Hugh Mark

A little bit of Boulderado history for you today concerning another early owner and manager, Hugh Mark (seen left ~ photo from the Mark family collection). When the Hotel Boulderado opened in 1909, local residents were allowed to come in the night before to inspect the hotel's elegance and luxury. Hugh Mark was one of the people who stopped by on December 31, 1908. He would return just a few years later, in 1912, as the Assistant Manager to William Beattie, whom we met in a previous blog post.

Hugh Mark married a schoolteacher, Etta, in 1916, and the next year Beattie transferred managerial duties to Mark. Over the next few months, Hugh Mark enlisted the help of other local businessmen to put together a proposal by which they would jointly buy the hotel. Hugh Mark owned the largest share, taking half the stock in recognition for his manager position. They wrote, "It is our aim to conduct the Hotel in a first-class manner in every way." Beginning on June 1st, 1917, Hugh Mark received a salary of $100 each month in addition to room and board for his family.

Hugh Mark transformed the day-to-day operations of the Hotel Boulderado into a family business. His brother, Leonard, went to work as a desk clerk, and another brother, William, was employed as the engineer in charge of the coal furnace in the basement. Frank Mark worked as the dining room chef, and his wife, Alza, became known throughout the community as the dining room's hostess. Here's a newspaper clipping from 1932 advertising for their New Years Day dinner.

Hugh and Etta soon started their own family, bringing two children into the world and into the Boulderado. Bill and Betty lived in the hotel with their parents. Hugh and Bill shared the upstairs apartments in room 505 while Etta and Betty occupied 203 and 204. (These two second-floor rooms were later converted into the Evergreen Room, now used for meetings and as part of Mezzanine weddings.) Betty Mark later recalled in adulthood, "The whole hotel was my home, and there were no restrictions as to where I could go."

Betty and Bill Mark (Mark Family Collection)

Under Hugh Mark's leadership, the Hotel Boulderado thrived, in part to his marketing and advertising efforts. Mark understood the need to reach out to future hotel guests and created brochures reminding people of Colorado's unique attributes. Below are some samples of his early innovative work.

Hugh Mark was well-known throughout the town as "the biggest little man in Boulder." Sadly, his life was cut short suddenly and unexpectedly due to a heart attack in 1934. For the next few years, various members of the Mark family and the Boulderado's investors tried to make a go managing the hotel, but it wasn't until 1940 that the next real chapter began for the Boulderado. Stay tuned to meet the Hutsons!

Holidays in July

Right now, there's over one hundred Boulderado clients milling about the Mezzanine at our Holiday Party Tasting. There's Champagne Cosmopolitan Cocktails at the bar, some yummy platters and a beef tenderloin carving. Plus, we're trying out for the very first time two of our Holiday Action Stations -- tapas and Caesar salad -- where guests are building their own, customized plate. George the DJ was kind enough to offer up his talented services, and Murray is here with his photo booth. (Some of us snuck into there before the party started -- if you're lucky, I will post the funny photos later that resulted!) It's all come together to show people what can be done at a Holiday Party at the Hotel Boulderado, and people are really enjoying themselves. Click here to take a peek at the Holiday menus we have available this season, and happy holidays!

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