Denver's oldest continuously operating hotel opened August 12, 1892. Despite common misconception, it was not named for, built by or owned by Margaret "Unsinkable Molly" Brown. Mrs. Brown stayed at the hotel on several occasions, including two weeks after the Titanic tragedy, but she was no relation to founder and namesake Henry Cordes Brown.The Ohio businessman arrived in the gold rush settlement of Denver in 1860. The carpenter and real estate speculator shrewdly donated 10-acres in the middle of his homestead property as a site for the new Capitol building. Henry charged a premium for the surrounding lots, suddenly in great demand, and thus built his fortune.
Denver already had several fine hotels by the late 1890s, all clustered around Union Station. But as the new statehouse rose at the other end of Seventeenth Street, the need for a premiere hostelry nearby became apparent. Henry C. Brown’s Palace Hotel (as it was originally called) took four years to complete, with a total price tag of $2 million – 125 years ago!
Architect Frank E. Edbrooke designed the building’s exterior in Richardsonian Romanesque style. The soaring atrium lobby features Italian Renaissance elements. The building proudly publicized its “absolutely fireproof” construction at a time when lack of fire safety regulations made many other tall buildings deathtraps.
From the beginning, the Brown Palace attracted royalty, presidents, and celebrities, as well as the business, political and social elite. Its early motto “Where the World Registers” still applies. The layers upon layers of milestones and memories made in the hotel give The Brown its special place in Denver’s history and in Denver’s heart.
