Day 294 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Tree from Staircase

Everyone who climbs up or down our cantilevered cherrywood staircase is confronted with an amazing view of the tree in the lobby against the spectacular ceiling and Mezzanine.

Day 233 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Skeleton Bride on Staircase Landing

This is a new fixture in our haunted lobby this year. It references the fact that our staircases' landing is the site for our wedding ceremonies, but from the look of things, it appears this bride has been waiting a very, very, very long time for her groom to show up. (Someone should really ask her if her last name is Havisham.)

Day 203 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Sprinkler Head Inside Staircase

Here at the Boulderado, we take fire safety very seriously. So serious, in fact, that we installed a sprinkler head inside our staircase. Click here to learn why.

Day 175 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Mezzanine from the Southwest Corner

Here is a shot of our Mezzanine as seen from the southwest corner. This vantage point shows off the ceiling and the staircase in addition to all the classic woodwork and decor.

Day 172 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Staircase to Basement

This is a shot of the staircase as it descends into the basement of the Hotel Boulderado, nowadays known as the Catacombs Bar.

Day 141 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Staircase Cubby

You've actually seen this cubby before (part of it, at least) if you've been following my 365 Days of Boulderado photos diligently. It's just a closet that is built into the staircase, but for me, it's the entrance to Narnia.

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 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 80 of 365 Days Boulderado Photos ~ Staircase Layers Looking Down

I captured this shot of the Hotel Boulderado's cantilevered staircase at the top of the stairs on the fifth floor, looking down. You are looking directly three floors down -- that light source and armchair peeking out were on the Mezzanine level.

Day 74 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Lion Guarding Staricase Cubby

If you blink, you'll probably miss this lion's head guarding the keyhole to the closet under the staircase on the Mezzanine level of the Historic Section. (I once told a small child that this is the door to Narnia, and the lion was Aslan. He believed me. I believe myself, some days.)

Day 50 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Staircase Landing

This is a shot of the staircase landing that overlooks the Hotel Boulderado lobby. All of our wedding ceremonies take place on this landing. The bride and her father (or whoever is giving her away) walk down the stairs from the 3rd floor to meet the groom and officiant on the landing. The bride's guests are seated along one side of the railing, and the groom's guests are lined along the other.

Day 37 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Lobby Tile Floor

When it comes to the Hotel Boulderado's lobby, many people are so taken with the staircase and stained-glass ceiling that they fail to notice something else -- the tile floor. The lobby tile floor is still original from 1909, including the bits that extend into Q's Restaurant. The designs vary on where you are in the lobby, but overall it's meant to give you a Native American motif. This was done intentionally to honor the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes who used to summer in the Boulder area. Legend has it the Hotel Boulderado was built on the site of their wigwam, the place where they would come together and gather, meet, and celebrate with each other. In this way, I like to think of the Hotel Boulderado as one of Boulder's wigwams, since people often use the hotel as a point of contact for meetings, weddings, celebrations, and visiting friends and family members.

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.

Day 19 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Staircase "Layers" Looking Up

Admit it. There are some things at the Hotel Boulderado that you can't capture in just one photo. Our cantilevered cherrywood staircase is one of those things. Expect to see one photo each month showing a different vantage point, angle, or detail of the staircase throughout the 365 Days of Boulderado Photos collection. The above shot was taken around the 3rd floor looking up to the top.

Historic Tours at the Hotel Boulderado

Did you know that you could take a historic tour of the Hotel Boulderado? They are a lot of fun, and it gives you the opportunity to learn more about the history, architecture, and stories behind the hotel. Tours begin in the lobby, and then you take the Otis elevator up to the fifth floor and work your way down the staircase until you reach the lobby level again, visiting guest rooms and interesting focal points along the way. Tours need to be scheduled ahead of time, and this can be done by calling us at (303) 440-2880.

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.

Top 10 Boulderado Blog Posts of 2009

Have you noticed that everybody and their brother seems to come up with their own "Top 10" list towards the end of the year?

I couldn't resist jumping on the bandwagon.

Top 10 Reader's Favorites Boulderado Blog Posts:

10. The Old and the New

9. Munchkin Masquerade

8. December at the Boulderado

7. Don't Forget!

6. Boulder Wilderness Shuttle Visitor Packages

5. The Michael Jackson Dance Party SOLD OUT!

4. Hugh Mark

3. Otis Elevator

2. Drinking Fountain in the Lobby

1. That Staircase!

(PS: I ranked the posts according to how much response each generated through user comments on the blog and on Facebook.)

That Staircase!

One of the most unique features about the Hotel Boulderado, in addition to its historic charm and stained-glass lobby ceiling, is the staircase that leads down to the lobby. This cantilevered (cantilever [can⋅ti⋅le⋅ver] noun: any rigid structural member projecting from a vertical support, esp. one in which the projection is great in relation to the depth, so that the upper part is in tension and the lower part in compression) staircase requires no external bracing or supports because of its design. The staircase was made with cherrywood lumber, but the hotel staff and historian are unsure as to where the wood originated. There are no cherrywood trees large enough in Colorado to produce the lumber yield required to build the staircase. The staircase extends from the Boulderado's basement all the way up to the fifth floor of the historic section.

Staircase, circa 1960

These days, the staircase is utilized in Boulderado wedding ceremonies, which are happening more and more frequently now that wedding season is upon us. The bride and the person who gives her away descend from the third floor and walk down to the landing between the lobby and Mezzanine. As they walk down the stairs to the landing, they are flanked by bridal attendants and groomsmen standing on the stairs. The wedding guests are seated along the railing on either side of the Mezzanine and watch over the ceremony. Once at the landing, the bride joins the groom and their officiant, and when they next take the stairs up to the Mezzanine to begin their reception, it is as husband and wife.

Bride and Father ~ Photo courtesy of Cafiero Photographers

Wedding Ceremony

One of my favorite things about this staircase is that it is original to the hotel, which means that since the Boulderado opened in 1909, guests have walked up the same way regardless of which decade they stayed with us. Helen Keller, who stayed at the Boulderado twice in her lifetime, must have held onto the railing for support and guidance as she made her way upstairs.