Casino Stakes Too High for Hotel Proprietor Hazel McAdams

Hotel de Paris proprietor Hazel Burkholder McAdams walked away from a $75,000 cash offer (approximately $1,006,085 USD) in 1946.  The proposition to purchase Louis Dupuy's Hotel de Paris for use as a supper club was made by Ova Elijah “Smiling Charlie” Stephens, a former bell hop in Denver who became a well-known gambler and ex-convict who was arrested 45 times in St. Louis, Missouri and served one jail sentence there.

Mug shot for Ova Elijah "Smiling Charlie" Stephens

Stephens was also questioned in the kidnapping of wealthy investment broker Charles Boettcher, Junior.  Smiling Charlie served as a go-between for the kidnappers and Boettcher Family.  Smiling Charlie was treated with suspicion, but nevertheless given $60,000 ransom money (approximately $1,207,302 USD) by Boettcher’s desperate family.  He was returned unharmed, claiming no knowledge of his kidnappers or anything that happened during his kidnapping.

Smiling Charlie was always on the hustle.  He made cash offers for real estate to widows facing finances on their own.  He made money through farming, real estate sales, and the operation of casinos, hotels, and night clubs.  He also bought and sold stocks and traded the commodities of lard, wheat, butter, soybeans, rye, and corn.  A couple years earlier, Smiling Charlie purchased the Wolhurst estate from Julia Bennett, widow of real estate mogul Horace Wilson Bennett.  The sprawling property was established by Colorado Senator Edward O. Wolcott and was so large, it covered land in both Douglas and Arapahoe counties.  Mrs. Bennett expected the home and grounds to be converted into a “fine restaurant and social club."

Wolhurst
Littleton, Colorado

Wolhurst, the namesake of the country estate, was a Tudor style mansion with a 60-foot-long library and billiard room perfect for entertaining.  After Senator Wolcott’s death in 1905, Thomas F. Walsh bought the property, expanded the residence, made improvements to the grounds, and hosted William Howard Taft, the 27th President of the United States of America.  Colorado Pioneers in Picture and Story reported, “The property now stands as a model for vast country estates of wealthy American gentlemen who seek the leisure and comfort of the English nobility.”

In 1910, Walsh sold the estate to realtor Horace W. Bennett and his father-in-law Jerome S. Riche.  Horace Bennett, his wife Julia Riche Bennett, and the Riches ran Wolhurst as an English country home.  They increased acreage, acquired additional water rights, and introduced dairy farming.  Scientific farming and stock breeding were Mr. Bennett’s hobbies.  Crops, milk cows, and poultry were raised. 

When Mr. Bennett died in 1941, his widow listed the property for sale, and it was subsequently purchased in April 1944  for $78,000 (approximately $1,159,284 USD) by Smiling Charlie and his partner (and son-in-law) Edward J. “Eddie” Jordan or Eddy Jordon for use as the fashionable Wolhurst Saddle Club.  Smiling Charlie was fresh-out-of-prison for assault and attempted murder; nonetheless, each man chipped in $14,000 cash and the remaining $50,000 was executed through a deed of trust.  Smiling Charlie had the financial resources to add 750 additional acres to the property, which served as a posh supper club, athletic club offering swimming and horseback riding, and gambling house for prominent Denver residents.  The city’s elite played dice and poker games, slot machines, and roulette wheels.

Matchbook (exterior)

Matchbook (interior)

A holdup of Wolhurst’s high rolling patrons occurred on Sunday, March 10, 1946, when thirteen “heavily armed bandits” (one brandishing a machine gun) made off with $75,000 in cash and another $75,000 in cash from men’s wallets and jewelry from women guests.  The robbery took just 15 minutes and went unreported.  When Sheriff H. Robert Campbell asked club manager Eddie Jordan about the disturbance, he replied there had been none.  In fact, authorities had not a “single clue,” including no complaints filed, no accounts of what was taken, no description of the robbers, and no insurance claims filed.

The following month, authorities padlocked Wolhurst Saddle Club.  The injunction was granted by District Judge G. Russell Miller when some Denver residents testified to gambling at the establishment.  According to The Record Journal of Douglas County, it was “the first public admission of a fact which has long been known.”  One of the people who testified was Morey Goldberg, owner of Goldberg’s Furniture and Imperial Furniture Company. 

$5 chip from Wolhurst Saddle Club

Sherriff Campbell and special investigator Lawrence Stone recovered from Wolhurst’s gambling house two crap tables, a faro table, three slot machine stands, five chairs, playing cards, membership cards, a metal box for chips, a $5 poker chip (approximately $67 USD), a Ouija board, a $300 receipt for federal taxes paid on slot machines issued to Ova Elijah Stephens and Edward J. Jordan (approximately $4,024 USD), and two signs which read, “Our Dice Are Guaranteed To Be Absolutely Square.”  The casino would remain padlocked until June 10, 1946 and there was a possibility the closure would become permanent.

