19th Century Charm, 21st Century Amenities
The first Victor Hotel & Restaurant was built in the early 1894 by the Woods Brothers just in time to accommodate travelers arriving on the newly completed Florence & Cripple Creek Railroad. The large two-story wooden frame building was a showplace with its cone-shaped tower and enclosed balconies on its second and third stories. The “modern” hotel even featured electricity.
However, when a devastating fire swept through Victor in August, 1899, the wooden building succumbed to the flames that spread quickly and destroyed the entire town in just five hours.
Not to be deterred, the building was reconstructed to stand the test of time, with brick and stone. Larger than the prior building, the “Bank Block,” as it was called, housed not only the “new” Victor Hotel & Restaurant , but also the Woods Brothers Investment Company and the First National Bank. The four-story building also housed storefronts along
the first floor and the upper floors held simple accommodations for businessmen and miners. One distinctive feature of the hotel was its elevator, which came in handy for yet another function that the building took on.
During the winters, when the ground was frozen between October and June, it was impossible to dig graves for those that died in the quickly growing city. As an alternative, the bodies were taken up the elevator and stored on the fourth floor of the building until the ground thawed enough to bury them.
It is apparently many of these long-dead Victor residents that haunt the historic hotel today. Though seemingly harmless, several people have witnessed the site of disembodied apparitions on the fourth floor. Reports include what look like both doctors and patients, sometimes without arms, legs, and even a heads, moving about this place that once acted as “holding cell” for the dead. There are other haunted areas in the hotel including the basement, the elevator, the third floor, and the kitchen.
Throughout the hotel, guests often tell of seeing misty forms and hearing footsteps, sometimes accompanied by the sudden rush of cold air. In the kitchen, employees tell of utensils that are suddenly thrown about the room.
The new Victor Hotel & Restaurant was built in 1899 after the first one was destroyed by fire. This hotel continues to stand and serve travelers today.
But the most prevalent ghost is that of a man named “Eddie” who allegedly fell down the elevator shaft years ago. Staying in Room 301 at the time of his death, Eddie has often been seen in the room, in the hallways, and in the elevator. Guests who stay in Room 301 also report hearing footsteps and other strange sounds that cannot be explained. Though the elevator is regularly inspected and maintained, it often tends to activate itself going up and down the shaft when no one is near it. Always stopping on the third floor, the elevator’s ghostly activity usually occurs around 3:00 a.m.
Today, the Victor Hotel & Restaurant , located at
4th Street and Victor Avenue
continues to provide
victor-hotel-signaccommodations to
travelers. Listed on the National
Register of Historic Places, the
hotel features 20 “modern” rooms
with private baths. Victor is just a
ten minute drive from Cripple Creek
through the historic mining district
on Colorado State Highway 67.
The Victor Hotel & Restaurant welcomes private
parties and groups! Host your family
reunion, church group, company
retreat or workshop at the hotel.
Our meeting and conference rooms can
host small and large groups
comfortably. We can arrange box
lunches, rollaway beds, and laundry
service for an extra fee.
To schedule your event or learn more, please contact the hotel.
