116 Years Ago
The July 22, 1909 Colorado Transcript announced the death of Joe Schall (1857-1909). Mr. Schall owned a bookstore in the Bella Vista Hotel on 12th Street. He also served as the County treasurer for eighteen years, and City treasurer for three terms. He held considerable real estate in the Golden area.
The Bella Vista hotel had been financed by Joe Schall’s uncle in the 1880s, and though the hotel was never a commercial success, Schall and his wife maintained an apartment in the hotel for nearly 40 years. The second floor of the hotel contained a grand ballroom, and the couple often hosted dances there.
After Joe Schall’s death in 1909, his widow remained alone in the building, hosting card parties, tea parties, and the occasional dance.
In 1920, the Philadelphia-based owners decided to demolish the old hotel. At that time, the Widow Schall moved to an apartment on Washington Avenue and eventually to Denver. She outlived her husband by 38 years, dying in 1947.
In the November 14, 1929 Colorado Transcript, Neil West Kimball–grandson of George & Eliza West (Transcript founders)–provided the following reminiscence of his youth in Golden.
The Bella Vista hotel…was an old mysterious sort of building even when I was a youngster and many the wild stories we made up about it. I remember that I thought Mrs. Schall a most courageous person to live alone in such a monstrous structure. It was a real occasion for me when I was allowed to accompany my mother on a call to Mrs. Schall and wander through the long corridors and neglected rooms.
