do An outside view of the Pearl Street Pub & Cellar, the site of a reported haunting. (Ainsley Coogan/CU Independent)
The city of Boulder, Colorado has a long history spanning the past 200 years. Boulder began as a mining camp for the Pikes Peak Gold Rush in the 1850s. From there on out, it became established as an official city in 1871, with the University of Colorado Boulder’s foundation emerging in 1876, the devastation of the 1894 Boulder flood and the rapid development of the city in the early 1900s. With such a rich history, there are rumors of Boulder harboring spirits, ghosts and ghouls in the many supposedly haunted buildings around town.
The university’s campus hosts several old buildings, such as Old Main, completed in 1876, the Koenig Alumni Center, built in 1884, and the Woodbury Arts & Sciences Building, built in 1890. Like the rest of the city, the long history of campus brings tales of apparitions.
Macky Auditorium, built in 1922, holds the story of one of the more gruesome rumored hauntings in the city of Boulder. In 1966, a student named Elaura Jaquette was murdered by Joseph Morse in the building.
Students have rumored hearing the organ play without its organist, the creaking of doors when the building is empty and a small electric shock when touching the door of the room where the murder happened.
An outside view of CU Boulder’s Macky Auditorium. (Ainsley Coogan/CU Independent)
CU Boulder student Nathan Albright explained that, while he would not consider himself a superstitious person, he was not surprised that Macky Auditorium is supposedly haunted.
“I did theater in high school, and our theater had a ghost too,” Albright explained, “I am not surprised by that at all.”
In terms of Boulder as a whole, Albright said that he thinks that Pearl Street has been one of the eeriest places he has been.
“It was a very busy night, I don’t remember why, but there was some Victorian energy or something about Pearl Street that night,” Albright said.
Coincidentally, one of the many ghost sightings on Pearl Street has origins in the Victorian era of Boulder. Pearl Street Pub & Cellar supposedly houses the ghost of a woman killed in the late 1800s, as described by Lori Juszak, owner of Boulder Ghost Tours.
The ghost that appears in the basement of Pearl Street Pub & Cellar is supposedly Trixie Lee, a prostitute who was the mistress of a man in Boulder. According to Juszak, the man had kept the relationship between Trixie Lee and himself relatively quiet because of his marriage, but with time, he stopped being careful. The man’s wife, Mary Maud Bryant Hawkes, saw Trixie Lee riding in his buggy along Pearl Street. In response, Hawkes hunted Trixie Lee down and murdered her in the alley where Pearl Street Pub & Cellar is today.
“She (the suspected ghost of Trixie Lee) is in a Victorian outfit, and then when you look back, she’ll be gone,” Juszak explained.
Boulder Ghost Tours’ information mainly comes from Suzy Riding, described as a ‘fantastic historian’ by Lori Juszak.
“Most of our information comes from her research and her interviews with people in the area, building owners, the business owners, all of that,” said Juszak.
Boulder Ghost Tours runs year-round, offering both private and group tours, offering discounts to CU Boulder students and families looking to learn more about the college town’s haunted history. Juszak’s favorite part of the tour is the stop at the Spruce Street Mansion, which has a beautiful history but becomes eerie after dark.
With Halloween coming up, there are many spooky things to do in Boulder.
Hotel Boulderado, which would neither confirm nor deny the rumored paranormal activity, is hosting a ‘Speakeasy Halloween’ at their speakeasy-style cocktail lounge on Halloween. Attendants must be 21+ to enter.
Boulder Ghost Tours explores Pearl Street Mall’s haunted past, with stops at Spruce Street Mansion, a theater, Pearl Street Pub & Cellar and many more shops and eateries.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show will return to Boulder at 7 pm and 10 pm on Halloween at Boulder Theater.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Ainsley Coogan at ainsley.coogan@colorado.edu.
