Читать книгу COLORADO SPECTERS - Lisa Yorio - Страница 6

Denver, Colorado

10/2012

Switchboard receives calls from empty room 904, with no phone lines installed / Feminine laughter & chatter / Apparition dressed in conductor's uniform / Apparition of an old woman wearing black / Apparitions of railroad conductors & people carrying luggage / Sounds of a band playing music

Haunted History

The Brown Palace Hotel and Spa is a grand hotel in Denver. It has an atrium lobby that rises nine floors to a canopy of stained glass.

From 1937 to 1985, permanent guests lived in the twenty apartments on the top two floors of the hotel.

Henry Cordes Brown was a real estate entrepreneur who was formerly a carpenter. He moved to Denver in 1860. He purchased several acres of land in Denver, including a triangular plot at the corners of Broadway, Tremont, and 17^th street. Henry Brown sold of the rest of his land on Capital Hill and made a fortune.

The hotel was designed by architect Frank E. Edelbrooke. The Italian Renaissance style building used Colorado red granite and Arizona sandstone for the building's exterior. An artist named James Whitehouse was commissioned to carve 26 medallions in stone. Each medallion depicted a native Rocky Mountain animal. He designed the atrium lobby rising nine stories high surrounded by cast iron railings with ornate grillwork panels. Onyx was imported for the lobby, the Grand Salon and the eighth floor ballroom. This was the second fire proof building in Denver. It cost 1.6 million dollars to build. $400,000 was spent for furniture.

The grand hotel featured two banquet halls, a Grand Salon, a smoking room, a ladies lounge, a men's bar and at least 18 stores.

The Hotel has a triangular shape, which gives the hotel many unique features. All rooms face the street. The hotel water comes from its own artesian well.

The Brown Palace Hotel has been open every minute of every day since it opened in 1892. The hotel has been remodeled, refurbished, updated, and redecorated on an ongoing basis, without closing down.

Today, the Brown Palace Hotel is a Four Star and AAA Four Diamond Hotel. It has a $ 3 million Spa and four distinctive dining experiences.

Paranormal Phenomenon

During renovations the hotel's historian conducted a series of historical tours which highlighted a story about Mrs. Louise Crawford Hill. She was a socialite who lived in Room 904 for fifteen years. Her story of lost love and heartbreak were recounted on the tours. After the sad tales were told the hotel's main switchboard began to receive calls from Room 904. When the phone calls are answered there is nothing on the line but static. The strange thing is that this room was stripped of everything, including phone lines. Once her story was eliminated from the tour the mysterious telephone calls from room 904 ceased.

There has been a lot of strange phenomenon reported throughout the building. There are reports of feminine laughter and chatter in the eighth floor hallway, room 804, which was originally part of the ballroom. It is believed to be Victorian ladies.

A bellman, delivering newspapers on the upper floors saw an apparition dressed in an old fashioned uniform. Then he quit the next day.

Hotel employees have had recent sightings of a spirit dressed in a conductor's uniform. He appeared for just a moment, and then disappeared through the wall.

A maintenance man was called to Room 523 and he was met at the door by a pale, old woman wearing a long, black flowing gown. He adjusted the controls and turned around to tell her but she was gone.

A telephone operator had a few encounters with an unseen spirit. First she turned from the door and felt something tugging her skirt. Then she saw a woman in an old-fashioned pink formal walk through the wall. She has also seen a man in Victorian evening clothes disappear.

Room 831 has a resident spirit who likes to sit upon the couch and causes the doorstep to jam.

A long time ago there was a room where train tickets were sold to the public. There have been numerous stories revealed about visions of spirits that appeared to be railroad conductors walking straight through the walls of the room that sold the tickets. Visitors staying at the hotel have seen images of individuals in old time attire that are carrying luggage and appear to be traveling.

There is a room in the hotel that was once referred to as the "San Marco Room". It was known to provide entertaining social gatherings and music to guests. Eventually, it was transitioned into a hotel dining room. Today it is called "Ellington's."

An employee was walking through hotel and he heard noises emerging from this room. He discovered a musical band that appeared to be practicing an assortment of musical pieces. He calmly informed the band that they had to dismiss themselves from the location. The spirits then informed him that they lived at the hotel. Shortly, thereafter, they simply vanished.

My Investigation

I've passed by this building for many years but I was never able to stop and go inside because I could never find a parking spot. The building is a triangular shape and located in the busy downtown area with parking on the street.

I have tried to go on a ghost tour of this hotel, but it is very difficult to book. There are limited tours, only given a few times a year and only on certain days. There are not many spots available and you have to book about 6 months in advance, and that is not guaranteed that they will conduct the tour. I'm not sure why it is so hard, but I think because it's such a prestigious hotel that the management doesn't want to disturb the people staying at the hotel.

I was finally able to go inside the Brown Palace Hotel with my friend Janet, in October of 2012. I remember how we were so mesmerized by the elegance of the lobby. There was a man playing the piano and we noticed the elegant martini bar. We looked around and noticed the intimate seating areas. There were groups of people sitting at small tables having dinner and cocktails.

Looking around it felt like we were stepping back in time. The grand presence of the balconies was overwhelming. They were so beautiful and intricately carved; it was amazing.

We walked around taking pictures and walking through the hallways. There was an atrium that connected one building to another. We looked down and could see the road below us.

On the other side of the hallway were a few ballrooms. There were marble stairs, and huge pillars leading to these rooms. It felt chilly in that area. I opened the doors and looked around. There were a bunch of tables and a small stage straight ahead that had velvet drapes covering it. I took some pictures but I didn't see anything.

We eventually left the building and I continued to take pictures outside the hotel. Upon reviewing the photos, I discovered one picture revealed a very large, prominent orb hovering directly in front of the building.

I felt the sensation that spirits were present inside the lobby area and near the bar. They didn't feel scary or threatening. I felt they were very calm and peaceful spirits, just carrying on with their everyday business as usual as if they were still alive.

The Brown Palace has a very beautiful and majestic feeling to it. I would love to come back and stay overnight and do further investigating to see if I could capture more evidence.