Hospitality Design February - March 2024 - 128

Photos by BEN FITCHETT and courtesy of URBAN COWBOY
back space going west with
lyon porter
Urban Cowboy
Urban Cowboy founder Lyon Porter developed his dream hotel
with the eclectic Urban Cowboy Brooklyn in New York in 2014.
Then, along with his partner in business and life, Jersey Banks, he
brought the concept to Nashville, imbuing an old mansion with
the city's music vibes. In the Catskills in upstate New York, he
conjured a secluded lodge nestled in the mountains. His latest, the
forthcoming Urban Cowboy Denver, is an homage to the Gilded
Age. Here, he talks about transforming a former 19th-century
residence in the city's Capitol Hill neighborhood into the whimsical
16-room property.
Finding the Property
One of my friends in Nashville knew Taylor Davis, [president of
global relationships] of GBX Group, which [preserves] historic
properties. We showed him what we had done in Nashville, and he
said he had [a similar] building in Denver. I flew there, and I fell in
love with it. We've been working on it for almost two years. It's the
longest property development we've ever had. The mansion was
built [by Denver architect E.F. Edbrooke] for George Schleier, who
made silk hats for women. Victorian buildings are wildly inefficient,
and everything is atypical and asymmetrical. I design in symmetrical
vignettes, but somehow we've become experts in the space.
Preserving the Details
When you walk in, you're [greeted by] amazing handmade tiles
on the floor, hand-coffered ceilings, original fireplaces, and the
staircase railing that has handcarvings of gargoyles and Bavarian
swans, which symbolize good luck to the Germans. That's one
of the things that was so special here. The plinth block on the
woodwork and baseboards is common German styling. We
uncovered the original brick and stained glass windows. In the
carriage house [home to Urban Cowboy Public House restaurant
and bar], I ripped out the ceiling and found an old trapdoor that led
to a hay loft, which is now an event space. All these little things are
now preserved.
Standout Moments
When we decided to take over the building, there were 18 lawyers
practicing out of it. My greatest feat was vacating them from their
offices without one lawsuit. The last holdout was the [lawyer] in the
onion turret, which is now the penthouse suite. That's where you'll
find our side-by-side 1970s-inspired soaking tubs. These quirky
rooms are always in demand. They're wildly asymmetrical, but
there's magic in that.
Custom Elements
I designed my own wallpaper for this project inspired by the Gilded
Age. It's a shimmering gold-something period appropriate but
modern. I [also] like to handpick antiques that tell a story. I drove a
truck from Tennessee to Cincinnati to pick up an 1800s-era saloon
bar from Wooden Nickel Antiques and drove it across the country
to Denver. We had to cut down the bar by six inches to fit it in the
Public House, but it looks like it was there forever. It's a piece of art.
New Home
When we say we're taking Urban Cowboy to Denver, it makes
sense. It feels right. Our cowboy is going west. hd
An 1800s-era saloon bar is the centerpiece
of Public House in Urban Cowboy Denver
A circa-19th-century former mansion is
now home to Urban Cowboy Denver
Occupying the building's onion turret, the penthouse suite
at Urban Cowboy Denver stars side-by-side soaking tubs
128
February/March 2024 hospitalitydesign.com
http://www.hospitalitydesign.com
Hospitality Design February - March 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Hospitality Design February - March 2024
