The Ship Tavern

Today I planned to meet my cousins for lunch at the Ship Tavern, a 75-year-old pub located in the corner of the historic Brown Palace. Today is the first day of Dave's conference, and my first day on my own. I spent a couple of hours walking through the nearby streets, taking pictures of the 16th Street Mall, and enjoying the historic buildings. I was early for lunch, so took my time walking through the Brown Palace. The inside atrium lobby is stunning, a 6-story space with wrought iron balconies, and a stained glass ceiling. They serve high tea here during the day.

This is one of those historic buildings with great stories associated with it. The hotel has been open every day since its opening on August 12, 1892. Every U.S. president since Teddy Roosevelt has visited, except for Calvin Coolidge. The hotel still uses its original artesian well, 720 feet deep beneath the lobby floor. Soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division, who first trained on Mt. Rainier, stayed here. They scorned the elevators, and often rapelled to the ground from the lobby railings.




The Ship Tavern is just as amazing. It's paneled floor to ceiling, in fact, the ceiling is also paneled. In the center is a mast that vanishes into the ceiling, giving the feeling of being below decks in the captain's dining room. The room is filled with models of ships, and outside, there are three curved glass windows, each protecting a scale model of a ship.