The Rossonian Hotel, is a historic building and former business located at 2650 Welton Street in the Five Points section of
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
,
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
, United States. With PDF including both text and photos als available at NARA It is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
since in 1995, for ethnic heritage and social history. It has also been known as the Baxter Building and as the Baxter Hotel.
History
The former Rossonian Hotel is a historic building which opened in 1912 as the Baxter Hotel. It was home to a jazz lounge where many prominent musicians performed. 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). Some sources state that Ross owned the Rossonian starting in either 1928 or 1929, and others state he owned it in the mid-1930s. Ross had owned the
Denver White Elephants
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 pla ...
, a semi-professional baseball team. The hotel ownership and management changed many times during the period 1929 to 1945.
The building has been empty since 1998. Chauncy Billups was a partner in one redevelopment proposal. It has had various owners and redevelopment plans have been launched but as of 2021 none had been successfully completed.
Architecture
The building was designed by architect
George Louis Bettcher
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.
Biography
George Louis B ...
(1862–1952), for cigar businessman Robert Y. Baxter. Bettcher was born in
Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.
The building was built in 1907, and was opened in 1912. It is on a wedge of property and is triangular shaped. According to the
Denver Architecture Foundation
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...
, it is Beaux-Arts in style. The Rossonian's main entrance is on Welton Street.
See also
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National Register of Historic Places listings in downtown Denver __NOTOC__
This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Downtown Denver, Colorado.
This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in downtown Denver, Color ...
*
Charles Burrell (musician)
Charles Burrell (born October 4, 1920) is a classical and jazz bass player most prominently known for being the first African-American to be a member of a major American symphony (the Denver Symphony Orchestra, now known as the Colorado Symphony). ...