Molly Brown House in Denver

Some of the news coverage about the Costa Concordia disaster has drawn parallels to the sinking of the Titanic 100 years ago. When I was in Denver in November, I saw the Molly Brown House, which is three blocks southeast of the state capitol. I arrived there shortly before 4:00pm--the last tour had already started.

Strangely, Brown, whose first name was Margaret, was not called Molly until after her death.

Brown of course was a Titanic survivor, played by Kathy Bates in the eponymous movie; she insisted on having her lifeboat return to rescue those passengers swimming in lifejackets after the ship sank.

With some embellishments, Brown's life story was told in the play and movie, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, Debbie Reynolds played the lead.

The house from the outside is beautiful--a couple leaving the home while I was taking this picture told me that the interior is worthy of the exterior.

Brown's husband purchased the home in 1894, it passed to Molly after his death and she owned it until she passed on in 1932.

Besides her Titanic fame, Brown was a social activist and a two-time candidate for the US Senate. As for the house, I don't believe she spent much time there. The Browns traveled a lot and the home was used as the governor's mansion for a spell. Eventually it became a boarding house.

Earlier posts:

• Cherry Creek and a truss bridge in Denver
• Denver: Confluence of the South Platte River and Cherry Creek
• On this day in 1864: The Sand Creek Massacre
• South Platte River sunset
• South Plate River in Denver
• Veterans Day 11/11/11: Colorado's Veterans Monument