According to Coors: A Rocky Mountain Legend, the Coors mansion was built by brewery founder Adolph Coors as a present to his wife in 1890. It was constructed with pieces of a dance pavilion and beer garden, which had operated on the brewery grounds, but had been closed for many years.
There were originally three cottages for family members, but they were demolished to make way for brewery expansions.
The mansion remains on the brewery grounds, and is visible from Highway 58. They don’t give tours; in fact, I have read (in old articles) that only members of the family are allowed inside. I don’t know whether that’s still the case,
Bill Robie worked for Coors and shared some photos of the home that he took in February of 1976, along with some commentary.
The Coors Family Residence
In 1976, as a Coors employee in the Land and Water Department, I had the opportunity to tour and photograph parts of the Coors mansion, also sometimes referred to by family members as the “Big House”. The following is taken from an early 1970s paperback publication titled “The Adolph Coors Story”.
‘In the late 1800s, Adolph Coors Sr. built a home on the grounds of the brewery for his wife Louisa and their growing family of six boys. Most of the 22 rooms retain their original design and décor. Books written by German authors fill the shelves in the library. Oriental rugs, handcrafted furniture, and a round table with a concealed radio near Coors’ favorite easy chair are still in place. A large chandelier imported from Copenhagen hangs from a high ceiling, and a Steinway piano waits for players in the music room.’
The entire house was moved east about 300 feet in 1961 to make room for brewery expansion and was also rotated 90 degrees to face Castle Rock rather than the new industrial buildings. The home originally had a bowling alley and later, after the house was moved, a therapy pool was added for use by Mrs. Coors Jr. to help relieve her arthritic pain. The home was little used after Adolph Coors II died in 1970, but Bill and Joe Coors often ate their lunch there in the 1970s.
The mansion remains there today surrounded by pine trees and lawns, much as it was when Coors built it, but almost lost behind the towering structures of the modern brewery complex.
