The Broadmoor in Colorado - Part 2

This is the second part of my tale about our trip to Colorado in May and today I'll show some interior shots of The Broadmoor and also share a little about the historical tour I took there.  As I said on Monday, The Broadmoor was built by Spencer Penrose in 1918.  At that time, the hotel was located outside of Colorado Springs.  Mr. Penrose was a bit of a rebel (or more than a bit) and he disagreed with a lot of restrictions on behavior of individuals - things like Prohibition.  One of the concierge staff led our historical tour and so I'll mention a few tidbits that we saw and heard about.

I don't have a picture of 'Bottle Alley' near one of the restaurants accessed through the lobby, but there are display cases high up in the walls that are filled with old liquor bottles.  Penrose served his guests and friends alcohol during the Prohibition time (1920-1933) and then hid the bottles in various places on his land.  When a renovation was done many years later, over 1,200 bottles were found - intact and empty.  Hence - 'Bottle Alley'. 

All the lobbies and open rooms of The Broadmoor are very ornate and formal in decor.  This is the lobby of the part of the hotel that was across the lake from where we stayed.

Look at this fountain in more detail (just click on it).  Bears!  I was wandering on my own when I took this and there was a meeting going on in one part of this area.  I couldn't stay long, but this gives you a peep.  There was art everywhere as well.

This was a fountain that was just outside of the restaurant where I had breakfast that first morning.  And it was the gathering place for the historical tour.  

I discovered this library the first day after breakfast, but there was a group having a meeting inside.  I had to come back later when I could take a look at the shelves in the room itself.  Our tour guide showed us this room and said someone had asked whether it was modeled after the library in Disney's Beauty and the Beast!  (It was not.)  

Yes, I was tempted to climb the ladder and check out all the books on the upper shelves.  Guests could borrow the books and (I suppose) actually take them if they wished.  This library has not been in existence for the whole 100 years.  It was a storage room a few years ago.

Spencer Penrose also was a founder of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, a race that started in 1916.  This year's race will actually take place this coming Sunday, June 30th.  Many famous race car drivers have participated and the vehicle above was actually driven by Penrose himself very early on (not sure what year).  It's found in the Penrose Heritage Museum, which is located on the grounds of The Broadmoor.  I spent a couple of hours there taking a look at things and chatting with the curator.

There were a lot of carriages, cars, and artifacts at the museum.  Here's a stagecoach that one could get close to and check out just how small the inside compartment was.  I can't imagine bumping over the prairie in one of those.  

I was fascinated and sort of creeped out by this 'carriage' - a 'Bath Car' - like from Bath, England.  I knew that people went to Bath to bathe in the hot springs - for their health and to help with ailments.  Many of these people were unable to walk to the springs on their own and so were carried.  Eventually, this little carriage/cart was invented and a person could sit inside and be transported to the hot springs.  I could get up close and look and found myself getting claustrophobic just looking.  This kind of reminded me of an upright coffin.  However, I guess they served their purpose.  

Outside the museum, there was this old engine from the Manitou & Pikes Peak Railway.  The Broadmoor also owns the Pikes Peak Cog Railway, though it is closed right now for repairs.  They hope to reopen in 2021.  My husband and daughter and I rode this railway to the top of Pikes Peak in the late 1980's.  

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I had a good time hearing all the history and wandering around The Broadmoor checking out various things.  There was a long hallway with lots of photos of famous people who had stayed at the hotel - presidents, world leaders, famous Hollywood people and famous singers and rock stars.  There was a lot more about the Penrose family and display cases filled with all sorts of memorabilia.  Probably the oddest thing was Spencer Penrose's glass eye.  Kind of creepy, but interesting.  Also a picture of him in his llama cart.  Another of Penrose's gifts to Colorado was the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.  He had a lot of wild creature pets, one of them a llama, and he would drive his llama cart into Colorado Springs to protest Prohibition.  See, you just never know what you might learn.

Thanks for sharing my trip with me!  There is a lot to see in Colorado Springs if you ever get there.  Hope you can visit at some point.