Free Self-Guided
Walking Tour of
Historic Central City
Your Map
Your tour begins at The Teller House, 120 Eureka Street
Central City Has Thousands of Stories to Tell.
In 1858, just nine years after the great California Gold Rush, some flakes of gold and gold nuggets were discovered in the area around what would eventually become Denver, Colorado. The news spread across America like electricity. In just two years, more than 100,000 people walked, rode horses, hopped on wagons – some even pushed wheelbarrows – traveling a minimum of 800 miles to get to the gold diggings and the possibility of instant wealth.
The ”Mother Load” of gold was discovered by John H. Gregory just 34 miles west of Denver on May 6, 1859, and overnight towns spread out across the hills. The main camp took on the name, Central City. Over time, it would be known around the world as the “Richest Square Mile on Earth.” At one point, it was the largest town in Colorado with 15,000 people.
Later, Central City became a Ghost Town of just 300 souls. It would survive fires, outlaws, blizzards, booms, and busts, and be rebuilt over and over again.
With this approximately half-mile, 45-minute Central City self-guided walking tour, you are about to go exploring all kinds of interesting places and legends. Some will enlighten you, some will educate you and some may even frighten you, but all will intrigue you.
Welcome to the complex and sometimes crazy history of Central City.
With special thanks to our contributors Central City historian Mike Keeler and travel journalist Rich Grant.
1.
The Teller House, 120 Eureka Street
Start at the Teller House Hotel. Built in 1872, the 80-room building was considered “The best hotel between the Mississippi River and San Francisco”. President Ulysses S. Grant and his wife stayed here in 1873, enjoying an eight-course dinner unthinkable anywhere else in the Wild West. Upon his arrival by stagecoach, the townspeople made a sidewalk for President Grant paved entirely of silver ingots. Much of the Teller House decor is original with furnishing once owned by Baby Doe Tabor and Governor John Evans. Tours of the hotel are available at the Gilpin Historical Society (the yellow Washington Hall building across the street) and start at $7 per person for 15 minutes to $10 per person for the 45-minute tour Teller House or the adjacent Opera House. Children ages 12 and under tour for free. (Tours are offered from 10:00AM-4:00PM daily and are not available on Mondays from October-April. Schedules and pricing are subject to change.)
2.
The FAce on the Barroom Floor in the Teller House
But that’s not all The Teller House has to tell. One of Colorado’s most valuable and famous pieces of original art can be seen, believe it or not…on the floor. The artwork was inspired by a legendary ballad written in 1898 by H. Antoine D’Arcy that tells of a jilted romance and a heart so broken that after the gentleman chalked the image of his lost love on a barroom floor, he died on the spot. Years later, in 1936, Herndon Davis, perhaps after having a cocktail or two at the Teller House bar, recalled the tale. He got down on his knees to recreate the inspired image of a beautiful lady said to resemble his wife on the saloon’s floor. The painting has been preserved and cherished and seeing the “Face on the Barroom Floor” has been a Colorado tradition ever since.
3.
Central City Opera House, 124 Eureka Street
Mae West at Central City Opera House circa 1949
In 1878, Central City became the cultural capital of Colorado when the town opened an incredible new opera house, a rarity for a mountain town. The locals, who built the stone and brick structure themselves, paid close attention to its design elements with its crescent-shaped balcony and arched windows. Famed artist John C. Massman added a ceiling mural. The opera house was kept cool during the summer by a creek that flowed in a flume under the building. Today it remains in mint condition with perfect acoustics and an orchestra pit, hosting the Central City Opera Summer Festival each year. In 2024, the Central City Opera was inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame. Back at the time this balconied theater was built, it proved to be a force for community stability, hosting many national performers to include Mae West and even Buffalo Bill Cody. His show, however, was poorly received. Not one to be easily dissuaded, Buffalo Bill’s Opera House performance became the source of inspiration for his infamous Wild West Show.
And, oh yes, the Teller and Opera Houses are haunted. A favorite 1800’s performer by the name of Mike Dougherty still lingers sending flickering orbs of light across the stage in a darkened and empty theater. Legend has it that a 1930s caretaker by the name of Billy Hamilton said that he loved the Opera House so much that he swore he would never leave and still resides demanding that visitors acknowledge him. He is said to have tripped one who fell and broke his nose when he did not comply. An investigation found nothing to explain the mishap except a smashed can of Hamilton’s signature Copenhagen chewing tobacco. And then, there is the sound of a woman’s footsteps on the balcony among the many odd occurrences that continue to this day.
