%1 http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/ en Rossonian Hotel http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/rossonian-hotel <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Rossonian Hotel</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: x field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-article-image.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-article-image.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div id="carouselEncyclopediaArticle" class="carousel slide" data-bs-ride="true"> <div class="carousel-inner"> <div class="carousel-item active"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--1634--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--1634.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/rossonian-hotel"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/Rossonian%20Hotel%20Media%201_0.jpg?itok=OQtma96D" width="900" height="594" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/rossonian-hotel" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Rossonian Hotel</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>For decades the Rossonian Hotel was a central institution in Five Points. The Rossonian Lounge played host to distinguished black musicians such as Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Nat King Cole, Billie Holiday, and Ella Fitzgerald.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> <div class="carousel-item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--1235--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--1235.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/rossonian-hotel-today"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/Rossonian-Media-2_0.jpg?itok=Pg3K9Ho_" width="1000" height="666" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/rossonian-hotel-today" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Rossonian Hotel Today</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>After declining in the 1950s, the Rossonian Hotel has been the focus of several major redevelopment efforts since the 1980s. As of 2016, Sage Hospitality plans to expand the building and turn it into a luxury hotel and condominium complex.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> </div> <button class="carousel-control-prev" type="button" data-bs-target="#carouselEncyclopediaArticle" data-bs-slide="prev"> <span class="carousel-control-prev-icon" aria-hidden="true"></span> <span class="visually-hidden">Previous</span> </button> <button class="carousel-control-next" type="button" data-bs-target="#carouselEncyclopediaArticle" data-bs-slide="next"> <span class="carousel-control-next-icon" aria-hidden="true"></span> <span class="visually-hidden">Next</span> </button> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2016-03-16T14:07:37-06:00" title="Wednesday, March 16, 2016 - 14:07" class="datetime">Wed, 03/16/2016 - 14:07</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/rossonian-hotel" data-a2a-title="Rossonian Hotel"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Frossonian-hotel&amp;title=Rossonian%20Hotel"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>The most prominent building at the <a href="/article/five-points"><strong>Five Points</strong></a> intersection in <strong><a href="/article/denver">Denver</a></strong>, the Rossonian Hotel opened in 1912 as the Baxter Hotel. Renamed the Rossonian in 1929, its lounge acquired a reputation as the best jazz club between the Midwest and the West Coast, with performances by jazz greats such as Duke Ellington and Count Basie. The hotel and lounge declined after the 1960s, as Denver’s black population left Five Points, but with business activity increasing in the area since the 1990s, the Rossonian has been the focus of numerous redevelopment efforts.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>In Its Prime</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1912 Robert Y. Baxter, owner of the Baxter Cigar Company, hired architect George Louis Bettcher to design a hotel on Welton Street at the Five Points intersection. With its triangular shape and Beaux-Arts style, the three-story Baxter Hotel quickly became a neighborhood landmark. It was owned by and catered to whites.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The Five Points area, which had seen an influx of black residents already in the 1890s, became majority black in the 1920s, as Denver’s housing market boomed. Whites moved to outlying neighborhoods and practiced discriminatory housing designed to keep black residents segregated in Five Points. By 1929 about 5,500 of Denver’s 7,000 blacks lived in the area, which was home to a growing district of black businesses along Welton Street. Around that time the Baxter Hotel, still owned by the Baxter family, came under black management and was renamed the Rossonian after manager A. W. L. Ross. Ownership and management changed hands a few times over the next few decades but generally stayed within a close circle of friends and businesses connected to Ross.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>From the 1920s to the 1950s, the Rossonian Hotel was a central institution in Five Points. Black musicians visiting Denver for performances often stayed there when white hotels downtown turned them away. As a result, the first-floor Rossonian Lounge became the most important jazz club between Kansas City and Los Angeles. Top performers who passed through Denver often played there on off nights between concerts at larger venues downtown or jammed there late at night, after they had finished performing at other clubs and returned to the hotel. The list of musicians who stayed at the hotel and performed at the lounge is long and distinguished; it includes Duke Ellington (who once spent a whole summer there), Count Basie, Nat King Cole, Billie Holiday, and Ella Fitzgerald. The lounge became so well known as a jazz hot spot that it began to attract white patrons from other parts of the city; by the 1950s the lounge’s clientele was mostly white because more whites could afford the cover charge.