Molly Brown House Museum. Built in 1889. Occupied by Molly Brown 1340 Pennsylvania Street. National Register of Historic Places 72000269 IMG_6965
The drive up to Denver from Colorado Springs was not long. About halfway, we passed Castle Rock. The rock formation does resemble a hilltop Moorish stronghold in Spain. The vegetation of the region is similar, too, adding to the effect.
Arrival in the Denver metropolitan area was indicated by sighting of RTD light rail trains at Sky Ridge. I was impressed that the light rail service extended so far south from downtown. A couple on the Pikes Peak train had told of visiting the Molly Brown House in Denver. As Susan and I enjoy historic houses, we had decided that would be our primary objective in Denver. The house is in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. Margaret Molly (Tobin) Brown is famous as the Unsinkable Molly Brown a survivor of the Titanic. Her husband, James Brown, literally struck gold in Leadville, Colorado in 1893 and their fortune was made. They purchased their Denver home in 1894, but separated in 1909. Molly was interested in world travel. She was in Egypt in 1912 when she was called home and booked passage on the Titanic. She was portrayed in the 1960 Broadway musical and 1964 film The Unsinkable Molly Brown. The house
has three stories and a basement. Only the first and second floors are open to tour. Tours are with docents on each floor to answer questions. The house is kept very dark inside and is furnished with much of Mollys furniture. She had two children and looked after several nieces who she considered daughters. After she moved out, the residence became a boarding house.The furnishing went to various family members and tenants. Descendants have since donated them to the house. There are also many travel trophies from her world travels. An inlay from Japan. A Moor lamp from Venice. Brass lamps from India. A ushabiti figurine from Egypt that she had with her on the Titanic. The wood paneling of main staircase is quite beautiful as are the stained glass panels in the stairway. The special exhibit, Heroine of the Titanic, was on and so the focus of every room was an aspect of her Titanic experience. This emphasis overshadowed her story as a philanthropist and supporter of womens rights and her life outside the Titanic in general.
Before the house tour, Susan and I had lunch at Colorado Campfire. I had the Campfire Burger, advertised to have
been made with Colorado beef. I had several downtown sites in mind to visit after the Moly Brown House. We saw the Colorado State Capitol, the Denver City & County Building, the United States Mint and Union Station. The state capitol building is unusual in that it is square, the sides are symmetrical and it lacks state assembly and senate wings. We had initially hoped to tour the Mint, but it had not reopened to public tours. I wanted to see Union Station because of the famous orange Union Station. Travel by Train sign. The City & County Building and its imposing Neoclassical faade was a bonus.
Having briefly seen downtown Denver, we headed for our hotel, the Hampton International Airport. A hotel near the airport would make it easy to return our rental car the following morning. It is miles from downtown Denver, and still a few miles from the airport. As I observed the first day, the area here is largely empty, but construction is ongoing. Dinner was at the neighboring Moonlight Diner. I dont know how authentic is it, but it looks the part of the 1950s metal diner and has great retro signage. I
Return to the Denver International Airport on Wednesday morning was smooth. The airport is certainly located in a massive tract of land. Larger than DFW I would think. Our aircraft came in from Eugene, Oregon, where the World Athletic Championships were in progress. A surprise was to see members of the Portugal track and field off the plane. No doubt they had and were making a connection.