4.
Washington Hall, 117 Eureka Street
The yellow building across the street from the Teller House, Washington Hall, where you will find the Gilpin History Tours, is also the home of the Gilpin County Arts Association. Admission is free and we highly recommend that you browse the art gallery featuring the 1000 pieces of art in various mediums, many reminiscent of Central City. Washington Hall, one of Central City’s oldest buildings, was built in 1862 by Sheriff William Z. Cozens, originally to be used as a jail at the insistence of his wife, Mary York, who was tired of having the inmates handcuffed to the furniture in their home. It became the Territorial Municipal Courthouse in 1864, presided over by Judge Belford with shotgun in hand. Today, it remains the oldest continuously operating municipal building in Colorado. When a Republican Convention took place there in 1871, the second floor courtroom collapsed and 200 men fell through to the Recorders’ Office one floor below. Fortunately, no one was hurt. The furnishings of the courthouse that survived are still on display.
5.
St. James Church of Central City, 123 Eureka Street
St. James Church, just west of Washington Hall, was constructed between 1864 and 1872, and boasts the oldest congregation in Colorado. Clara Brown, a formerly enslaved person and the first African American believed to have settled in the Colorado territory, was one of its earliest congregants. She started a laundry in Central City and was able to fund approximately half of the church’s construction. St. James Church features the first lending public library in Colorado and added the 857-pipe organ in 1899. Central City resident, Julia Ward Howe, wrote “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” in her own hand in 1904 at the age of 86, signing it and leaving it to the then-bishop as a memento for the church. While the Smithsonian National Museum expressed interest in acquiring the priceless scrap of paper she penned, it remains on display in St. James Church.
6.
Gilpin County Court House, 203 Eureka Street
Crossing Clara Brown Way, a few yards to the west of St. James Church, is the still functioning courthouse built in 1900. If you’re visiting during business hours, take a peek inside if for nothing else than to marvel at the three-story, hand-carved oak staircase seen near the front entrance. Venture up the stairs to the second floor to find, in what once was the courtroom, an American flag baring 38 stars. On August 1, 1876, Colorado was the 38th state to be admitted to the Union.
7.
The Stables, 113 Eureka Street
Return to Eureka Street walk east, downhill to The Stables of Dick Williams, who was elected Sheriff of Central City four times and Mayor twice. Before automobiles, stables were of vast importance in transportation. The restored exterior signage is as it would have looked a hundred years ago. In April 1896, Sheriff Dick Williams was working in the stable when he heard a commotion down the block outside what is now the Century Casino. A man named Samuel Covington got in an argument over a debt, pulled a revolver and shot City Marshal Mike Kelleher. Dick Williams, ran to the scene, fired a pistol, but missed, and Covington shot him, lodging a bullet in his right hip. Covington then ran down Main Street guns blazing. A local citizen, Henry Letham, borrowed a Winchester rifle and snapped off a quick shot, killing Covington. Marshal Kelleher survived, but the popular Dick Williams died four days later at the age of 48. His funeral was so large, it was the first and last to ever be held in the Opera House with a procession that included 116 horse drawn carriages.
8.
The Corner of Eureka and Main Streets, Near Century Casino
From this corner of Eureka and Main Streets, you are in the center of Central City, where the view has changed very little over the last century. There are 294 buildings in Central City validated by the state’s Historic Preservation Office as being over 100 years old. With the authenticity of the city reducing production and staging costs, Central City was recognized by Hollywood as early as 1910 when Tom Mix made some of the first silent movies here. The 1970s TV mini-series based on James Mitchner’s best-selling book, “Centennial,” was filmed here, with the studio adding wooden sidewalks and tons of dirt to the street in true Old Western style. In 1974, the ‘The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox”, a romantic comedy with George Segal and Goldie Hawn, was filmed on Main Street and the Belvidere Theatre, located at the south end of Main Street, was transformed into a saloon. Today, the Belvidere is being restored to its former glory with a new restaurant that will carry the original name, “The Shoo Fly.” Several episodes of the TV classic “Perry Mason” were also filmed here. The list goes on.
9.