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Decline</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Various forms of racial discrimination in Denver, including discrimination in hotel accommodations and housing, began to wane after <strong>World War II</strong>. By the late 1950s and 1960s, black entertainers had a choice of hotels and no longer had to stay in Five Points. In addition, the end of racially restrictive housing covenants allowed middle-class blacks in Five Points to move to other parts of Denver and the suburbs. The Rossonian Lounge could no longer count on a steady stream of top talent, and the Five Points neighborhood as a whole lost population and wealth, causing businesses in the area to struggle.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1957 Denver city councilman <a href="/article/elvin-r-caldwell"><strong>Elvin Caldwell</strong></a> and his wife bought the Rossonian for about $100,000. They hoped to turn it into “the most luxurious establishment catering to visiting Negroes between Chicago and Los Angeles.” Their plans, however, came to nothing. In 1960 they had to relinquish the building because they had not kept up with taxes on the property. They later regained the title and in 1965 attempted to sell the hotel and the lounge/restaurant as separate businesses; the hotel had been the scene of arrests for solicitation and prostitution.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>By 1967 the Caldwells had leased the Rossonian, then still operating as a hotel, to Jerry Roseman. The next year they sold the building to Vera and Joseph Hamilton, who hoped to sell it to the city of Denver for use as a halfway home. The cost of renovations would have been prohibitive, so the building was not selected for the program. It continued to do some business as a hotel. By 1973, when the Hamiltons sold the Rossonian to Harry Goens, Jr., the building was appraised at only $70,000.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Redevelopment</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Major redevelopment efforts at the Rossonian began in the 1980s. In 1986 PSTAR ONE Properties bought the building and secured a $378,000 loan from the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development (MOED), which it used to buy a lot for off-street parking and produce a series of architectural drawings. PSTAR defaulted on the loan the following year, and the city of Denver took over the building. In 1990 the developer and former insurance executive Tom Yates used a $350,000 MOED loan to acquire the Rossonian, with the plan of opening a jazz supper club in the building.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In the early 1990s Yates-controlled businesses received more than $1.8 million in city loans for extensive renovations at the Rossonian, including new walls, plumbing, and electrical systems as well as a three-story addition on the back. When construction was complete, the Denver Housing Authority leased the top two floors for five years at almost $12,000 a month. In 1993, however, Yates’s American Woodmen Life Insurance company went bankrupt and he faced tax troubles. Regulators placed the Rossonian under control of a nonprofit called the Rossonian Limited Partnership. In 1998 the city foreclosed on the Rossonian, and the Denver Housing Authority relocated after finishing its lease.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>During this turbulent period, the Rossonian and the Five Points neighborhood began to be recognized for their historic significance. In 1995 the Rossonian was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and in 2002 Welton Street became a Denver historic cultural district. (In 2015 the district’s name was changed to the Five Points Historic Cultural District, but it still covers only Welton Street.) In 2005 developer Carl Bourgeois acquired the Rossonian for $800,000. Bourgeois lived in Five Points and had worked on other buildings along Welton Street. He hoped to open a jazz club and restaurant, but plans fizzled in 2007 in the face of intractable problems with financing and infrastructure.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Redevelopment plans for the boarded-up Rossonian gained new life in the 2010s, as business activity and construction in Five Points increased. In 2014 Bourgeois’s Civil Technology firm partnered with Sage Hospitality, which worked on the redevelopment of <a href="/article/union-station-0"><strong>Union Station</strong></a>, to plan a luxury hotel and condominium complex at the Rossonian. Early designs called for a new eight-story structure behind the original three-story hotel, with the connected buildings containing 105 hotel rooms, 40 condos or apartments, two restaurants, a jazz club, a fitness center, and 60,000 square feet of office space. The project has received a $150,000 grant from the Denver Office of Economic Development, raising the total amount of public funds invested in the hotel since 1986 to more than $3 million.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/encyclopedia-staff" hreflang="und">Encyclopedia Staff</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/five-points" hreflang="en">Five Points</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/baxter-hotel" hreflang="en">Baxter Hotel</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/robert-baxter" hreflang="en">Robert Baxter</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/george-bettcher" hreflang="en">George Bettcher</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/welton-street" hreflang="en">Welton Street</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/w-l-ross" hreflang="en">A. W. L. Ross</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/jazz" hreflang="en">jazz</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/historic-hotels" hreflang="en">historic hotels</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/hotels" hreflang="en">hotels</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>Nancy R. Lyons, “Rossonian Hotel,” National Register of Historic Places Registration Form (August 12, 1994).