Yesterday, I, Zeb the Duck, visited the Governor’s Residence at the Boettcher Mansion in Denver.  This was the last day for the free tours to view their Christmas decorations.    This mansion was built in 1904 and became the residence of Colorado’s governors in 1960.   The public is allowed on the first floor.   The Governor’s family lives on the second floor.   There is also a third floor.   There are people waiting for the tour.

Entrance to Governor’s Residence at Boettcher Mansion

We are going there to wait also.   Inside, much of the furniture is antique and everything is beautiful and great quality.    This lamp was purchased in China.

Lamp from China

The tapestry is antique and the table is decorated for Christmas.

Antique tapestry

Wow!   This is a great staircase.

Great staircase

And so Christmasy.  The first room we view is the drawing room.   The decorating theme this year is to represent colors of Colorado.   This drawing room is decorated in blue.

Drawing Room

All the ornaments on the tree are shades of blue.

Drawing Room with blue theme

The packages beneath the tree are wrapped in blue, and even the bear playing the piano is blue.     This chandelier once was in the White House in Washington D.C.

Beautiful chandelier

It was sold and put in this house.   Isn’t it fabulous?   At least two first ladies of the United States were interested in having the chandelier back in the White House, but so far Colorado has not been willing to sell it.   I, Zeb the Duck, liked this mirror that reflects the staircase.

Mirror reflecting staircase

Again, beautiful Christmas decorations on the table.      This perfect room was not originally included in the mansion.

A beautiful addition

It is a great addition.  The huge windows looking out to the park like back yard make this perfect for relaxing or entertaining.   This is how this addition looks from outside, across the street.

This beautiful room from outside. It is really big

It is huge.   And speaking of huge, this mansion has 26,000 square feet of floor space.   That is a lot of house to clean.   Next we viewed the formal dining room.   The theme for this room is majestic.

Color is purple and theme is majesty

Purple is the principal color for Christmas.   Over the fireplace is a picture of mountains, representing purple mountains.   There is also a picture of Queen Elizabeth, her majesty.   The purple lights on the Colorado Marble fireplace are stunning.    Each room had a guide, or docent to explain things to us.   The dining room was explained by our friend, Connie.

Our friend Connie in the Formal Dining Room

We were so happy to see her, and she did an excellent job of telling us about the formal dining room.   Thanks Connie.   Our last room was the bar and gift shop.

Tree in Bar and Gift shop

Another beautiful tree.  The story behind this ship is rather cute.

Ship in bar and gift shop

The second owner of this home, Mr. Boettcher, collected these ships.   He had several, and his wife finally said “no more!”   At that time, Mr. Boettcher was building a tavern at Denver’s Brown Palace hotel.   He moved all but one of his ships to the tavern, and named his new establishment, Ship Tavern.   We think that is a very nice story.   He was a clever man, and his wife was also happy.   As we left through the side door, we thought this looked like another great place to be in the spring.

I would be here in the spring

We enjoyed our tour of the Governor’s Resident at the Boettcher Mansion.   There are various events and tours during the year.   We think you would enjoy visiting here also.