Grand Imperial Hotel, Silverton

Abstract

Photograph showing the exterior of the Grand Imperial Hotel in Silverton as it appeared after restoration in 1952. The Grand Imperial was built in 1882 by English mining interests, and was considered to be the finest and most elegantly furnished hotel on the western slope of the Continental Divide. The Grand Imperial had three stories with a mansard roof, and it towered above the low, false-fronted buildings on Greene Street. Part of the first floor was rented to a mining machinery firm, but it also had a large lobby, a dining room, and a bar called the Hub. There was a total of 56 guest rooms on the second and third floors. For years, the Grand Imperial Hotel served as the meeting place for wealthy mine owners and executives in southwestern Colorado, but after the silver market collapsed in 1893 it faced lean times. The hotel deteriorated over a number of years, and its name was changed to the Imperial Hotel. Many of the rooms were shut off and no longer used.