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Elevators
There have been a great many changes in Tahosa Valley over the years but Edward A., my grandfather simply wouldn't have believed there would ever be an elevator within two miles of the homestead he bought in 1917. But here it is, at the new San Malo. And it's a real elevator, that goes up three floors. I took it the other day, to go have Sunday brunch at the new Bosetti's Restaurant on the second floor of the new building. (Monsignor Bosetti, you may remember, was the first prelate to head of the old Camp Saint Malo)
Everything at San Malo is new, including the name, which used to be Saint Malo, as you probably know. Bosetti's opened in October, and I had to wait until the middle of the Christmas snowstorm to get a reservation.
When we did get one we had dinner in solitary splendor with about a dozen people in a room which seats 300, surrounded by enough food for an army.
I'm not a food critic, so I'll just say that we'll prob¬ably go back fairly soon. We had an opportunity to look into the rooms, which rent at what are now considered reasonable rates, and while they haven't been decorated yet, they're pretty much what you would find in a good Holiday Inn and there are even a few suites with fire¬places.
Because the chapel has always been a place where people like to get married, I suspect San Malo will do a good business in the summer because it's now a place where one can honeymoon in style. There's talk of a swimming pool and the structure itself has the feel of an elegant lodge at a ski area, with a huge four sided fire¬place and tall ceilings in the common area.
I was also told they'll start building 150 rooms for a youth camp next summer.
If you've been here a long time and haven't seen the new San Malo you ought to go and gawk, at least and ride the elevator. And if you're new you can sympathize with us old folks who thought the end had come when the Estes Park Bank put an elevator in their new building back in the 70s. There's something a little strange about riding an elevator darned near in the trough of Mt. Meeker, but it just shows you that people have faith (to choose a word carefully) in the future of this place. I noticed, though, that faith has its limits; there's an elaborate sprinkler system at the new San Malo.
Columns
© 1985 – 2003, David E. Steiner
Allenspark Wind Columns:
Back to the Hilltop Guild Bazaar
The Estes Park Hardware Store [1988]
On the Death of Otto Walter, Postmaster
A Whine About Telephone Service [1991]
On the Death of Charles Eagle Plume
Rumors About a Visit by the Pope
The Visit of Pope John Paul II
Devolutionizing Big Government
The Estes Park Trail-Gazette Columns:
How Old is Charles Eagle Plume?