Gold Coin Saloon, 120 Main Street
Would you like to see what a bar looked like at the turn of the 19th Century? Go south on Main Street past Gregory Street and step inside the Gold Coin housed by Easy Street Casino. Here the bar and the interior décor have seen little to virtually no change since it was built in 1897. This was Central City’s oldest drinking establishment and the hand-carved oak bar remains just as it was back then with only the liquor itself refreshed. Why are there dollar bills stuck to the ceiling? Those were put there by the ones who could afford it, only to be removed by those who couldn’t.
10.
FORMER HOME OF THE GILDED GARTER, 131 MAIN STREET
The rich and famous were known to frequent Central City and there are many locals who came to know them personally. Across the street from the Gold Coin once stood the Gilded Garter where Paul McCartney enjoyed a cocktail in 1967 on one of his many visits to Colorado. Here Grammy Award winner Bob Dylan attempted to launch his singing career in 1959. His brand of folk music just did not suit the town. He moved on to then make his breakthrough album “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan” in 1963 and the rest is, well, history. Next door to the Gilded Garter was the equally renowned Glory Hole Saloon named after one of Central City’s largest mining operations.
11.
Dutch’s trading post - Stetson hats for sale, 125 main street
More popular in town were Stetson hats, invented in Central City by John B. Stetson in 1860. An experienced hat maker, Stetson as a joke made an elaborate wide-brim hat to show off his skills. When a stranger bought the hat, Stetson realized its practical advantages to ward off the sun and rain. He turned that hat into a multi-million dollar industry that became synonymous with the West and cowboys, fueling Colorado to become the epicenter for western wear. Jack A. Weil founded Rockmount Western Wear in Denver. Knowing that cowboys don’t sew, he put the snap in the western shirt. Its pockets were designed to accommodate a can of chewing tobacco perfectly and were capped with its trademark yoke with curved piping. Jesse Shwayder opened the Shwayder Trunk Mfg Co at 123 Main Street only to become Samsonite Luggage in 1910. On the north side of the Trading Post is the four-story Hawley Mercantile where H. J. Hawley established one of Central City’s most successful merchandising businesses in 1878. Hawley was also known for his diary that detailed his journey across the Great Plains west to Colorado in 1860. After some shopping, make your way back to Eureka Street for your final venture
12.
Gilpin History Museum, 228 East First High Street
Once back on Eureka, feel free to stop in the Visitor Center adorned with photos, facts and memorabilia. Then continue west taking the tall stairs beside the Weekly Register Call, the longest running newspaper in Colorado, turning right on High Street. Here you’ll pass the picturesque St. Paul’s Episcopal Church built in 1873 in Gothic Revival-style granite as you continue your short walk to the Gilpin History Museum. Hard to believe that this museum was a high school in operation until 1966, especially considering that it was built in 1869. It was born out of necessity as school at the time was being held on the first floor of a gambling hall and saloon. The townspeople thought better and raised the funds to construct the two-story school that is now the Gilpin History Museum, a Trip Advisor Five-Star rated attraction, open from June to September. Here you can meander through history with its true-to-life displays that spark imagination. Admission is $10 per person. (Children ages 12 and under tour for free.)
13.
The Yard on the East Side of the Gilpin History Museum
And one final thing (pardon the pun). The first ever-Central City cemetery (there are eleven of them here) was located on the east side of the Museum building. All of its “residents” were relocated to the current Central City Cemetery in the mid-1800s. But were they? Do some still remain? No one knows for sure but one thing is certain…There are ghosts in these here hills.
The Gilpin Historical Society, located in Washington Hall, offers tours of many of the sites featured in this tour to include:
St. James Church
Weekly Register Call
The Teller and Opera Houses
The Thomas House, built in 1867.
Don’t Want to See Your Tour of Central City End?
Tours are offered from 10:00AM-4:00PM daily, priced at $10 per person with children 12 years of age and under touring for free. Tours are not available on Mondays from October-April. Schedules and pricing are subject to change.
The knowledgeable and welcoming staff of the Visitors Center can help you find many other excursions as well including nearby scenic drives and hiking and biking trails.
The Visitor Center is open daily 10:00AM-4:00PM.
New Visit Center location at the south end of Main Street in the Belvidere Theater.
There is so much more to discover. Your journey is actually just beginning.