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Beaumont Hotel (Ouray, Colorado)
Encyclopedia
The Beaumont Hotel in Ouray, Colorado
was in its day one of the grandest hotels in western Colorado
and is on the United States
National Register of Historic Places.
supplied employees for the grand opening, on 25 July 1887. All of the original furniture was made by Marshall Field's
.
The Beaumont was one of the first hotels in the country to be wired for alternating current
electricity. It boasted guests such as Presidents Theodore Roosevelt
and Herbert Hoover
. The hotel closed in 1964 due to declining tourism in the area. For over 30 years the hotel sat empty, boarded up and in disrepair. At one point part of the roof collapsed and more than once the building was considered for condemnation. The hotel was sold in 1998 and was meticulously restored, its multiple rooms combined into a more spacious arrangement — the large hotel building now has just 12 guest rooms. It reopened in 2003 and received the Governor's Award for Historic Preservation. In 2004 it received one of the first four Preserve America Presidential Awards for historic preservation.
, Queen Anne and French Second Empire with a slate Mansard roof
.
The prominent feature inside the three story brick building is a grand staircase leading into the lobby. A rosewood dining room occupies almost half of the second floor.
from the United States Geological Survey
with an elevation of 7,800 feet (2377m) above sea level.
Ouray, Colorado
The historic City of Ouray is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Ouray County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 813 at the U.S. Census 2000 and 1,000 as of the U.S. Census 2010...
was in its day one of the grandest hotels in western Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
and is on the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
National Register of Historic Places.
History
The Ouray Real Estate and Building Association started construction on the Beaumont Hotel on 5 July 1886, completing it on 15 December 1886 at a cost of $75,000. Palmer HousePalmer House
The Palmer House Hilton is a famous and historic hotel in downtown Chicago.-History:There have been three Palmer House Hotels at the corner of State and Monroe Streets in Chicago....
supplied employees for the grand opening, on 25 July 1887. All of the original furniture was made by Marshall Field's
Marshall Field's
Marshall Field & Company was a department store in Chicago, Illinois that grew to become a major chain before being acquired by Macy's Inc...
.
The Beaumont was one of the first hotels in the country to be wired for alternating current
Alternating current
In alternating current the movement of electric charge periodically reverses direction. In direct current , the flow of electric charge is only in one direction....
electricity. It boasted guests such as Presidents Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
and Herbert Hoover
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...
. The hotel closed in 1964 due to declining tourism in the area. For over 30 years the hotel sat empty, boarded up and in disrepair. At one point part of the roof collapsed and more than once the building was considered for condemnation. The hotel was sold in 1998 and was meticulously restored, its multiple rooms combined into a more spacious arrangement — the large hotel building now has just 12 guest rooms. It reopened in 2003 and received the Governor's Award for Historic Preservation. In 2004 it received one of the first four Preserve America Presidential Awards for historic preservation.
Architecture
The architectural style of the hotel is a mix of VictorianVictorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
, Queen Anne and French Second Empire with a slate Mansard roof
Mansard roof
A mansard or mansard roof is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterized by two slopes on each of its sides with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper that is punctured by dormer windows. The roof creates an additional floor of habitable space, such as a garret...
.
The prominent feature inside the three story brick building is a grand staircase leading into the lobby. A rosewood dining room occupies almost half of the second floor.
Trivia
On a cornerstone of the building at the corner of Main Street and 5th Avenue is a benchmarkBenchmark (surveying)
The term bench mark, or benchmark, originates from the chiseled horizontal marks that surveyors made in stone structures, into which an angle-iron could be placed to form a "bench" for a leveling rod, thus ensuring that a leveling rod could be accurately repositioned in the same place in the future...
from the United States Geological Survey
United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning biology,...
with an elevation of 7,800 feet (2377m) above sea level.