Teller House Hotel

In 1872 the Teller House Hotel was built and was said to be the finest hotel west of the Mississippi River. In 1873 President Ulysses S. Grant came to see his friend Henry Teller (who became the first senator from Colorado and later, Secretary of the Interior under President Chester Arthur) and his new hotel. To impress the president, mine owners decided to lay 26 ingots of solid silver to make a path to the entrance to the Teller House so President Grant wouldn’t have to dirty his boots when he stepped from his carriage. Legend has it that Grant became angry when he saw the silver bars and walked up the boardwalk instead. At that time, Congress was debating whether gold or silver should back the dollar, any no way would he show favoritism, he said.