This isn’t just the story of the collection of buildings that are The Buffalo Rose that we know today. It isn’t a story about wood, brick, steel, fire and stone— not simply a tale of the many businesses that have stood on the site or the colorful characters that have passed through these doors. No, this is the story of Golden City, one of Colorado’s very first municipalities and where our great state has its roots. It is the story of the American West and a rugged frontier spirit. It is a story about architecture and governments, railroads, cars, and motorcycles; shootouts, Olympians, entrepreneurs, and wars— it is a story of great economic expansion and profound depression, of drunken debauchery and of Prohibition. This is the story of The Buffalo Rose, but more importantly for the people of Golden, Colorado: it is Our Story.

The properties comprising the present day Buffalo Rose have been the pulse of Golden since the City’s founding in 1859. Golden has grown up around the site and the businesses located at the bustling corner of Washington Avenue and 12th Street have provided the commercial lifeblood of the town for well over 150 years! In an embrace of the role this property has played in the history of Golden, loving care was taken in the recent large-scale renovation to retain as many of the historic structures as was feasible and to restore the building exteriors to reflect original architecture as closely as possible. At the same time, the interiors of the buildings were completely overhauled to bring them up to contemporary safety, environmental and comfort standards. As a result of these efforts, The Buffalo Rose is now poised to continue being the pulse of Golden for another 150 years!