THE BROADMOOR HOTEL

Colorado Springs, CO

Spenser and Julia Penrose, originally of Philadelphia, chose Warren & Wetmore of New York as architects for this hotel. Warren & Wetmore had designed Grand Central Station, and the Biltmore and Ritz-Carlton hotels in New York City. C. L. Wetmore advanced the vision of a grand panorama of an Italian-style building of pink stucco, built east of a lake and featuring arches and a balustrade. Penrose bought 800-900 more acres of land including the "horns" (projecting rocks at the summit) of Cheyenne Mountain. Landscape architects, the Olmstead Brothers of Brookline, Mass., designer of New York’s Central Park, created the grounds.

James Stewart and Company of New York bid $900,000 to construct the hotel building, a tunnel and one service building. The hotel opened June 29, 1918, and was deemed "the most beautiful hotel in America." The total cost ended at over two million dollars. In 1926, boxer Jack Dempsey, who had worked in Cripple Creek, came to The Broadmoor to train for his fight with Gene Tunney. Penrose actively resisted Prohibition. He bought large amounts of wine and liquor, which he stored in freight train cars and in the basement the hotel. His wine and liquor cellar opened in 1933, when Prohibition was repealed.

I was invited to the Broadmoor by Kone Elevator for a two day seminar to learn more about their new products.