#330 - Orman Mansion in Pueblo, CO

Mansion for a Night

This grand mansion is where Don and I spent a night, in July.

2 flags greeted us when we arrived, but no sign. Which made it feel more like a home than a hotel.  Which is what it was, when it was built in 1889.

​Arrival

I'd like to blame our sloppy arrival, on the fact there was no sign. But mostly, I was a sloppy navigator. 

As we headed down Orman Street I searched to recognize the mansion I'd seen in website photos. But suddenly I spotted two similar red sandstone homes. I scrambled to look for an address, while telling my hubby, Don to pull over. The car idled as I studied GPS. Then my cellphone rang.

I recognized the voice of our host, Don. He'd called a few times earlier to double check our arrival time.

"Are you in the gray Subaru?" Host-Don asked. It felt like the Wizard of OZ was watching us from behind a curtain.

​Host-Don instructed me where to pull in, but I was confused. I wanted to say. "Which house? The big one, or the REALLY big one?" But I just told Hubby-Don to keep going while I looked for a street number. Then I instructed, "Oops, make a U-turn." Hubby-Don was a little impatient with me.

​Parking in Back

I wasn't sure where Host-Don was stationed, with his phone. I just knew he was watching us. We pulled in the drive and parked in back, by the adorable carriage house. 

We walked up the tidy brick drive, around toward the front.

So the Orman House actually was the REALLY big one! It was grander than I expected!

​Meet Up on the Porch

Host-Don was rocking on the porch when we walked up. When he stood to greet us, he suddenly looked more like Chef-Don, in his uniform. He introduced himself and mentioned that he worked for the Konciljas Family (owners) and he was also their chef.  I will call him Chef, now

After our up and down travels through the mountains, my clogged ears were being most unhelpful. Chef took us on a quick tour and told us lots of history. But I missed quite a bit. I stopped asking him to repeat after a while.

Two Governors

The important thing to know, was that the Orman Mansion was named for the 12th governor of Colorado. James Orman had the home built before he became governor in 1901.

Gov Orman ended up selling the property to another governor, Alva Adams, in 1918. Pretty wild that 2 governors lived in this home.

Stairs!

There was an elevator in the home. I'm not sure how old, but it wasn't functional. If you have to climb stairs, let them be beautiful ones, like these!

I fell in love with the pair of Griffins at the bottom of the stairs! Did the governors have kids? If I'd been a kid, I would have climbed on these!

​Chef took us up the stairs and I looked back at the view!

So many different places to sit. We were invited to use any of the common areas.

Upstairs Parlor

Upstairs we also had a cozy sitting area, with a grand fireplace and comfy couches.

Looking from the other direction, you can see the stairs leading up to the third floor rooms. Those were all booked by one family, so I didn't explore. 

We followed Chef through and arched walkway, that took us to our guest room door.

Executive King Suite 

If our room had a specific name, I didn't learn what it was. I just knew we'd booked an Executive King Suite for $184.

The price was very reasonable for an updated and spacious room in a mansion. 

The furniture was a bit of a mix. Some colonial style reproductions...

... and a couple of white modern chairs. Don likes a good chair for relaxing. This mod style didn't quite work for him. 

The kid in me was kind of delighted by the marshmallow chairs and the rounded space in the turret. The kid in me was also sort of pleased with a TV, even though we didn't really need it. 

The complimentary snacks were much appreciated. I wanted to eat or take them all, but the adult in me just enjoyed a couple.

​Vault in the Room

Chef let us know we had a bonus space in the back of our room. He had to do some tugging at a the jammed vault door.

He finally popped it open to reveal a room with painted drawers... some for files?

I'm unclear what this vault was used for in the past, but it had a few hangers if we wanted to unpack... a steamer trunk full of clothes! The space was large!

The Governor's Offices

Chef went on to explain that our room had once been Governor Adam's office. Wonder what he kept in the vault!

He let us know that Governor Orman's office was downstairs, below us. (Orman's office is pictured above) Chef let us know that was where his room/apartment was located. I figured I'd avoid doing jumping jacks and other noisy activities with our host below.

Reading Options

There were books on both night stands. I was curious about the Woman's Almanac!

I took the book to our little turret space and enjoyed some quiet time gazing out the windows and reading.

Actually that book was pretty fun. Facts about women in 1940!


Best Bathroom!

There was only one bathroom in the house when Mr. Orman built the home. All guest rooms have bathrooms now and ours was the absolute best part about the Adams Suite (which is what I'll call it now) 

The red velvet drapes and chaise lounge felt very Victorian. 

The rest of the elegant bathroom felt like 2024. Always happy for that! A+ for the bathroom!
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The Property

The 10,000 sq-ft home sits on an acre of property, on the corner of Orman and Colorado Avenues. The elegant entrance faces Orman, but the side facing Colorado looks just as impressive. 

