Issue link: http://cp.revolio.com/i/32575
HISTORY BY BOB BOWS BROADMOOR CONFIDENTIAL Look closely as you wander the storied resort, for a treasure trove of art, history, and colorful characters awaits your curious eye S pencer “Spec” Penrose set the bar very high at The Broadmoor, with hospitality to rival the top European resorts, hotels, restau- rants, and spas that he and his wife Julie, so enjoyed. But Spec did not stop there. He was a showman as well, and his guests were regularly treated to unusual and “Spec-tacular” events as well as many of the biggest stars of stage and screen, politics, and industry. Between Spec’s imaginative divertissements and storytelling, and the con- stant sightings of larger-than-life luminaries, it’s sometimes hard to tell the dif- ference between fact and fiction when reminiscing the resort’s storied past. Imagine you are a staff member riding the elevator with a platter of shrimp for a party of guests, when John Wayne steps in, on a break from filming in Arizona. He’s famished and starts eating the shrimp right off the tray. By the time you get to the guests’ floor, the shrimp are half gone. A sense of panic sets in. You can’t very well tell John Wayne to stop, but how will you explain this to the guests? Luckily, the star carries the day by rolling in the tray himself, and announc- ing, “Here’s your tray, and I ate the shrimp.” The guests are so amazed that no one speaks. Mr. Wayne has more shrimp sent up and stays to sign autographs. As you may have surmised, this actually happened. Mr. Wayne frequented the area, often coming to buy horses from the original Marlboro Man Bob Norris at his T-Cross Ranch. It’s just one of many such unique stories that lie hidden in the untapped annals of The Broadmoor. So, let’s slide back the trick bookcase in Spec’s library at Penrose House and descend the stairs into some seminal moments sure to enrich your stay at this unique and historic venue. Cast of Characters If you think it was startling to run into John Wayne on the elevator, how would you feel if you spotted a camel, an elephant or a mischievous monkey lurking about the property? Before Spec was convinced to move his exotic animals, such encounters were not unusual. Ever the bon vivant, Spec named his camel “Ethel Volstead,” as a joke be- cause he was strongly anti-Prohibition and it was the 1919 Volstead Act that enacted Prohibition. Spec also insisted that his Asian elephant, “Tessie, the Empress of India,” was a gift from the Raja of Nagapur, India, though he actu- 30 The Broadmoor Magazine | 2011 • 2012 TOP: A postcard showing Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun, circa 1936. ABOVE: John Wayne visited The Broadmoor frequently, entertaining guests wherever he went.