48 Years Ago
The December 14, 1976 Golden Transcript featured an article entitled A Lot of Bull. The Holland House (predecessor to the Table Mountain Inn) was installing a “new addition to Golden’s skyline…a replica of a prize winning Charloias bull.” The restaurant wanted to advertise their tender steaks.
It definitely attracted attention. Two weeks later, the Transcript featured another article: Bull Shot. Someone shot the bull with “an extremely sharp, braided edge…. Damage was estimated at $5.” Hunting the bull apparently became a popular pastime. The February 8, 1977 Transcript reported that the bull had taken six arrows, and the April 25, 1977 Transcript said it had been shot again.
In October of 1983, the Transcript reported that the bull had been brought inside the hotel, where he stood in the lobby, next to the stairs. In 1984, he appeared in the Buffalo Bill Days parade.
The bull was stolen several times over the years as a popular local prank, but was always returned. In August of 1984, two local men tried to steal the bull, and this time police decided it was not a prank. They loaded him into a 4-horse trailer and headed north, out of town. Unfortunately for them, a Jefferson County Sheriff's deputy watched the whole thing from an unmarked car. He contacted the Golden police, who stopped the thieves before they reached the city limits. The bull had an estimated value of $800-$1,800, so the men were charged with felony theft.
Two months later, the charges were dropped. "The men reportedly may do some cleaning in the hotel's basement as retribution."
In 1991, the Holland House—which was closed by that time—was sold to Bart Bortles and Frank Day. The pair gutted and remodeled it, re-opening as the Table Mountain Inn. They held a massive auction of the hotel's furnishings, but the bull was not included in the sale.