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Steve Raabe, “<a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2014/10/07/denvers-sage-hospitality-eyes-role-in-five-points-rossonian-hotel/">Denver’s Sage Hospitality Eyes Role in Five Points Rossonian Hotel</a>,” <em>Denver Post</em>, October 8, 2014.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Jamie Siebrase, “<a href="https://www.westword.com/news/with-developers-jazzed-about-five-points-the-rossonian-hotel-could-soon-be-hopping-again-6279485">With Developers Jazzed about Five Points, the Rossonian Hotel Could Soon Be Hopping Again</a>,” <em>Westword</em>, January 7, 2015.</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Moya Hansen, “Pebbles on the Shore: Economic Opportunity in Denver’s Five Points Neighborhood, 1920–1950,” <em>Colorado History</em> 5 (2001).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Laura M. Mauck, <em>Five Points Neighborhood of Denver</em>, Images of America (Chicago: Arcadia Publishing, 2001).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Rocky Mountain PBS, <a href="https://video.rmpbs.org/video/2339004018/">"Lincoln Hills,"</a> <em>Colorado Experience</em>, February 21, 2013.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>R. Laurie Simmons and Thomas H. Simmons, <em>Denver Neighborhood History Project, 1993–94: Five Points Neighborhood</em> (January 1995).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Holly Wasinger, “From Five Points to Struggle Hill: The Race Line and Segregation in Denver,” <em>Colorado Heritage</em> (Autumn 2005).</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-4th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-4th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-4th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-4th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-4th-grade"><p>The Rossonian Hotel is the most famous building in <strong>Five Points</strong>. Famous jazz musicians stayed at the hotel and performed there. It became the best jazz club in the area. The hotel and lounge declined during the 1960s. Now, the Rossonian is being renovated.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>In Its Prime</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1912 Robert Baxter built the Baxter Hotel. He also owned the Baxter Cigar Company. The building had a unique triangle shape and a stylish design. It became a neighborhood landmark. When the hotel was built, Germans, Irish, Jews, and other European immigrant groups lived the neighborhood.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>African Americans started living in Five Points. In the 1920s, the white residents started moving to other neighborhoods. At that time, black people could not live in some neighborhoods because of their race. Many neighborhoods had rules that said that minorities could not live there. Five Points did not have these rules. As a result, it became a thriving African American community.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>By 1929 most of Denver’s African Americans lived in Five Points. The area around the hotel was home to many black businesses. W. L. Ross, who was black, bought the hotel. The hotel was renamed the Rossonian after Ross. Friends and businesses partners of Ross ran the hotel for many years.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>From the 1920s to the 1950s, the Rossonian Hotel was very successful. Black musicians stayed there. Many Denver hotels did not allow black guests and turned them away. The African American jazz musicians jammed there when they returned to the hotel. The lounge became a well-known jazz hot spot. People from all over Denver went to the Rossonian to hear jazz.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Famous musicians who stayed and performed at the hotel include Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Nat King Cole, Billie Holiday, and Ella Fitzgerald. Duke Ellington once stayed there for the whole summer.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Decline</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In the 1950s and 1960s, America was changing. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 made it against the law to discriminate against people based on race. Other hotels were open to everyone, including African Americans. They no longer had to stay in Five Points.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Rules that kept blacks from moving to other neighborhoods were changed. African Americans left Five Points to move to other parts of Denver. The neighborhood had fewer people and became poorer. Businesses in the area started to struggle.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1957 Denver city councilman <strong>Elvin Caldwell</strong> bought the hotel for $100,000. He hoped to turn it into a luxury hotel for African Americans. The plans fell through. In 1965 he tried to sell the hotel. The hotel had gained a bad reputation and was in a rough part of town.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>He finally sold the building to people who wanted to make it a “halfway house.” A halfway house provides homes for people who have been released from prison. But, this plan did not work either. It continued to do business as a hotel. In 1973 it was sold for $70,000.