Victorian Mansion Steeped in Lore Right Outside Downtown Denver

In 1890, John Mouat—a prominent figure in America's booming lumber industry—built his family an elaborate Victorian mansion in Denver. Fittingly for a logging tycoon, Mouat decked out the rooms with intricately carved sycamore, maple, and walnut woodwork. A century later, Walter Keller and his wife Julie transformed the mansion into the Lumber Baron Inn & Gardens. The name of the place is a tribute to the original owner, who might be pleased to know much of the original woodwork has been carefully preserved. Then again, maybe he already knows: paranormal experts claim the bed and breakfast can count a ghost or two among its regular guests.

Each of the inn’s four rooms feels like a meticulously curated museum exhibit thanks to authentic Victorian decor and sumptuous imported furnishings. Anachronistic flat-screen TVs and jacuzzis provide modern comforts. The Valentine suite features an Indonesian wedding bed carved from teak wood and imported from Java. In the Anniversary suite, stately columns impart a sense of Grecian grandeur, augmented by drapes in gold brocade and a bedside bust of John Stamos.

Downtown Denver: Artsy Neighborhoods and Victorian Architecture in Mile-High City

A full mile above sea level, the glittering skyscrapers of Colorado’s capital city cut an imposing figure against the Rocky Mountains to the west. Downtown, contemporary architecture stands alongside historical landmarks such as the Denver Mint and Union Station, which has been a stop on the railroad since the 1880s.

Lumber Baron Inn & Gardens lies just outside downtown in the city's historical Highlands area, which CNN Travel dubbed "one of Denver's best-kept secrets." There's a nice mix of Victorian architecture and chic stores throughout the area, but the highest concentration of boutiques, bodegas, and galleries can be found in the Tennyson Street Cultural District. If shopping doesn’t appeal to you, you can always catch a Colorado Rockies game at nearby Coors Field.

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