Quote from Angela on May 18, 2022, 3:03 pm

The Oxford Hotel in Denver, Colorado, is located in lower downtown on the corner of 17th and was originally opened to the public in 1891 by Adolf Zang, William Mygatt and Philip Feldhauser.

The hotel is famed for its legendary bar, The Cruise Cocktail Lounge.

During 1893 the area suffered one of the worst economic declines in history and, in a panic, owners sold the building to former Colorado Governor Job A. Cooper.

The hotel became so popular that it was forced to turn many guests away, due to excessive crowding. Soon after, a second floor and five storey annex, were added to accommodate intake.

Other additions included an in house side entrance barber shop, a quaint coffee shop and mezzanine section.

In 1908 Bill Haywood, Charles Moyer and George Pettibone, associated with the National Labor Industry Federation of Miners, were hiding out at the Denver Hotel. Police apprehended them and detained them in secret at the hotel overnight to avoid public disturbance or lore supporters into retaliation.  The suspects were sent to Boise, Idaho, the very next day to be tried for the murder of Frank Steunenberg, the fourth Governor of the State of Idaho.

When Colorado outlawed alcohol in 1916, and with prohibition following in 1920, the ever popular cruise room bar was forced to close its doors which it did, publicly at least. The bar was rumored to have moonlighted as a speakeasy behind closed doors, and away from prying eyes, and also a flophouse offering secret and low cost accommodation.

In 1983 the hotel opened as Denvers Grand Boutique Hotel. 

As of 2019 the hotel was managed by Sage Hospitality And Management who have maintained the buildings original style, which was in fact was modelled on the RMS Queen Mary which is currently moored in Long Beach, California, and has its own haunted history to tell.

For anyone interested, please enjoy our linked article below.

https://boiseghost.org/resources/forum/topic/the-ghost-crew-of-queen-mary-ship-hotel-california/

The hotel is often home to some truly spooky phenomena. Let’s take a look.

In the ladies restrooms, many have reported a hazy misty apparition which peers over the stalls, sometimes audible mischievious laughter is also detected.

Guests have watched, frozen in terror, as light switches are seen physically flipping, as if being pressed by invisible fingers.

Staff tell of two apparitions known to roam the hallways at night.

One is a male, dressed in a 1920s suit, believed to be the spirit of a guest who disappeared in 1929 whose decomposed body was discovered the following Spring.

On several chilling instances, bartenders have watched, in awe, as this male apparition approaches the bar and orders a drink. He drinks the alcohol, says a few words about ‘getting some presents to the children’ and then turns and walks away, evaporating as a mist.

The other is a female entity who haunts Room 320 believed to be the spirit of a young lady known in life as Florence Montague who stayed here with her husband. There are two variants of the tale. The first version is that Florence found her husband in the arms of another lady, shot him and then turned the gun on herself.

The second version being that Florence had some sort of mental breakdown whilst staying at the hotel, and her husband actually discovered her, in the bedroom of another male guest and he killed her. Either way, it all ended in murder and suicide and her presence lingers today.

Many who stay in Room 320 also encounter a male spirit, peering over them, staring into their very souls, and can even hear him breathing.

Could this be the husband of Florence?

If he approves of you as a guest, it is all good, if not he has been known to hurl items violently across the room.

Yikes. The hotel today offers 80 guest rooms and suites and is hailed as one of Denvers' most luxurious landmarks.