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Redevelopment</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In the 1980s, people tried to fix up the Rossonian. In 1986 PSTAR ONE Properties bought the building. They got $378,000 loan from the Mayor’s Office. They used the money to buy a parking lot and to create some plans. But they went out of business.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Another developer, Yates, bought the building. He planned to open a jazz supper club. Yates got $1.8 million in city loans to fix up the hotel. He put in new walls and plumbing. A 3-story addition was built. In 1993, his company went bankrupt. In 1998 the city shut down the Rossonian.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In 2005 another developer, Carl Bourgeois, bought the Rossonian for $800,000. Bourgeois lived in the neighborhood. He had worked on other buildings in Five Points. He wanted to open a jazz club and restaurant. But, these plans were stopped in 2007.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The Rossonian was boarded-up and abandoned.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1995 the Rossonian was listed on the “National Register of Historic Places.” In 2002 Five Points became a historic district. Later, the neighborhood became the “Five Points Historic Cultural District.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Plans for the hotel started again in the 2010s. More businesses were opening in Five Points. In 2014 Bourgeois started working with another company. Sage Hospitality had help to develop <strong>Union Station</strong>. Together, they are building a luxury hotel and condominium complex at the Rossonian.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Work is underway to open the Rossonian. A new eight-story structure is planned. It will have 105 hotel rooms, 40 condos or apartments, two restaurants, a jazz club, a fitness center, and office space. The project has received a $150,000 grant from the City of Denver Office.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-8th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-8th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-8th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-8th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-8th-grade"><p>The Rossonian Hotel is the most prominent building at the <strong>Five Poi</strong>nts neighborhood. It became known as the best jazz club in the region. The hotel and lounge declined during the 1960s. The Rossonian has been the focus of numerous redevelopment efforts. It is currently being redeveloped.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>In Its Prime</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1912 Robert Baxter, owner of the Baxter Cigar Company, built the Baxter Hotel. Architect George Louis Bettcher designed the building. It had a unique triangle shape and became a neighborhood landmark. The neighborhood was home to many white residents and the hotel customers were mainly white people.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>African Americans started living in Five Points in the 1890s. In the 1920s, the white residents started moving to other neighborhoods. At that time, black people could not live in some neighborhoods because of their race. Many neighborhoods had rules that said that minorities could not live there. Five Points did not have these rules. As a result, it became a thriving African American community.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>By 1929 most of Denver’s 7,000 African Americans lived in Five Points, It was home to a number of black businesses. The Baxter Hotel came under black ownership. It was renamed the Rossonian after the new owner, A. W. L. Ross. He ran the hotel for the next several decades.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>From the 1920s to the 1950s, the Rossonian Hotel was an important place in Five Points. Black musicians performing in Denver stayed there. Most other Denver hotels would not allow African Americans to stay at their hotels. As a result, the Rossonian Lounge became the most important jazz club between Kansas City and Los Angeles.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Famous jazz performers played there on nights between concerts. They jammed late at night, after they had finished performing at other clubs and returned to the hotel. The list of musicians who stayed at the hotel and performed at the lounge is long and distinguished. It includes Duke Ellington (who once spent a whole summer there), Count Basie, Nat King Cole, Billie Holiday, and Ella Fitzgerald.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The lounge became well known as a jazz hot spot. It attracted jazz enthusiasts from all over the region. By the 1950s the lounge’s clientele had a large number of African American and white patrons.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Decline</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In the 1950s and 1960s, America was changing. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 made it against the law to discriminate against people based on race. Other hotels were open to everyone, including African Americans. It made black hotels like the Rossonian no longer necessary.  Rules that kept blacks from moving to other neighborhoods were also changing. Middle-class blacks started to move from Five Points to other parts of Denver. The neighborhood lost population and wealth. Businesses in the area to began to struggle.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1957 Denver city councilman <strong>Elvin Caldwell </strong>and his wife bought the Rossonian for about $100,000. They hoped to turn it into “the most luxurious establishment catering to visiting Negroes between Chicago and Los Angeles.” Their plans, however, fell through. In 1960 they had to give up the building, but later regained the title. In 1965 they attempted to sell the hotel. The hotel and Five Points continued to decline. The hotel had arrests for crime.