The Brown Palace Has Made a Spirited Comeback

The Brown Palace is definitely haunted. By all the famous people who’ve stayed there — Dwight Eisenhower, who’s remembered with his ’50s-era presidential suite; the Beatles, who stayed there when they played Red Rocks in 1964; Margaret Brown, who sometimes checked in even though she had a house just blocks away, and was just honored with a suite of her own — as well as more infamous types, including members of the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies, who held a convention there in 1990 and behaved so badly that the Ship Tavern closed down early, despite record tabs.

But it’s also haunted by more recent, spooky developments.

In March 2024, for example, hotel management laid off the last of its legendary bellmen, some of whom had been there for decades, replacing them with third-party valets. The next month, management sent out a notice that the elegant, 75-year-old Palace Arms restaurant at the historic hotel was closing “until further notice” on May 4 of that year.

The Brown Palace was built by Henry Cordes Brown, an Ohio entrepreneur who came to Colorado in 1860 and purchased several acres of land at the edge of the raucous new town of Denver, including a triangular plot at the corner of Broadway, Tremont and 17th Street, where he reportedly grazed his cow. Ultimately, he booted his bovine and hired legendary architect Frank E. Edbrooke to design a grand hotel; construction started in 1888. In August 1892, the elegant, eight-story Brown Palace opened.

There have been many changes both inside and outside the red sandstone structure over the years. The Ship Tavern was added shortly after Prohibition ended, turning a former ladies’ lounge into a bar complete with a crow’s nest in the center of the room and a collection of model ships that owner Charles “C.K.” Boettcher’s wife did not want in the family mansion on East Eighth Avenue. (Today, that’s the Governor’s Residence.)

Boettcher opened the Palace Arms in 1950; it was decked out in Napoleonic-era military prints and antiques – including a set of dueling pistols once carried by Napoleon himself. But by last year, the hotel was no longer under local ownership — in 2018, Crescent Real Estate bought the hotel for $125 million and appointed HEI Hotels & Resorts to run the place — and several areas had been updated with less historic regalia. Now it was the Palace Arms’ turn.

“We’re not saying it’s officially closed forever,” said Jana Smith, then-the general manager of the Brown, in explaining the closure announcement.

And true, the Brown quickly reversed course as fans of the restaurant — many of whom clearly had not been there in years — complained. The Palace Arms was soon back…and Smith was out. Today, the hotel is managed by Highgate.

Singing a Different Tune

In March, John Kite marked forty years of working as an independent contractor at the hotel, starting with playing the piano at tea and moving on to entertaining crowds at the Ship Tavern and in the Atrium at night, as well as organizing the entertainment lineup. “The Brown threw me this beautiful party to celebrate my fortieth year there,” he says. All the managers and many of the musicians he’d worked with through the years were there, “and it was really, really cool…one of those moments I’ll never forget.”

While there were some more forgettable moments in recent years, Kite is optimistic about the direction of the hotel these days. COVID took a toll, he points out, and then there was the fire that closed Ellyngton’s for a year. Not to mention the Palace Arms PR debacle. While a speedboat can turn around quickly, he notes that “a luxury cruise liner takes a couple of hours to turn around. I believe in my heart the ownership group has the best interests of the Brown Palace in mind,” he says. “I think the natural progression of ‘now what do we do’ led to this new management group, and the natural progression is amazing. I’m so proud.”

Through it all, he kept hiring musicians. And here’s what he wants people to know about the Brown Palace. “This is coming from the entertainer, the piano player — not someone who loves to eat, loves to drink (you know I do),” he acknowledges. “I schedule about 365 hours of entertainers a week; I get to hire twelve musician shifts a week. When the Brown Palace says it is invested in entertainment, it is…it’s humbling to be part of that legacy.”

Now carrying on that legacy is Alfonso Perez-Vega, who became general manager of the Brown when Crescent replaced HEI with Highgate in February. Shortly after Perez-Vega started, he came up and introduced himself to a flabbergasted Kite. “I think this is the first general manager I could be his grandfather,” says Kite. “And everyone has access to him.”

“Denver isn’t Denver without the Brown Palace,” says Perez-Vega. “We are part of the city’s story, its community, its history and its memories. For generations, the Brown Palace has been a gathering place for celebrations big and small. We’re proud to continue that legacy while shaping what it means for the next 130 years.”

While he hadn’t worked at the Brown before, he quickly got up to speed on that history.

“One of my favorites is the story of Sun Yat-sen, the father of modern China, who stayed here on the eve of China’s independence, while a $100,000 bounty was placed on his head, an enormous sum at the time,” he recounts. “It is here at the Brown Palace where he heard of the fall of the Qing Dynasty and signed the first documents leading China to freedom and creating the Republic of China we know now. The news made headlines across Denver newspapers, and it’s said that his supporters helped keep him safe during his stay. This past March, we had the honor of receiving a bronze bust in his memory, which now stands proudly in the hotel room he once occupied, a fitting tribute to the remarkable global history that has unfolded within these walls.”

While Perez-Vega appreciates the past, he’s concerned with the present. While the warm welcome has returned, he acknowledges that the doormen remain part of a third-party partnership. But the Brown has expanded its concierge staff, he says.

Too, his team continues to work on offerings at the Palace Arms, toning down the garish lighting of last fall and introducing the successful Le Palais Frites prix fixe menu (with pricy upgrade options) this past summer.

“Palace Arms is truly a living museum, and I couldn’t be prouder of what our team has accomplished in that space. We went back to our roots, bringing back the experiential elements that made dining here so iconic — from the tableside Caesar to begin your meal to bottomless duck fat fries and our famous Bananas Foster to finish,” he says. “It’s something special, and guests have responded; our covers have more than doubled since introducing the new menu. It’s a celebration of classic hospitality, reimagined for today.”

Making Menus Ship-Shape

And then there’s the Ship Tavern, which rolled out a new menu earlier this month. Although the orange-striped tables that brought echoes of a Denny’s when it was remodeled in 2017 remain (some diners still long for the old blue-and-white-checked tablecloths), the whole place looks refreshed. “The feedback has been phenomenal. Guests love that we’ve kept beloved staples like our signature Brown Palace prime rib and fish & chips, while introducing new, creative dishes that reflect the evolving Denver dining scene,” Perez-Vega says.

At a test dinner, diners raved about the whipped smoked trout dip with bagel chips, the raw bar offerings (in a tackle box)…and that truffle mac-and-cheese gratin!

“The balance of nostalgia and innovation has really resonated,” says Perez-Vega. “Ship Tavern remains a true local favorite, just with a fresh new energy.”

And a few ghosts that haunt the place.

“It’s hard to describe, but there’s a spirit here like no other,” he acknowledges. “The Brown Palace isn’t just a hotel, it’s a feeling. I recently experienced an evening in the Atrium that captures it perfectly: John Kite and his jazz trio filled the room with sound and soul, pausing between songs to share stories of the hotel’s past. Hiwatt Gebremariam [that’s one of the longest-tenured tea servers] welcomed guests by name and with a radiant smile. Couples danced beneath the historic skylight, a guest sat at the piano for an impromptu performance, and our team ensured every drink and dish was impeccable. That’s the Brown Palace — alive with history, hospitality, and heart. There is just no place like it.”

The Brown Palace is offering ghost tours every afternoon through the month, but you don’t need them to sense the spirits. History happened here, and there’s more to come.