Welcome to the Baldpate Inn.

Welcome to the Baldpate Inn.
http://www.baldpateinn.com/print_history.asp
Legacy of The Baldpate Inn
Key and Photograph Collections
The Baldpate Inn's beginnings originate with a newly married couple, Gordon and Ethel Mace and
Gordon's two brothers, Charles and Stuart Mace. In 1911, while visiting Estes Park on their honeymoon,
the Mace's were so taken with the area's beauty that they decided to homestead the property upon which
the Baldpate now stands. Initially only a small cabin was built on the land and rhubarb was planted to
fulfill the requirements of the Homestead Act. In order to supplement their income, the Mace family
built several small tourist cabins which proved to be a huge success. To accommodate the overwhelming
demand for their hospitality, the family made plans to build an inn. With their homestead patent
registered as complete on January 22, 1917, the couple officially opened the Baldpate that same year.
With financial resources being very limited, the Mace family used their talents with what natural
resources were available and constructed the inn from hand-hewn timber cut from the property. Massive
stone fireplaces were built to provide warmth and hot water. The Baldpate was opened boasting such
amenities as hot running water, electric lights, and indoor plumbing!
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9/27/09 12:28 PM
Welcome to the Baldpate Inn.
http://www.baldpateinn.com/print_history.asp
The Inn was named after the mystery novel, Seven Keys to Baldpate by Earl Derr Biggers, who upon
visiting the property stated that the inn was so similar to the heretofore "imaginary" Baldpate Inn, that
the Mace's hotel would become the "real" Baldpate Inn. In the novel, each of seven visitors traveled to
the closed-in-wintertime hotel, and thinks that he or she has the only key to the Inn. In keeping with the
story line of the novel, the Mace family gave each visitor to the Inn their very own key. This tradition
continued until the outbreak of World War I, when the price of metal became so expensive that the
Owners were no longer able to give keys away. The loyal guests who returned yearly were so
disappointed that they began their own tradition of bringing a key back to the inn with them each year. It
is said that the competition between guests became so fierce to bring the best and most exotic each year
that the Mace's decided to begin a display of all the keys. This was the beginning of the world's largest
key collection (as shown in the two pictures above). The collection boasts over 20,000 keys including
examples from the Pentagon, Westminster Abby, Mozart's wine cellar, and even Frankenstein's castle to
name a few. Currently we are working with American History Savers to preserve and catalogue our
collections.
Only the second family to own and operate The Baldpate Inn, the Smith family purchased the Inn in
1986. For more than 20 years we are pleased to welcome guests back home to Baldpate.
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9/27/09 12:28 PM
Welcome to the Baldpate Inn.
3 of 3
http://www.baldpateinn.com/print_history.asp
9/27/09 12:28 PM