With all of this going on, it is no wonder by the end of 1946 Smiling Charlie cashed out of his investment in Wolhurst Saddle Club to Eddie Jordan (who later legitimized the business) and began looking for other prospects.  Smiling Charlie was involved in the Midway Hotel and Silver Star Night Club in Arkansas; when these businesses began to struggle financially, he became interested in buying Louis Dupuy’s Hotel de Paris from Hazel Burkholder McAdams, a church-going, tea-totaling widow headed for financial insolvency.

Hazel Burkholder McAdams at
Louis Dupuy's Hotel de Paris

On August 22, 1947, The Denver Post announced, “It was recently reported that an alleged gambling trust was prepared to offer Miss (Hazel Burkholder) McAdams $75,000 for the building (Hotel de Paris) following the spectacular Wolhurst robbery in 1946.  Miss McAdams, it is said, would not even talk to the gamblers’ representatives.”  It seems no coincidence that the offer to McAdams equaled the amount of cash stolen from Wolhurst Saddle Club the previous year.  It may be this threat of risk to Hotel de Paris that spurred the State Historical Society of Colorado to begin discussions in earnest of purchasing the property from McAdams for a house museum.

Once Hazel McAdams rebuked Smiling Charlie’s offer, he busied himself with farming, operating the Stockade (consisting of ten acres of land and a building used as a gambling house), horse racing, betting at Centennial Race Track and Ak-Sar-Ben Race Track. betting on elections, and financing automobile purchases for Fred Ward, a Hudson automobile dealer and distributor in Denver.

Fred Ward was the number one Hudson dealer in
Colorado and one of the top dealers in the United States

With the loss of his interest in Wolhurst Saddle Club and financial problems at the hotel and night club in Arkansas, Smiling Charlie focused on the Stockade.  According to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, “When the Stockade opened for the night’s business, a bank roll was supplied by the petitioner (Ova Elijah Stephens) and his partner, during the existence of his partnership, and thereafter by the petitioner alone.  The bank roll varied from $8,000 to $10,000 (approximately $87,927 USD to $109,908 USD), with larger amounts on weekends and as much as $30,000 (approximately $329,725 USD) on each New Year’s eve.  The bank roll was placed in the cashier’s cage and was used to cash chips presented by patrons when they finished an evening’s play.” 

Patrons bought in for credit and settled by checks at the end of the night.  Income was taken off site nightly, perhaps to avoid another robbery.  The money was placed in safety deposit boxes rather than bank accounts at either the United States Bank (Denver, Colorado) or Littleton National Bank (Littleton, Colorado).  The Stockade’s proceeds were used to purchase real estate, including ranches.  However, because the money was not deposited, O. E. Stephens was wanted by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue for tax evasion.

Ultimately, Hazel Burkholder McAdams encountered financial hardship and owed property taxes she could not pay.  Therefore, in 1954 she sold Louis Dupuy’s Hotel de Paris and its collection of original furnishings to The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in the State of Colorado for $15,100 + $25 per month living expenses for the rest of her life (approximately $146,836 USD + $243 USD).  Mrs. McAdams died a childless widow in 1966 at the age of 76.

Societal Shift: State Groups Collaborated to Save Hotel de Paris and Its Library

By November 1944, Hotel de Paris proprietor Hazel Burkholder McAdams was acquainted with The State Historical Society of Colorado.  This familiarity prompted John Evan (Society President), LeRoy R. Hafen (Society Executive Director), and Edgar C. McMechen (Curator of Archaeology) to recognize Mrs. McAdams as an important source of historical data for Georgetown, Colorado.

Mrs. Hazel Burkholder McAdams
at Hotel de Paris (1949)

It was at that time, Mr. McMechen asked questions about the state of preservation of Louis Dupuy’s Hotel de Paris and its potential use as a house museum (by the end of 1944, New York had forty house museums and Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and California had done much in this respect).  Officers, directors, regional vice-presidents, and administrative staff of the Society were anxious to catch Colorado up with these other states and called on Mrs. McAdams with the hope Hotel de Paris would become a house museum.

Hotel de Paris became Hotel de Paris Antiques in 1949

However, the cordial relationship between the Society and Mrs. McAdams was tested in 1948 when Mr. McMechen was told one of Louis Dupuy's original French etchings had been sold to "some Texas woman for $65.00" and other furnishings were being considered for sale to "some people from Texas."  The woman and people from Texas were Mrs. R. H. Lowery of Lubbock and her family, distant relatives of Mrs. McAdams.

By then, it appears the Society had determined to convert the operating hotel and restaurant into a house museum but understood the significance of the site was its original furnishings displayed in situ.  Mr. McMechen stated, “…the Hotel de Paris would be of no value to us as a house museum without the original articles” and continued, “I am very much disturbed that anything that belonged to Louis (Dupuy) should be disposed of as long as there is a chance that we may be able to negotiate the purchase of Hotel de Paris.”

Hotel de Paris is a time capsule that contains
approximately 90% of Louis Dupuy's furnishings

The following year, Mrs. McAdams closed the hotel and restaurant and, in its place, opened Hotel de Paris Antiques.  It is believed she brought in antiques and only used the dining room of the hotel as a showroom.  It appears Mr. McMechen’s words of caution motivated Mrs. McAdams to protect the site’s collection of original furnishings, which is why so much remains intact to this day.

