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pen and ink drawing of a 2 story hotel with 2nd floor gallery - omnibus and team of horses in front - Castle Rock in back
Crawford House from 1892 Illustrated Golden Globe Industrial Edition - Click to enlarge


122 Years Ago

The June 25, 1902 Colorado Transcript reported that the Crawford House had recently been purchased by John McEachern. He was doing extensive remodeling, updating, and redecorating in preparation for reopening the business.

1906 Sanborn Insurance Map showing the Crawford House, which was labeled a “boarding house” by that time

The Crawford House was located on 12th Street, about halfway between Ford and Jackson. I believe it was built in 1887. It had a few different names over the years, as owners came and went, but always seemed to default back to the Crawford House.

Excerpt from a 1903 photo showing a glimpse of the Crawford House – Denver Public Library Western History Collection

In its early years, it was considered a fine and comfortable hotel. In later years, as the structure aged and newer hotels were built, it became a boarding house. It was razed in 1939 to make way for the post office. The owner at that time intended to reuse the bricks, so it’s possible that some of the Crawford House still exists in Golden buildings!

Location of the Crawford House shown by combining the 1895 Sanborn map with a Google Satellite image

This is what caught my attention in the 1902 article:

The large front room on the second floor will be fitted up for living rooms for the family by dividing off a couple of bed-rooms…. On this floor are some fourteen nice bed-rooms which are being newly papered and painted, as is the house throughout. The bath room and closet are on this floor to the rear, and as sewer connection has been secured everything will be modern and up-to-date.

Image the owner’s family and fourteen guests sharing a single bathroom!


Thanks to the Golden History Museum for providing the online cache of historic Transcripts, and to the Golden Transcript for documenting our history since 1866!

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