The Walls Talk

The Walls Talk is a travel guide to thirty-seven of Colorado's historic house museums. It takes the reader to all corners of the state-not only to well known locations like the Molly Brown House in Denver or the McAllister House in Colorado Springs, but to out-of-the-way places such as Jack Dempsey's Cabin in Manassa and the Hedlund House Museum in Hugo. You will learn more about famous Coloradans like Baby Doe Tabor and Governor William Byers, and make acquaintance of lesser known figures such as the mysterious priest who built a mansion for his mother and then disappeared for twenty years or the Cripple Creek madam whose sister told the undertaker, "This harlot is no sister of mine." Each museum in the book was an actual dwelling place, is now open to the public, and represents the life of the people who lived there. The book describes the architecture and history of each house, and brings to life the inhabitants through their stories. People like Lee Humphrey, the first known commuter from Evergreen, who made a 2½-hour, one-way daily commute to Denver over Lookout Mountain in a Model T and never missed a day of work because of snow, except for three days in 1934. Or Tweet Kimball, who had her Italian butler put on his jeans and take on the job as cattle foreman at Cherokee Ranch. Take the book along as you tour the museums or enjoy reading about them from the comfort of your own home. Includes driving directions, parking information, hours of operation, admission charges, and web site for each house museum. Contains a glossary of architectural terms and an extensive list of sources.