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>By 1968 the Caldwells sold the building to Vera and Joseph Hamilton. They planned to sell it to the city of Denver for use as a “halfway house.” A halfway house provides support for people who have been released from prison. But, the building was not selected for the program. It continued to do business as a hotel.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>By 1973, the Hamiltons sold the Rossonian to Harry Goens, Jr. The building was appraised at only $70,000.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Redevelopment</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Major efforts to restore the hotel began in the 1980s. In 1986 PSTAR ONE Properties bought the building. They got a $378,000 loan from the Mayor’s Office. They used the money to buy a parking lot and to create architectural plans. But they defaulted on the loan the following year.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1990 developer Tom Yates got a $350,000 Mayor’s Office loan. He planned to open a jazz supper club in the building. Yates received more than $1.8 million in city loans for renovations. A three-story addition on the back was added along with new walls, plumbing and electric systems. In 1993, however, Yates’s company went bankrupt.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The Rossonian was managed by a group called the Rossonian Limited Partnership. In 1998 the city foreclosed on the Rossonian.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>During this turbulent period, the Rossonian and the Five Points neighborhood began to be recognized for their historic significance. In 1995 the Rossonian was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Later, the neighborhood was named the Five Points Historic Cultural District.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In 2005 developer Carl Bourgeois bought the Rossonian for $800,000. Bourgeois lived in Five Points and had worked on other buildings in the area. He hoped to open a jazz club and restaurant. But, his plans fell through in 2007 due to problems with financing. The Rossonian was boarded-up and abandoned.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Redevelopment plans for the Rossonian started again in the 2010s. Business activity and construction in Five Points increased. In 2014 Bourgeois partnered with Sage Hospitality. The company had worked on the redevelopment of <strong>Union Station</strong>. Together they are building a luxury hotel and condominium complex at the Rossonian. </p>&#13; &#13; <p>Work is underway to renovate the Rossonian. The design calls for a new eight-story structure behind the original three-story hotel. The connected buildings will contain 105 hotel rooms, 40 condos or apartments, two restaurants, a jazz club, a fitness center, and 60,000 square feet of office space. The project has received a $150,000 grant from the Denver Office of Economic Development. The total amount of public funds invested in the hotel since 1986 amount to more than $3 million.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-10th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-10th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-10th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-10th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-10th-grade"><p>The most prominent building at the <strong>Five Points</strong> neighborhood in <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver"><strong>Denver</strong></a> is the Rossonian Hotel. The lounge acquired a reputation as the best jazz club in the region. It hosted performances by jazz greats such as Duke Ellington and Count Basie. The hotel and lounge declined during the 1960s, as Denver’s black population moved out of the Five Points neighborhood. Since the 1990s with business activity increasing in the area, the Rossonian has been the focus of numerous redevelopment efforts.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>In Its Prime</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1912 Robert Y. Baxter, owner of the Baxter Cigar Company, hired architect George Louis Bettcher to design a hotel. It was located on Welton Street at the Five Points intersection. With its triangular shape and Beaux-Arts style, the three-story Baxter Hotel quickly became a neighborhood landmark. At the time, the neighborhood was home to white residents and the hotel was patronized by Anglos.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The Five Points area saw an influx of African American residents in the 1890s. In the 1920s, as Denver’s housing market boomed, white people moved to outlying neighborhoods. Discriminatory housing kept black residents segregated in Five Points.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>By 1929 about 5,500 of Denver’s 7,000 African Americans lived in the area. Five Points was home to a growing district of black businesses along Welton Street. Around that time the Baxter Hotel came under black ownership. It was renamed the Rossonian after the new owner, A. W. L. Ross. Ownership and management over the next few decades stayed with friends and business associates connected to Ross.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>From the 1920s to the 1950s, the Rossonian Hotel was a central institution in Five Points. Black musicians visiting Denver for performances often stayed there when other hotels turned them away. As a result, the first-floor Rossonian Lounge became the most important jazz club between Kansas City and Los Angeles.