Rossonian Hotel | |
Location | 2650 Welton Street, Denver, Colorado, U.S. |
---|---|
Coordinates | 39°45′15″N104°58′40″W / 39.75417°N 104.97778°W |
Area | less than one acre |
Architect | George Louis Bettcher |
Architectural style | Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements, Beaux-Arts |
NRHP reference No. | 95001009 [1] |
Added to NRHP | August 15, 1995 |
The Rossonian Hotel is a historic building and former business located at 2650 Welton Street in the Five Points section of Denver, Colorado, United States. [2] It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places since in 1995, for ethnic heritage and social history. [1] [2] It has also been known as the Baxter Building and as the Baxter Hotel. [2]
The former Rossonian Hotel is a historic building which opened in 1912 as the Baxter Hotel. [3] It was home to a jazz lounge where many prominent musicians performed. [4] They were able to stay at the hotel which catered to African Americans during the era of segregation. In 1929, the hotel name changed to The Rossonian, and was named after the hotel manager, Albert Henderson Wade Ross (A. H. W. Ross) (1884–1939). [2] [3] [5] Some sources state that Ross owned the Rossonian starting in either 1928 or 1929, and others state he owned it in the mid-1930s. [6] [7] [2] Ross had owned the Denver White Elephants, a semi-professional baseball team. [8] The hotel ownership and management changed many times during the period 1929 to 1945. [2]
The building has been empty since 1998. Chauncy Billups was a partner in one redevelopment proposal. [9] It has had various owners and redevelopment plans have been launched but as of 2021 none had been successfully completed. [10]
The building was designed by architect George Louis Bettcher (1862–1952), for cigar businessman Robert Y. Baxter. [2] Bettcher was born in Jersey City, New Jersey and moved to Denver in 1895 where he remained until his death. Bettcher also designed residences in the Denver Country Club area and the Turnverein Building. [2]
The building was built in 1907, and was opened in 1912. [2] [11] It is on a wedge of property and is triangular shaped. [11] According to the Denver Architecture Foundation, it is Beaux-Arts in style. [11] The Rossonian's main entrance is on Welton Street. [2]
Denver Union Station is the main railway station and central transportation hub in Denver, Colorado. It is located at 17th and Wynkoop Streets in the present-day LoDo district and includes the historic station house, a modern open-air train shed, a 22-gate underground bus station, and light rail station. A station was first opened on the site on June 1, 1881, but burned down in 1894. The current structure was erected in two stages, with an enlarged central portion completed in 1914.
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Five Points is one of Denver, Colorado's oldest neighborhoods. It is now one of the fastest growing in terms of both redevelopment and population. Much of this growth is taking place in the River North Arts District, or "RiNo", which is often considered by locals a neighborhood of its own; although it is officially within the Five Points neighborhood in addition to parts of neighboring Globeville and Elyria-Swansea.
Baker is a neighborhood in Denver, Colorado, United States.
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The Denver White Elephants was a semi-professional independent African-American baseball team in Denver, Colorado, United States. The team was active from 1915 to 1935, and practiced at Broadway Park at 6th and Acoma Streets in Denver. The team played exhibition games against White teams. It was owned and led by Albert Henderson Wade Ross (1884–1939), a businessman who ran the Rossonian Hotel in Denver's Five Points neighborhood.
George Louis Bettcher (1862–1952) was an American architect based in Denver, Colorado. He designed a number of buildings which survive and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places for their architecture.
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The Denver Star (1888–1963), established as The Statesman and also known as Franklin's Paper, The Statesman, was an American weekly newspaper for the African American community. It was published in Denver and was distributed in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, and New Mexico.
Albert Henderson Wade Ross (1884–1939), whose name is often abbreviated as A. H. W. Ross, was an American businessman, lawyer, newspaper owner, and baseball team owner. Ross and the Denver Independent Publishing Company were owners from 1913 to 1963 of The Denver Star, an African-American newspaper. He owned and led the African American baseball team the Denver White Elephants, active from 1915 to 1935. Ross had also been the manager of the Rossonian Hotel in the Five Points neighborhood of Denver, which was renamed after him in 1929. Some sources state that Ross owned the Rossonian starting in either 1928 or 1929, and others state he owned it in the mid-1930s. He had also worked in real estate and owned the Metropolitan Realty Co., and was a member of the Denver NAACP.
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Park Service .
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