Brides, Bells, and Barons Tour

Last Saturday, I went with a group of lady friends from Summit County to Georgetown, Colorado, to take the Historic Georgetown "Brides, Bells, and Barons" tour of fine homes and historic sites there. Georgetown has over 200 Victorian buildings remaining from its silver mining heydays, and the town is very active in preserving and presenting these properties to appreciative tourists. Some of the sites I visited are shown below.

The first photo is of "The Bride's House" in which fellow Colorado author Sandra Dallas lives, and where she signed copies of her latest book release by the same name. The Gothic Revival home was lovingly restored inside.

The second photo is of the Church House, designed by Robert Roeschlaub, Colorado's first trained architect, and built in 1877.

The third photo is of Hotel de Paris, built in 1875 by Frenchman Louis Dupuy as a luxury hotel with steam heat, gas lights, and hot and cold running water. Currently run as a museum, almost all of the original room decorations, furnishings, and fixtures are still in place. I especially enjoyed the kitchen, complete with a photo of the Chinese cook who toiled there.

The next two photos are from the Georgetown Energy Museum, a still-functioning hydroelectric power plant built in 1900. It has a fascinating collection of ancient electrical appliances and old photos of workers in snowshoes placing and maintaining electric cables over mountain passes in the wintertime.

The photo below is of Colorado's oldest operational pipe organ (1877) in the Grace Episcopal Church. It is still played every Sunday morning for church service.

The next photo of a fireman's uniform is from the Alpine Hose No. 2 Firehouse and Tower, built in 1875. I also enjoyed the silver trophy case and the photos of the strapping young men who pulled fire carts in firehouse races that were hotly contested in Colorado at the time.

The next photo is of the Cornish House, which was run as a beautifully appointed B&B until very recently. It is now for sale.

To finish off the day, our group gathered at the Dusty Rose Tea Room for a delicious Victorian-style tea. The tea room includes a wall of hats that patrons can don for photos and to "get in the mood" while dining. We took full advantage of them, as you can see in the next to last photo. The last photo shows my "Afternoon Tea" plate, with the deviled egg quarters and one cucumber sandwich missing that I had already eaten. :) What a fun day!