exterior. . . . Today, under Ed Howard's management, the Boulderado retains its Old West character, but with modern conveniences. Charm and hospitality surround guests relaxing in the lobby or on the wide veranda on a pleasant summer evening. It is easy to imagine the days when ladies and gentlemen drove up in fine livery rigs pulled by sleek horses. It was a time to enjoy life, a time that still exists in Boulder -- at The Boulderado." (Text from the brochure)

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 . . .