After the antique shop proved inadequate to generate enough revenue to support Mrs. McAdams and pay her back taxes, she was finally forced to sell the furnished hotel.  The nagging concern that items had been sold seems the likely reason The State Historical Society of Colorado ultimately did not pursue the purchase of the property for its house museum initiative.

James Grafton Rogers, husband of
Cora Mae Peabody (a Colonial Dame)

By then, the president of the Society was James Grafton Rogers, Police Judge (Mayor) of Georgetown, Colorado, and former Assistant Secretary of State in the Hoover Administration.  Mr. Rogers was aware the furnished hotel was available for purchase and the Society was no longer pursuing acquisition. 

Because of the lack of a qualified buyer, Mr. Rogers became concerned about the fate of Louis Dupuy’s Hotel de Paris and suggested to his wife Cora May Peabody (Governor James H. Peabody’s daughter) she propose to her fellow members of The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in the State of Colorado (NSCDA in CO) they purchase the property to preserve it.

In 1954, the preservation-minded women’s group bought Louis Dupuy’s Hotel de Paris lock, stock, and barrel and transformed it into an historical site open to the public.  A plaque given in recognition of Mrs. McAdams’ stewardship of the site credited her efforts to protect the hotel.  It states, “To record the public services/of/Sarah Burkholder/And her daughter/Hazel Burkholder McAdams/Who preserved/The Hotel de Paris/And its chief furnishings/For half a century.”

In a show of support for this remarkable save, the Society presented "Photostats of Primary and Secondary Sources on Hotel de Paris and Louis Dupuy Prepared for State Historical Society of Colorado" which was prepared by Gene M. Gressley, Assistant Historian.  In addition, the Society declared, “The Hotel de Paris is probably the most unique and complete parcel of early Colorado History in Colorado”  and installed on Hotel de Paris a bronze tablet that reads in part, “Erected by/The State Historical Society of Colorado/And/The Colonial Dames Society in Colorado/1954.”  A second bronze plaque was added in 1962, when The State Historical Society of Colorado marked the former location of the McClellan Opera House (lost to fire in 1892).  The Society worked with the NSCDA in CO (which owns the land on which the opera house stood) to emplace a memorial which interprets the history of the theatre.

A portion of Louis Dupuy's library was showcased
in Sample Room 2

This good working relationship between the two historical groups led to the NSCDA in CO in March 1967 to consider a gift of Hotel de Paris’ literary and political library to the Society on the conditions 1) it was insured, and 2) stayed on site.  The “library” meant the collection of books, periodicals, and maps and was not related to any specific physical location.

Louis Dupuy's personal library
included literary and political works

This library was compiled by Louis Dupuy, who filled his free time reading about religion, philosophy, home keeping, science, health, anatomy, politics, civics, history, and war.  From his days in seminary, he maintained an interest in classical literature and the arts.  A former journalist, Dupuy subscribed to newspapers and magazines, studied reviews and lectures, examined biographies, and kept up with popular fiction.

“In view of the Society’s interest in the Hotel de Paris, the board reacted favorably to the suggestion.”  Therefore, the library was donated with the proviso that the assemblage of items be preserved as a collection which would remain at Hotel de Paris if the site were maintained as a public museum, and the books, periodicals, and maps were properly insured by the Society against fire, fire-related damage, theft, and vandalism.  The State Historical Society of Colorado extended its insurance coverage to meet the expectations of The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in the State of Colorado.

In a letter of acceptance dated February 28, 1968, W. E. Marshall, Executive Director of The State Historical Society of Colorado wrote, “The (Historical) Society agreed that the library could remain in the hotel (Hotel de Paris), where it is meaningful.”

Hazel Burkholder in Louis Dupuy's former study,
which contained literary reviews and fiction

Just ten years later, a return of the library’s ownership to the NSCDA in CO was being discussed.  A memorandum from Mr. Marshall to Stephen H. Hart regarding the Hotel de Paris Library announced, “If they (NSCDA in CO) want to have the books returned to their ownership, the Society board would have to prepare a bill for introduction into the Legislature for that purpose --- to be uncontestably legal.  However, upon examination of the law governing deaccessioning of Society holdings, you may determine that a return of the material to the original donor may not require Legislative action.”

In 2008, the Society (under the direction of Chief Executive Officer Ed Nichols) reduced its insurance expenses by deaccessioning the collection and returning ownership of the library to the NSCDA in CO which stores, maintains, and insures the items.

Presently, Hotel de Paris Museum staff is helping fulfill the organization’s mission of sharing the history of Louis Dupuy’s Hotel de Paris by creating free online searchable databases for the public.  As of February 2021, books, periodicals, and maps have been returned to their historical locations in the hotel and one of five databases is already online; it is anticipated the second database will be available by March 1, 2021.  These inventories will reflect the hotel’s library holdings divided into five historic groupings: Sample Room 1, Sample Room 2, Room 13 (Office), Room 14 (Study), and The Burkholder Family Collection.