Urban Cowboy Hotels expands its portfolio west

Co-founded by Lyon Porter and Jersey Banks, Urban Cowboy Hotels began in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and has since added Nashville, Tennessee and Upstate New York to its growing portfolio. Expanding west had always been in the plans for the boutique brand but it wasn’t until Porter discovered the landmark George Schleier mansion that Denver fell into place.

Image credit: Urban Cowboy

“Our expansion into Denver marks an exciting chapter in our journey and a homecoming for my partner Jersey Banks, who grew up in Denver,” said Porter, Co-Founder of Urban Cowboy Hotels and full-service design studio, Cowboy Creative.

“To be able to bring Urban Cowboy out west is something we’ve thought about since the inception of the brand,” added Banks, the Co-Founder and matriarch of the company, “and the opportunity to reimagine this historic mansion in my hometown is a dream come true.”

Originally designed by Denver architect Frank Edbrooke for hat tycoon turned politician George Schleier, the century-old landmark mansion is primed for its next chapter as a destination for design-driven travellers and an anchor for the growing Downtown Denver community.

Working with GBX Group and Historic Denver, Porter and Banks took great care to preserve as much of the original detail and architecture as possible – from the mansion’s Queen Ann style façade, original staircase with carvings of gargoyles, Bavarian swans, and ‘onion’ tower cupola, hand-carved coffered ceilings, immaculately preserved art tile fireplaces, and old carriage house where the original owners kept their horse and buggy – while still infusing the brand’s signature design aesthetic, which thoughtfully caters to the modern traveller’s needs and desires.

Image credit: Urban Cowboy

As with every Urban Cowboy Hotel, the property is full of ‘found objects’ hand-picked from road trips across the US, ranging from an 1800s hand-carved wooden saloon bar from the Wooden Nickle in Cincinnati to a ‘honey pot’ found in Colorado filled with Western frontier period art, a horn and fur cowboy couch and of course, hand-hammered copper soaking tubs in each room – and in the penthouse Honeymoon Suite, a pair of tubs side by side. Just as well known for maximalist patterned walls as its tubs, Porter designed his first custom wallpaper for Denver inspired by a 1700s block print pattern, fusing a romantic nostalgia of the past with the Denver Frontier Cowboy aesthetic.

The property’s two-storey carriage house design was inspired by the many historic 1880s saloons that once lived on every corner in Downtown Denver. The Public House bar and restaurant will offer award-winning house cocktails and a delectable menu of wood-fired pies and small plates by Brooklyn-based Roberta’s. The upstairs will be available to reserve for private events.

The Parlor Bar, located in the main mansion, will have a carefully selected wine collection, selling wines by the glass and bottle. Menu offerings from Roberta’s will focus on locally sourced ingredients, including a rotating selection of seasonal pies, specialties from the wood oven, market vegetables and the infamous house-made stracciatella.

Main image credit: Urban Cowboy