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Brown Palace Hotel temporarily closes after basement fire, cancels Thanksgiving dinner

The fire Nov. 18 damaged the boilers that supply heat and hot water. The hotel reopened dining facilities but guest rooms were closed as of Dec. 1.

DENVER — The Brown Palace Hotel started to reopen this past week after a basement fire damaged the boilers that supply heat and hot water to the historic downtown Denver hotel.

The fire inside a 130-year-old basement chimney Nov. 18 didn't cause major damage to the building, at 17th Street and Tremont Place, but the hotel's sleeping rooms and dining facilities temporarily closed due to damage to the boilers, according to the hotel's public relations agency, The Zimmerman Agency.

> The video above was of this year's annual champagne cascade at the Brown Palace. 

That meant cancellations of Thanksgiving Day brunch, some Holiday Tea reservations and sleeping room reservations. Holiday Tea, especially, is a popular event that this year runs Nov. 14 through Jan. 22; reservations opened months in advance.

The hotel has reopened Ellyngton's Restaurant, Ship Tavern and Tea Service. The Breakfast with Santa event in Ellyngton's went forward.

The hotel originally anticipated reopening limited reservations for sleeping rooms on Monday, Nov. 28, but closed the rooms again due to continuing issues with heating them consistently, the agency said.

"We are actively working on resolving the heating issues and expect to be open to in-room guests again by the middle of next week," the agency said on Dec. 1. 

The Denver Fire Department responded to the basement fire about 11:30 p.m. Thursday. The fire was quickly extinguished, and no injuries were reported.

The Brown Palace first opened in 1892 at a cost of $1.6 million plus $400,000 for furniture. It had 400 guest rooms that rented for between $3 and $5 a night. Today the hotel has 241 guest rooms.

Credit: KUSA
Denver firefighters respond to a basement fire at the Brown Palace Hotel on Thursday, Nov. 17.

   

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