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The Meeker Hotel dates from 1896 is one of the oldest operating hotels in Colorado. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. ==Description== The hotel was built in 1896, at a time when Meeker was a prominent stagecoach stop and visitors were drawn to the beauty of the White River Valley.〔Colorado's Historic Hotels; July 7, 2011; Clark, Alexandra Walker; The History Press〕 At this time there were many hotels in Meeker, but none compared with the brick structure built by Rueben Sanford Ball. An east and west wing were added to the hotel in 1904, greatly expanding its square footage and boosting the number of rooms to forty. A series of pictures by H.A. Wildhack depict the building of the hotel. Between June 9, 1896 and July 15, 1896, a large pile of bricks is transformed into the shell of the building that still stands 115 years later. Materials were being shipped by freight wagon from Rifle. The story is that Ball, after losing an establishment in Creede, Colorado to a fire, went to great lengths to build a hotel that would pass the test of time. The hotel’s walls range from three to six bricks thick. The Meeker Hotel is the only historic hotel still standing in the northwest corner of Colorado. Its unique brick façade adds a picturesque quality as does its rounded glass bays on each side of the main building. The front of the building has a wide balcony overlooking Main Street, the native flagstone courthouse built in 1935, and one of the original barracks used during the time of the Meeker Massacre (now the White River Museum). “Even if you are just passing though, stop off at this old hotel and take a look around the restored lobby. Once inside, your every move is watched by the beady glass eyes of elk, buffalo, long-horned sheep, deer, (foxes, and porcupines ) mounted on the walls.”.〔Colorado Guide; Bruce, Caughney; Fulcrum Publishing;115〕 Within the hotel, guests are greeted with original rustic pine floors and a multitude of fine world-class deer and elk mounts. Most of the Meeker Hotel’s elk have joined the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation's national World Record Elk Tour and many guests make the pilgrimage just to see them. “I found a picture of the Meeker Hotel Lobby taken back in 1906…The large bull elk is a big typical 427 3/8. In the hotel there is another great elk that had fallen off the wall over the years and has two large bolts through the antlers holding them onto the old mount. Unfortunately this is another great record elk that cannot officially go into record book because of its cracked skull. It is a 9x8 typical with a gross score of B&C 460 netting about 450. Just think about that the little town of Meeker with two world record Elk greater than records of today, dating from the turn of the century. I will be displaying them both in the 1999 World Record Elk Tour.”.〔Eastman's Journal; Eastman,Mike; Jan/Feb 1997,47-48〕 Alongside these giants are a collection of different animals from the area slowly collected by a succession of owners. A mountain lion, coyotes, regional foxes, antelope, a bear skin and even porcupines are stuffed and on display. The first owner and current owner have also contributed two moose and a caribou from Alaska. Sitting beside the stairway is an enormous elk that has been observing the lobby since 1904. It is the set of antlers that is now displayed proudly on the hotel’s stationery, bumper stickers and t-shirts. All animals depicted in their merchandise come from their collection. The stairway is over six feet wide with a handmade railing that resembles a tree trunk and limbs. At the top of the stairs are twelve rooms and a guest lounge. Over the years, the original rooms have combined to create six two room suites and six single rooms, each with their own bath. Many of the baths still contain the original claw foot bathtubs. The rooms are named for something that has been a part of the hotel’s western history or a guest who has stayed there: Susan C. Wright, Gary Cooper, Billy the Kid, Nathan Meeker, Tom Horn, Big Bull Elk, Eleanor Roosevelt, Chief Ouray, Painted Lady, R.S. Ball, Theodore Roosevelt, Augusta Wallihan, and Charlie Dunbar. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Meeker Hotel」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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