Not very many bars are located beneath historical landmarks, but Catacombs is.
It sits beneath the Hotel Boulderado, which started in true American capitalistic fashion by selling shares of the hotel, advertised at $100 each, in order to raise the money for its construction. There is something about being tied into the history of Boulder-back to a time when the city looked more like the Wild West than the city it is today-that gives Catacombs its special appeal.
Bartender Geneva Sanchez, an 18-year-old freshman management major, said she was looking for something far above the excitement of the alleged significance of the bar; above the 1967 change in laws governing alcohol that opened Catacombs’ doors and made it the first liquor-serving bar in Boulder. She was looking for something supernatural.
When asked if she would visit a bar because it was located in a historical landmark, Sanchez said, “I guess I would, but it would have to have a lot of history to do it. Probably if it was haunted or something.”
It is true that there are some ghost stories that take place in the hotel, but whether these ghosts are located in the bar below, or whether anyone has confirmed the place to be officially haunted, is still up in the air.
Some people are not so discerning about the historical sights worthy of their visit.
Henry Driftmier, a 21-year-old philosophy major, said he thinks if the place has been left the same way it has always been, then the appeal of the historical site is especially strong.
“If it has stayed the same, it would be nice to see the general atmosphere of the place,” Driftmier said. “And I guess there is an element of wanting to be a part of history, just wanting to experience some of it.”
Catacombs is far from being unchanged since the construction of the Boulderado in 1909. The area that the bar occupies today used to be a storage room.
Driftmier said he still sees something attractive about Catacombs despite this knowledge.
“I think it is still good,” he said. “I mean, being a storage room isn’t any worse than being anything else.”
Happy hour at Catacombs goes from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday. They sell well drinks and domestic beers for $2, call drinks and microbrews for $3 and house wine and imports for $4. Food is available ranging from $3 to $5, including items such as onion rings and chicken wings, and salads and sliders.
Most of the crowd is made up of non-student citizens of Boulder and people visiting the hotel above. During the early hours of the morning on weekends, Catacombs is a cornucopia grab bag of the people in Boulder. It is a place where students and residents mix with wedding parties and travelers.
Bergin Parks, a 25-year-old recent graduate of the journalism school, said the bar grew on him throughout his years in Boulder.
“More as an alumni,” Parks said. “I started hanging out there my senior year.”
He said, to him, it is not the fact that the bar is tied into the history of his city.
“It’s got more a, like, old-school pub feel to it than most modern bars, and I prefer that to the sort of big dance club kind-of-bars,” he said.
The dance floor is relatively small and off to the side. There are also game rooms containing fooseball, pool and a pair of air hockey tables lit by black lights.
Catacombs still has a distinct appeal to its happy hour. Although this is not the case every night, on Saturday the happy hour goes late. It’s not a bad spot to do what many college student refer to as “pre-gaming.” In addition, happy hour at Catacombs during the week is relatively quiet.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Seth Gitner at Seth.gitner@colorado.edu.