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Top jazz performers played there on nights between concerts at larger venues downtown. They jammed there late at night, after they had finished performing at other clubs and returned to the hotel. The list of musicians who stayed at the hotel and performed at the lounge is long and distinguished. It includes Duke Ellington (who once spent a whole summer there), Count Basie, Nat King Cole, Billie Holiday, and Ella Fitzgerald.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The lounge became well known as a jazz hot spot. It attracted jazz enthusiasts from all over the region. By the 1950s the lounge’s clientele had a large number of white patrons, because they could more easily afford the cover charge.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Decline</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Racial discrimination in Denver, including discrimination in hotel accommodations and housing, began to change after World War II. By the late 1950s and 1960s, African American entertainers had a choice of hotels. They no longer had to stay in Five Points.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In addition, the end of racially restrictive housing covenants allowed middle-class blacks living in Five Points the opportunity to move to other parts of Denver. The Rossonian Lounge could no longer count on a steady stream of top talent. The Five Points neighborhood as a whole lost population and wealth, causing businesses in the area to struggle.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1957 Denver city councilman <strong>Elvin Caldwe</strong>ll and his wife bought the Rossonian for about $100,000. They hoped to turn it into “the most luxurious establishment catering to visiting Negroes between Chicago and Los Angeles.” Their plans, however, were never realized. In 1960 they had to give up the building because of tax issues on the property, although they later regained the title. In 1965 they attempted to sell the hotel and the lounge as separate businesses. The hotel continued to decline and was the scene of arrests for crime and prostitution.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1967 the Caldwells leased the Rossonian, which was still operating as a hotel. The next year they sold the building to Vera and Joseph Hamilton, who hoped to sell it to the city of Denver for use as a “halfway house” to provide support for people who had been released from prison. But, the cost of renovations would have been prohibitive, so the building was not selected for the program. It continued to do some business as a hotel. In 1973, the Hamiltons sold the Rossonian to Harry Goens, Jr. The building was appraised at only $70,000.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Redevelopment</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Major redevelopment efforts at the Rossonian began in the 1980s. In 1986 PSTAR ONE Properties bought the building. They secured a $378,000 loan from the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development. They used the money to buy a parking lot and to create architectural plans. But they defaulted on the loan the following year.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The city of Denver took over the building. In 1990 developer Tom Yates got a $350,000  Mayor’s Office loan. He bought the Rossonian and planned to open a jazz supper club in the building. In the early 1990s Yates received more than $1.8 million in city loans for renovations at the Rossonian. These included new walls, plumbing, and electrical systems. A three-story addition on the back was added. When construction was complete, the Denver Housing Authority leased the top two floors. In 1993, however, Yates’s company went bankrupt and faced tax troubles.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The Rossonian was placed under control of a nonprofit group called the Rossonian Limited Partnership. In 1998 the city foreclosed on the Rossonian. The Denver Housing Authority relocated after finishing its lease.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>During this turbulent period, the Rossonian and the Five Points neighborhood began to be recognized for their historic significance. In 1995 the Rossonian was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 2002, Welton Street became a Denver historic cultural district. Later, the district’s name was changed to the “Five Points Historic Cultural District.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In 2005 developer Carl Bourgeois acquired the Rossonian for $800,000. Bourgeois lived in Five Points and had worked on other buildings along Welton Street. He hoped to open a jazz club and restaurant. But, his plans fizzled in 2007 due to problems with financing and infrastructure. The Rossonian was boarded-up and abandoned.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Redevelopment plans for the Rossonian gained new life in the 2010s. Business activity and construction in Five Points increased. In 2014 Bourgeois partnered with Sage Hospitality. The company had worked on the redevelopment of <strong>Union</strong> <strong>Station</strong>. Together they plan to build a luxury hotel and condominium complex at the Rossonian.  </p>&#13; &#13; <p>Work is underway to renovate the Rossonian. The design calls for a new eight-story structure behind the original three-story hotel. The connected buildings will contain 105 hotel rooms, 40 condos or apartments, two restaurants, a jazz club, a fitness center, and 60,000 square feet of office space. The project has received a $150,000 grant from the Denver Office of Economic Development. The total amount of public funds invested in the hotel since 1986 amount to more than $3 million.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Wed, 16 Mar 2016 20:07:37 +0000 yongli 1234 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org