DENVER — Several nights a week during the fall, walking tours hit the flagstone sidewalks of Denver’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, stopping in front of old mansions to be told the tales of ghosts and hauntings. But one of those stops, one of those mansions, has an added ‘history’ that is being celebrated along with its spirited past.
“The house was built back in the 1800s for the Creswell family,” April Reed explained, showing off the scenic lobby of the Creswell Mansion on Grant Street.
Fake spider webs cover the banister, and a variety of Halloween decor fills each room of the mansion.
“We’ve basically turned the Mansion into somewhat of a haunted house in a way,” Reed, the event director of the space, told Denver7.
But, she went on to explain, that the decorations aren’t needed to accomplish that ‘haunted’ idea.
“The house is legitimately haunted,” mansion employee Kaylin Pound said. “There’s been a lot of ghost encounters here.”
The most common report is of a woman standing in the front window of the second floor looking out. Stories of mysterious sounds and noises have also been passed around among employees.
“In the third floor speakeasy you can pick up on an energy,” Reed said. “They can feel something hanging out in that room.”
So during the fall, the mansion employees lean into that idea. They decorate the rooms and give ghost tours through the former home, that’s now become an art installation.
“Ten different rooms all in different vibes. A little something for everyone,” Pound said.
Plenty of room for its haunted history, its current status showcasing local art, and it’s recent history that formed the building’s nickname: the Marijuana Mansion.
“Almost ten years ago now it was where Amendment 64 was written,” Reed, the Marijuana Mansion’s event director, explained.
The amendment to the state constitution that legalized recreational pot came out of this building. Attorneys who wrote it had their offices here, along with support groups that backed it.
Marijuana culture is now expressed throughout the mansion, in the art on the walls, to the Instagram "throne."
“I think this is a great outlet for normalizing cannabis consumption and celebrating cannabis culture,” Pound said.
It is not a consumption lounge, and smoking isn’t allowed inside. But for those who want to partake, there is a dispensary in the carriage house out the back door.
Ghost tours run through Halloween weekend. The mansion also has general tours and photo shoot reservations available. For more information, head to https://mjmansion.com.