HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
+ 1 further entry on record
Cripple Creek's 1896-era brick hotel, rebuilt after a catastrophic fire, where a blind pianist died at the bottom of a staircase and the slots still run after closing
172 E Bennett Ave, Cripple Creek, CO 80813
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Building currently closed to public. Exterior viewable from Bennett Avenue.
Access
Limited Access
Historic commercial building on Bennett Avenue; interior inaccessible
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1896 · Rebuilt after the catastrophic 1896 Cripple Creek fires · One of the better-preserved examples of post-fire brick commercial architecture on Bennett Avenue · Operated as hotel since 1977; casino added 1991 when Cripple Creek legalized gaming · Documented in Colorado architectural surveys
The building at 172 E. Bennett Avenue opened in 1893 as a two-story wood-frame commercial block with Dr. William J. Chambers leasing office space for his drug store. Cripple Creek at that point was one of Colorado's fastest-growing mining towns, with gold production from the surrounding district driving rapid development along Bennett Avenue.
In April and May of 1896, two separate fires swept through downtown Cripple Creek within weeks of each other, collectively destroying the majority of the town's wooden buildings. The original Palace block burned in these fires. A replacement structure — three stories of red brick with sandstone trim — went up as part of the broader downtown reconstruction effort. The rebuilt Palace block appears in architectural surveys as one of the better-preserved examples of Cripple Creek's post-fire commercial architecture.
Dr. Chambers married Catharine Howard in 1900. The couple purchased the entire Palace block in the early 1900s, and Kitty Chambers — as she was known locally — managed portions of the building. She sold her half-interest back to Dr. Chambers in 1910. Chambers sold the building in 1928. It changed hands several more times; Gertrude Coffin and Maude Playford purchased it in 1941 and opened a cafe on the ground floor. A bar opened in 1945 under new ownership, and the building was sold for back taxes in 1956.
Robert and Martha Lays bought the building in 1976 for $55,000 and reopened it as a hotel. When Cripple Creek legalized limited gaming in 1991, the Palace's ground floor was remodeled into a casino. The building has been closed to the public since the mid-2000s; Century Casinos, which owns the adjacent gaming complex, announced a $5 million restoration plan around 2015 but put the project on hold in 2017 due to construction costs.
Sources
Historian Jan MacKell Collins documented the Palace Hotel's ghost lore in detail, tracing the Kitty Chambers legend against the actual historical record. Catharine Howard Chambers — known as Kitty — was associated with the Palace block through her husband Dr. Chambers, but she died in California in 1908, not at the hotel. Collins notes that Mary B. Hedges, a Teller County clerk who managed furnished rooms in the building from 1912 to 1918, is a more plausible origin for some of the reported female presence, since she actually lived and worked there.
The better-documented figure is Vitus M. Neelson, a blind pianist who performed at the Palace in the early 1950s. Around 1952, Neelson apparently tripped and was found dead at the bottom of an interior staircase. He is buried at Mt. Pisgah Cemetery in Cripple Creek. Multiple accounts describe a piano-playing presence in the building after his death.
Security personnel employed at the Palace casino reported phenomena that were harder to attribute to suggestion: slot machines activating on their own, and coins dropping after the floor was cleared and locked for the night. These accounts circulated among staff and were reported in ghost-tour literature covering the Cripple Creek area. Mysterious lights in Room 3 — active despite disconnected power — were reported by multiple independent sources. Peak activity was noted between roughly 1983 and 1989.
The building has been closed since the mid-2000s, which limits current investigation or visitor reports.
Notable Entities
The three-story brick Palace block on Bennett Avenue is visible from the street and sits in the heart of Cripple Creek's historic casino district. The building's facade dates to the 1896 post-fire reconstruction and is documented in multiple architectural records.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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