Day 184 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ West Tile Floor

Here is more of the original tile floor found in our lobby. This particular section can be found in the west part of the lobby between the kitchen of Q's Restaurant and the office of our General Manager, Sid Anderson.

Day 183 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Otis Bell and Sign

BBRRRRRRRINNNNNG! That's the sound you hear when you call our 1906 Otis elevator in the Historic Section. This is the bell responsible for that big noise. When a guest on a particular floor calls the elevator, the bell rings to let the elevator attendant know, then he or she looks at the panel attached to the bell. There should be a light lit up corresponding to the correct floor, letting the attendant know which floor the guest is waiting on.

Day 182 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Lady's Hat in Gift Shop

I absolutely love this hat perched on top of the mannequin head! Reminds me of the days when the Gift Shop was the ladies reading room when we first opened.

Day 181 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Wallpaper in 319

I have actually heard someone say about this wallpaper pattern: "This is so cool! I wish I could get this for my desktop background!"

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 179 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Managers Part One

If you have ever been in the lobby at the Hotel Boulderado, you have probably noticed the collection of portraits hanging just by our Front Desk. Each portrait represents a former manager of the Hotel Boulderado. This shot shows you William Beattie, Hugh Mark, W.P. Pope, and James Baker, representing our managers from 1912 to 1939.

Day 178 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Dining Room Sugar Bowl

This little treasure was brought to me from our archives specifically to be included in the 365 Days of Boulderado Photos. It is a sugar bowl from our dining room's opening in 1909. Trust me -- it's a lot heavier than it looks!

Day 177 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~

This collection of blue and yellow ribbons are from our winnings at the Boulder Creek Hometown Fair Chili Inferno Cookoff in the early 2000s.

Day 176 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Fainting Couch

This is one of the many fainting couches we have here at the Hotel Boulderado. Fainting couches were very popular among Victorian women. People go back and forth about whether fainting couches were popularized because of corsets or hysteria, but either way, fainting couches are a great place to lie down.

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 174 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Cheese

I recently sneaked into the catering kitchen to grab some images for the 365 Days of Boulderado Photos. Sometimes when I'm in the fridge or freezer I'm reminded of all the food in the kitchen of the hotel featured in The Shining. This shot shows off all the different varieties and quantities we have just for cheese.

Day 173 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Sales Office Back Room

Here is another behind the scenes photo. This is a part of the Sales Office, and used to be a hallway leading to guest rooms -- hence, why there is a door in the middle of the wall on the right side. The other part of the hallway was renovated into the cubby/closet I work out of.

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 171 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ CU Shirts in the Gift Shop

Just in time to welcome the students back, here's a fresh stack of CU shirts in our Gift Shop!

Day 170 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Welcome Back Students

It's that time of year again when the students come back to school and Boulder is flooded with thousands of incoming freshmen and their families. We love having the students back, as this sign proudly declares on our Concierge Desk.

Day 169 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Mezzanine Dancefloor

Here is a shot of the dance floor on our Mezzanine from behind the bar. This area was the first, in the late 1970s, to have the guest rooms removed and a function space added. The trend would continue through the next decade, as all the guest rooms were taken from the Mezzanine in favor of function spaces and offices.

Day 168 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Hanging Wine Glasses

I snapped this photo the other day while admiring how the light filtering down the skywalk and through the Mezzanine looked with some cocktail glasses hanging to catch it.

Day 167 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Wallpaper Pattern in 405

This is one of those quintessentially classic Victorian wallpaper patterns found here at the Hotel Boulderado. This particular pattern is located in 405.

Day 166 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Otis' Control Box

Here is a close up shot of the control box that runs our 1906 Otis elevator in the Historic Section.

Day 165 of 365 Days of Boulderado ~ Anaglypta Wainscoting

In the Historic Section of the Hotel Boulderado, there is a distinctive covering on the lower half of the walls. If you look closely at this photo, you can see the textured pattern raised. This is something known as anaglypta wainscoting and was a favorite among the Victorians.

Day 164 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Window Shapes

Have you ever wondered why the windows at the Hotel Boulderado had two different shapes? Some of them are rectangular, while others curve at the top. This is a reflection of the Italian Renaissance architecture that partly inspired the design of the Boulderado.

Day 163 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Catacombs Patio: Phase One

Did you hear the news? The Catacomb's Bar is working on a patio! Here is a shot of the work in progress, commonly known around the building as "Phase One."

Day 162 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Exterior Tile Work

This shot shows off the original tile work that creeps under the door and into the elements at the south entrance to the lobby of the Hotel Boulderado.

Day 161 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Cigar Box

Back when the Hotel Boulderado first opened, cigars were sold to the gentlemen. A longtime employee who is integral to our historical preservation brought the cigar box you see here to me for inclusion in the 365 Days of Boulderado Photos.

Day 160 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ West Exterior with Ivy

This is a shot of the Hotel Boulderado's exterior on the west side of the building, which, as you can see, has a healthy ivy plant crawling its way up.

Day 159 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Spruce Room Exterior

Today, this is the patio that leads to the Spruce Room at the Hotel Boulderado. But did you know that the Spruce Room used to be the location for the Boulder Chamber of Commerce from the 1930s through the 1970s? Just one more historical fact that suggests the Hotel Boulderado is (and has been) the "community" hotel of Boulder.

Day 158 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Dueling Carpet Patterns

What you are seeing here is more than just two carpet patterns meeting. The red side is the Historic Section, and the blue leads you over the skywalk and into the North Wing.

Day 157 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Leaded Glass on Q's Bar

Here's some more leaded glass we have here at the Hotel Boulderado, this time acting as a divider for the bar in Q's Restaurant.

Day 156 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Fred Weber Photo

The gentleman you see in this photo is Fred Weber, who was a bellman here at the Hotel Boulderado in 1910. Fred earned $10 a month on salary with $30 in tips during the same time period.

Day 155 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Antique Ad

This photo shows a close up of a page from the Colorado State Business Directory, and is one of the oldest advertisements of the Hotel Boulderado we have on display here at the hotel. It dates back to the 1920s or 1930s, when Hugh Mark was the manager, and boasts of being "thoroughly modern" with an "excellent cafe" and "private banquet room."

Day 154 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Exterior in August

Blue skies are back in this exterior shot of the Hotel Boulderado. I also love the bright yellow taxi waiting outside for a guest pickup, not to mention the window on the east side that is entirely encircled with ivy.