Want to Own a Piece of the Dark Horse? Bidding Is Now Open

It was the end of a beer-soaked era when Boulder’s world-famous Dark Horse went dark last month after celebrating its 51st anniversary. The closure wasn’t due to a lack of business or economic pressures, but rather a plan to demolish the bar’s longtime home as part of the Williams Village II redevelopment, which will replace the existing Baseline Road shopping center with approximately 427 new apartment units and ground-floor commercial space.

Many locals opposed the plan. But ultimately, the watering hole’s fate was sealed — though there’s still hope it may be resurrected in a new location.

In the meantime, some of the bar’s memorabilia and decor are now up for auction. Bidding is open until 2 p.m. on April 14, and items must be “paid for and removed without exception” by 4:45 p.m. on Thursday, April 16, according to Roller Auction, which has been tasked with managing the sale.

If the Dark Horse may come back, why are so many items being sold? The bar posted an answer to that question on its Instagram page: “Well, the staff of the Dark Horse kept your drinks flowing and burgers cooking, but if you’ve been here a while you know they’re all much more than just that. Many of them are also long-time employees who have become part of our big and wonderful (and maybe a little dysfunctional) family. As a small token of gratitude, we have decided to part with many of the beloved objects as a shared goal to help and pay our long term staff a severance, as they have continually shown their dedication to our business but also the many people they have encountered over the years…not only in our closing months, but over tons of amazing Dark Horse years. So keep in mind if you participate in this auction, not only are you getting a cherished piece of memorabilia, but you’re also supporting all the people you loved that made the Dark Horse, well, the Dark Horse!”

That’s a sentiment we can get behind. The Dark Horse also wants fans to know that “many parts of the bar are being saved and stored while limited items were sent to auction. And no, we will not sell to you personally or through this Instagram account, so please stop sending your requests.”

Instead, you can now scroll through the entire online catalog of available items, which range from beer signs and tap handles to taxidermy, crab pots, mannequin parts and vintage books. There’s also a variety of antique carriages and buggies, including a horse-drawn hearse funeral carriage, which currently has the highest bid at $500.

Two of our favorite lots are the fiberglass cartoon dog statue and a vintage fiberglass hamburger mascot; bids for each are currently up to $130.

We’ll drink to that!

To view the online auction and place a bid, visit bid.rollerauction.com.