Castle Marne was built in 1889 as the home of Silver Baron Wilbur Raymond. Raymond hired eclectic architect William Lang to build his new home. He was the architect of over 300 homes in Denver. He is best known for building the "Unsinkable Molly Brown" house. www.mollybrown.org Due to Denver's "Urban Renewal" in the 60's and 70's, over 200 homes were torn down, less than 100 survive today. The Castle Marne's architectural style is Richardsonian Romenesque with Queen Anne overtones. Raymond went over budget and lost the home in 1891.
The Second owner, Col. James H. Platt opened the Platte River Paper Mill, the largest paper mill west of the Mississippi River. He was drowned in Green Lake in a fishing accident, near Georgetown, Colorado, August 13, 1894.
Third owner, John T Mason, a world renowned lepidopterist, collector of butterflies and moths, was first curator of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Experts suggest anywhere between 20,000 and 40,000 specimen were housed in the Ball Room of the Castle Marne's third floor until the completion of the museum in 1911. Mason and his second wife, Dora Porter, daughter of philanthropist Henry Porter, of Denver's Porter's Hospital traveled around the world with her husband discovering new species and bringing them back to the house to be catalogued. At the completion of the museum, the entire collection was donated as one of the first permanent collections. The Masons moved to Pasadena, California where he died in 1928. For more information on the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, www.dmns.org
By the end of WW1, the fourth owner, Adele Van Cise, mother of Col. Philip Van Cise, District Attorney for the city of Denver, converted the 6000 sq. ft. 2 bedroom house into 8 apartments. While Adele was converting the house, Philip returned from France where he had fought in one of the bloodiest battles of the war, the Battle of the Marne. This house reminded him of the castles and manor homes along the River Marne in the northern River Marne Valley. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Battle_of_the_Marne. The apartment house was known as the Marne Apartments for the next 50 years.
By the 1970's the Marne was converted into offices for the next 10 years. The room we call the Conservatory Room www.castlemarne.com was home to an anarchist newspaper. An employment agency called Employer X offering day labor jobs to ex-cons recently released from the State Penal system was housed here too.
By the 1980's, due to the Saving's and Loan Crises, the mansion went into foreclosure. The building was vacant for over 7 and a half years. The plumbing froze and burst and for more than two weeks the water ran, filling the basement with water, destroying ceilings, walls and floors.
In 1988, the Peiker and Feher-Peikers purchased the derelict building with the intention of turning it into a bed and breakfast. After extensive renovation and restoration, the Castle Marne Bed and Breakfast has been in operation for 25 years this August 1st.
For more information on individual sites open for the FREE tours, click here: www.denvergov.org/doorsopendenver.
We're looking forward to seeing you next weekend.
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