LOCATION:

Address: The Denver Courthouse can be found at 1437 Bannock Street # 451, Denver, Colorado.

It is located inside the huge Denver’s City and County Building, which is considered the centerpiece of Denver's Civic Center Park.

HISTORY/ DESCRIPTION:

This grand structure took 26 years to complete from the time period from 1912 to 1932, under the watchful eye of 39 leading local architects. The original courthouse, probably from the late 1800's period was located here and was probably knocked down to make room for this grand structure, which houses meeting space and offices for not only the courts, but also the mayor, city council and other municipal offices.

The building is truly a work of art and lovely to see! It sports a Beaux-Arts Neoclassical façade with three-story Corinthian entry columns of travertine sitting atop a grand staircase, which leads up to massive bronze doors. The upper walls are made of Stone Mountain, and Georgia granite. Inside this building one can see 11 varieties of marble throughout the building.

There are plans to build a building just to house the Denver Courthouse on a site located nearby, to be included on Denver's Civic Center Park This new building construction will break ground in 2007.

MANIFESTATIONS:

A) The paranormal activity on this spot began in the old Courthouse, back in 1900 on the second floor. Two night time workers, a watchman and a janitor reported that the "gates of Hell" opened up on the 2nd floor at 3:00 am., one early morning. Many spirits of recognized departed people walked around the hallways at night for 6 days straight, leaving an overbearing smell of brimstone. It is not surprising that the two people who witnessed this quit their jobs, and left Denver.

B) Despite the fact that the old building was eventually torn down, not all the spirits went back through this portal located at this spot, and still haunt the land. When the new building was constructed, guess who appreciated the living's efforts and made themselves at home? The living who are brave enough to work at night in this 1932 building still see ghosts wandering around the second floor, but without the brimstone smell.

Still Haunted?

It seems to be the home of some ghosts, who only come out in the early morning hours.

Sources Include: hauntedcolorado.para4.org * denvergov.org
Haunted Places: The National Directory, by Dennis William Hauck, Penguin Books, 2002.