1883

—Lower Downtown Walking Tour —

Originally built as the stables for the Denver City Railway Company in 1883, this building was the birthplace of Denver's Public Transportation system. Horse drawn trolleys, soon replaced by one of America's most extensive cable car networks, created the first Denver suburbs by allowing people of moderate means to "escape the city" and move to the quiet residential neighborhoods of Capitol Hill, Highlands, and Curtis Park. The first line of the Denver Horse Railroad Company, as it was originally called, ran up Larimer from 6th to 16th Street then out Champa Street to Curtis Park. The Welton Street Line, developed later, was purported to be the world's longest cable car line. In 1892, the building was purchased from the City Railway Company and its facade was changed by Baerreson Bros. Architects. In 1902, Hendrie and Bolthoff Manufacturing Company bought the stables for $100,000 in a sale contested by both Zang and Schlitz Brewers. One of the pioneer manufacturers of mining machinery, the company was founded in Central City, Colorado by Charles Hendrie. Hendrie and Bolthoff claimed to be the world's largest manufacturer of mining equipment while in this edifice. His son, Edward Beard Hendrie, incorporated the Denver Branch of the company in 1878, sold the Central City operation, and took on a partner in Henry Bolthoff, a loyal employee of his father since the age of 12 who could neither read nor write. In 1903, Edward Hendrie bought Baron Walter Von Richthofen's castle in Montclair. Hendrie & Bolthoff manufacturing remained here until