urban cowboy denver: victorian mansion revived for a designer's dream hotel

historic preservation through a maximalist lens

A boutique hotel that brings new life to an historic 1880s mansion, Urban Cowboy Denver settles into its new home with maximalism and reverence. Set in the heart of Capitol Hill, the George Schleier Mansion — once nearly lost to redevelopment — now stands firmly in the present, revived through a renovation project by founders Jersey Banks and Lyon Porter. The original sandstone structure was designed by architect Frank Edbrooke for German immigrant and silk-hat magnate George Schleier. Now it stands as a rare survivor of the city’s Victorian boom and a landmark of the Colorado city’s eclectic architectural past.

The original building’s carved Bavarian staircase, Lincrusta wall coverings, and elaborate plaster ceilings remain intact, bearing the fingerprints of Denver’s Gilded Age. ‘The building itself was kind of a masterpiece,’ Lyon Porter tells designboom during a visit to the hotel. ‘There are details you can’t recreate — hand-carving, original hardware, and coffered ceilings.’ For co-founder Jersey Banks, who grew up in the city, the project was also personal. ‘This was a dream come true,’ she notes. ‘To be able to bring Urban Cowboy out west is something we’ve thought about since the inception of the brand, and the opportunity to reimagine this historic mansion in my hometown.’

Urban Cowboy Denver is a boutique hotel set inside a restored 1880s mansion | image © Brandon Lopez

unique rooms curated with collected antiques

Urban Cowboy’s expansion west demonstrates a commitment to Denver’s built heritage. Without landmark status, the mansion was under threat of demolition. Working with GBX Group, a real estate firm that salvages historical properties, and Historic Denver, Cowboy Creative Founders Banks and Porter ensured its long-term preservation through an historic easement agreement. The approach highlights the value of adaptive reuse — choosing to restore rather than rebuild, and placing heritage at the center of contemporary hospitality in a show of true sustainability.

Each of the sixteen bedroom suites are distinct. Each reads like a spatial collage, assembled from road trips, antique fairs, and sourcing epiphanies. ‘I look at it like collage art,’ says Porter, who heads Cowboy Creative, the in-house design studio behind the hotel. ‘I never know where something will fit. Then a little magic happens.’ Every room features hand-hammered copper soaking tubs, maximalist wallpapers, and unexpected vignettes, from Swedish leather sofas to fur-and-horn couches.

the George Schleier Mansion was saved from demolition and adaptively reused | image © Ben Fitchett

navigating complex victorian architecture

Recalling the process of curating the Urban Cowboy Denver interiors, Porter and Banks emphasize that furnishing a Victorian mansion presents its own rhythm and rules. ‘These rooms are impossible to furnish,’ Porter laughs. ‘They’re all doors and windows — everything is asymmetrical. But we’ve kind of made that our thing.’ Through layered patterns and rich textures, symmetry is reimagined. Even the wallpaper, with each room’s print custom-designed for the Denver location, draws from a 1700s block print and Western motifs, balancing nostalgia and a frontier aesthetic.

In the former carriage house, the two-story Urban Cowboy Public House draws inspiration from Denver’s 1880s streets, once lined with saloons. Award-winning cocktails are mixed alongside wood-fired pizza and seasonal plates by Little Johnny B’s, a new concept from the team behind Denver local restaurants Dio Mio and Redeemer Pizza. This anchors the hotel as both a guesthouse and a neighborhood gathering place. Upstairs, the space hosts private events, echoing the mansion’s legacy of celebration and community.

The mansion’s original residents are never far from mind. Hanging in the parlor is a portrait of Rachel Schleier, the original owner’s wife and an avid hostess. Here, the founders say, her ghost still watches over the festivities. ‘We like to think she’s happy it’s full of people again,’ Porter says. In this sense, the mansion’s reincarnation is about continuity — an honoring of its roots as a social space.

The mansion joins a dwindling league of preserved Victorian structures in the city’s core. The city was once filled with unique, 1800s-built homes — including the Molly Brown House which now stands as a museum and beloved landmark. Many of these homes, however, have been replaced by corporate towers as the city grew with the 20th century. Most notably, the boutique hotel’s neighbors include modernist titans like I.M. Pei’s Mile High Center and Philip Johnson’s Wells Fargo Tower. As Denver’s skyline rises, buildings like the Schleier Mansion offer texture, and a reminder of the city’s mining-town origins, immigrant narratives, and evolving urban fabric.

Urban Cowboy Denver is a case study in preservation as progress. In an age of carbon-intensive construction, the decision to adapt rather than demolish is itself a form of sustainability. The project invites travelers to dwell among the creaks of history, the wallpapered nostalgia, and the future of Denver, carried forward one restored room at a time.