LADIES OF THE BROWN (Palace Hotel)

As a Colorado native, Debra Faulkner comes by her passion for local history naturally. Since earning her Masters in History from the University of Colorado at Denver, Faulkner has taught U.S. and Colorado history at Metropolitan State University. A longtime volunteer-member of several local historical and preservation groups, she is also a former board member of the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame and President-elect of the Denver Women’s Press Club. She is the author/co-author of 7 books on Colorado and women’s history.

Since 2008, Faulkner has been privileged to serve as official historian for the Brown Palace Hotel, where she conducts tours that engage, entertain, and enlighten visitors to Denver’s oldest continuously operating hotel. Faulkner presents public history programs to groups of all ages, both at the hotel and throughout the community. She especially enjoys telling the stories of Colorado’s extraordinary women in first-person programs that allow her play dress-up in period costumes.

Burly pioneers, businessmen and male politicians have long dominated histories of Denver and of the West in general. But their tales comprise only half the story of our past. “Ladies of The Brown” examines the often overlooked feminine dimension of western development, through selected profiles of extraordinary women with various connections over the decades to Denver’s iconic Brown Palace hotel.

This program features a sampling of prominent and high society ladies, as well as working women. Taken together, their stories shed light on the changing personal, professional and political roles of women over the more than 12 decades the hotel has reigned as Denver’s Grande Dame. Many of the names are familiar: Margaret “Unsinkable Molly” Brown, Mamie Eisenhower, Zsa Zsa Gabor. Others are little known. All are extraordinary.

From the international spotlight to behind the scenes, “Ladies of The Brown” includes tales of proper and respectable women, crusaders and reformers, and even a scandalous floozy or two. This entertaining program promises to engage and enlighten listeners with its history, humor and heart.