I had fun wandering around the giant sandcastle, trying to spot our windows in the upper turret on the left. Our room's other 2 windows were right above the Chef's living area,( in Gov Orman's old office). The arched opening with screen porch, must be part of that living space.

Faces 

Our 2 windows (to the right of turret) revealed a fun surprise when I looked carefully.

Two faces carved into the Colorado red sandstone, right above our windows! Were they puffing wind from their mouths? Or were they biting down on some kind of vine?

Out Back

The back of the property had a large patio, with a fountain and tables. Chef said we were welcome to enjoy the space.

We opened an umbrella and did just that. We pulled some deli sandwiches from our cooler and had a little picnic.

We greeted Chef when he made a trip from the big house to the carriage house, with his little dog, Lola. He had lots to do, with a wedding booked for the next day. Chef made numerous trips, so we stopped greeting awkwardly. I felt like a teen kid hanging out in the yard, not offering to help Dad with chores.

​More Wandering

After sitting a bit, I wandered more. What was the red bike doing, outside the fence? A bit of bike art?

Around the southwest side of the house I found plump peaches weighting down numerous tree branches! I love sweet surprises.

Exploring Inside

The weather was too nice for sitting inside, but I had to do some interior exploring. It's amazing to think this home was out of use, just a few years ago. It hasn't been a private residence since the 1950s.

Before the 4 Konciljas brothers purchased the building in 2019 it had spent time as a school district building and then a home to a doctor's practice. The young brothers quite a job renovating and decorating, with bright colors!

Happy Hour

Don and I planned on taking Chef's suggestion and walking to dinner in the Historic Pueblo District. But first we wanted to enjoy a porch Happy Hour. A guest room near ours had its own rounded porch. I snuck a peek.

Luckily  the front porch was free and we could grab the 2 rockers for a little wine & snack time.

The sky grew dark and we got to enjoy a quick rainstorm from the porch, before setting off. 

Walk to Dinner

Around 7, we headed directly down Colorado Avenue. In less than a mile we crossed over the Arkansas River and ended up in the historic downtown district. 

The destination was wonderful. The historic buildings are pretty and we dined in a lively spot. We do however wish we'd been warned that walk might be a little sketchy. We tried to Uber back since it was dark, but there were none running.

​Safely Back

We made it back to the glowing property without any uneasy encounters. We'd seen quite a few worrisome characters, staggering and sleeping and fretting and lurking, coming and going. 

We were happy that the Orman Mansion was tucked safely behind a fence.  


As we approached the illuminated castle, I snapped a photo and glanced to check the image. For a moment I startled to see a face staring at me in the photo. Yep, Chef was back on the porch again, watching us like a parent waiting for kids to return before curfew. ​

I greeted as we climbed the steps. I told Chef we'd had a great dinner at "Fuel & Iron". I also told him, we found the walk a little worrisome. We let him know he might also warn guests that there seemed to be no Uber or Lyft options by 9 pm.

Morning at the Manson

Don and I were in no hurry in the morning.  We helped ourselves at the coffee station outside our room.

We enjoyed a book featuring photographs of the mansion.

Library

We decided to finish our coffee on the porch, but found Chef and Lola sitting out there. So we took a seat at a table, near the curved windows. 

I browsed the nearby bookshelf and found 2 books I wanted to read!

Ship of Fools and Father of the Bride. Both great movies! I needed a few more days at the mansion. I'm not a fast reader!

​Porch Time Before Breakfast

Pretty soon Chef was on his way to work. We told him we were excited to use the breakfast Voucher he'd given us, for "B Street Cafe".

Don and I enjoyed the pretty morning for a while, on the porch. I posed on the step like one of the vintage photos I'd seen inside. I forgot to snap a photo of it.

Morning in Pueblo

Don and I lingered as long as we could at the quiet mansion. Then we left our key and drove a mile to "B Street" and enjoyed the historic buildings we'd seen the evening before.

Our Voucher for breakfast (or lunch) was put to good use. We enjoyed the little cafe, across from the Train Depot, which happens to also be owned by the Koncilja Family. Roaming around town, was a nice end to our stay in Pueblo.

What's Notable?

We stayed in a mansion that reminded me of a sandcastle on the outside and a colorful fairytale house on the inside. The whole place appealed to the kid side of me. The hide-n-seek-slide-down-the-banister kid in me. A magical house!

I wish we'd met the K. brothers. Joe, Teddy, Bobby and George. (You'd almost think they were Kennedys!) I'd like to thank them for rescuing this property so others can enjoy it. I'm glad we used the porch and had some yard time and a little couch time, in a parlor or 2. Next time I'll have to ask Chef if it's okay to play the grand piano. I was tempted, but the lid was down over the keys. I'll try it next time... unless this place gets too popular and prices shoot sky high! Glad we visited when we did!
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