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Show iSC TrT -n f J VsfLJ feb 44 it M VtSv C-x' Lx' n Park Record Thursday, March 27, 1986 Page B5 From boarding-house to hospital and back kyWCKBROUGH Record staff writer When the Imperial Hotel first opened in 1904, it served the miners who worked deep within the mountains. moun-tains. Today, after a two-year renovation process, it hosts Park City Ci-ty tourists who play on the tops of the mountains. The Imperial combines quaint luxury lux-ury and intimacy with modern convenience con-venience at the upper edge of Main Street's business district. The hotel, at 221 Main, has opened a rooms (ultimately 12) and three floors to visitors on an interim basis since December, according to its manager, Peggy Collins. (She also worked on the interior design, assisting owners Vivian Boesch and Elaine Burke.) Even while the Imperial Hotel is garnering good reviews from guests, the renovation is going through "the last flick of the dragon's tail," she said. The Bogan Boarding House, named nam-ed after its owner, was one of a number of new lodgings for miners in the early 1900s. These lodging houses were located near Main Street, rather than up by the mines as previous housing was. A few years later, it became the Imperial Hotel. During the 1918 flu epidemic, it became a hospital. In the Forties, the plumbing moved indoors in-doors for the first time. (Today, the bathroom accommodations range from modern, big hollowed-out tubs lo bathtubs with old-fashioned claw-foot claw-foot legs.) The Imperial is on the National Register of Historic Places. More recently, the present owners, Landmark Lane Inc. of Santa San-ta Monica, Calif., bought the building from Parkite Dale Nelson. The hotel was gutted out for its renovation, but its outer walls, bearing bear-ing walls and floors are historic. (Collins pointed out one room where the floor has a slight, but discernible The first floor of the hotel, on the south side, was historically the communal com-munal area-dining room in front and kitchen in back. Today, the dining din-ing room is in the back, and Collins said as many as 19 people have been sitting around the breakfast table this winter. The kitchen is now on the north side of the hotel, commanded by cooks Paul and Paula McGee. Paula cooks for other restaurants in town and Paul is a chef at the Eating Eatablishment. The pair have cooked cook-ed far and wide; from Alaska, they brought a "starter" yeast for sourdough sour-dough pancakes that is 100 years old, Collins said. The south, front part of the hotel is now a living-room area. Purple wallpaper around you carries the legend, "A house is a home, where Love dwells." Utah pine tables rest next to stuffed chairs that are new, but compatible. A toy moose head, bought from the Artworks on Main, is mounted over the entrance to the living area. Every room in the hotel is different. dif-ferent. If there is anything common to each one, it is the plush look of the beds. There are signs of the modern age. The hotel has six TV sets, though every room is equipped for them. And on the top floor, amid the antique anti-que hall lights, there is a green, glowing city-dictated "Exit" sign. And there a few signs of incomple-tion. incomple-tion. The stairs don't have carpet yet. These shortcomings are overwhelmed, over-whelmed, however, by the design of antiquity and luxury. Collins has been an interior designer for 30 years. She taught at UCLA and wrote a textbook on the subject. But though she grew up in California, the warm ocean scene has never attracted her. "I was so bored. The mountains hold the -Hi ij V- A ! ? ; 3,'. s . I i f . 7 r F 0 - I HI ' ; i iiiillliiilll The Imperial Hotel has been renovated into a bed-and-breakfast inn with historic charm. magic for me," she said, even though her arm was in a cast after she broke it slipping on ice. She came to Park City in October to do the design work and became the lodge manager in January. Today Collins and the hotel offer rooms ranging in price from $75 to $135 per night, including breakfast. The hotel staff will make dinner reservations for guests and the Imperial Im-perial is conveniently close to a bus stop. Collins said this winter's guests are already promising to come back next year. "They say, 'Thank you for sharing your home with us,'" she said. "Service is the key, because that's what makes us different." Flamingos head to Park City for 'Spring is a Beach' fun, sales Ever wondered what to do with all of those tacky things your mother left behind those pink flamingo yard decorations, the smiley yellow flowers whose pedals spin in the wind and and those gawdawful Hawaiian shirts your father used to wear? Well, break out the tacky stuff (or if you haven't any, go to a yard sale and buy some) because Guido the Flamingo and friends will be arriving arriv-ing in town April 4 for a week of sun-worshipping sun-worshipping fun, courtesy of the Park City Chamber of CommerceConvention Com-merceConvention & Visitors Bureau. The "Spring's a Beach in Park City" Ci-ty" promotion will feature a number of events, from an Alice-in-Wonderland croquet challenge to an indoor beach party to lawn- and shop-window decorating contests. "The sky is pretty much the limit on that," ChamberBureau spokesman Mark Menlove said of the lawn decorating contest. "Nothing can be too tacky for that." The promotion, which coincides with the kickoff of the town's slow season, is an attempt to bring skiers to town for the final days of the ski season and to attract Salt Lakers to enjoy Park City sunshine. The week's events begin at noon April 4 with the Croquet Challenge at the Park Meadows Golf Course. The croquet match, sponsored by the ChamberBureau's Park City Prospectors, Pro-spectors, is open to any and all teams that want to enter, Menlove said. The teams will consist of six members and he hopes six to eight teams will participate. During the matches, the Red Queen, Jack of Hearts, King of Hearts, Court Executioner Ex-ecutioner and Knaves will provide comic relief during the tense athletic competition. That night, at the Rusty Nail, radio station KPCW will hold its annual an-nual Air Bands competition. A first prize of $400 will be offered to those offering the best impersonation of a musical group. The Norwegian School of Nature Life will sponsor a Flamingo Dance at the Ramada Inn April 11 and a beach party will be held April 12 at the Yarrow. At ParkWest Ski Area, the ChamberBureau will host a social for members and prospective members April 8, and the ski area will stage a flamingo hunt. Those who have recently just pared the tacky from their wardrobes war-drobes can find various shops around town selling tasteless items, such as palm-tree sunglasses. Some local merchants also will be participating in a shop-local promotion, promo-tion, with three-for-two sales. Shoppers can obtain cards entitling entitl-ing them to the discounts. Visitors' cars will say, "3424U" (three-for-two for you) and locals will carry cards saying, "3424ME2." More than 100 ChamberBureau members have signed up to participate par-ticipate in the promotion, Menlove said. Fifty-one of those were non-lodging non-lodging members, including car rental ren-tal agencies, ski rental shops, the three ski areas and restaurants and retail businesses. Unlike the massive Winter Carnival Car-nival earlier this year, the "Spring's a Beach in Park City" promotion has had little publicity in the Salt Lake Valley due to a small budget, Menlove said. Menlove said about 20,000 brochures were given out to people who wrote to or called the ChamberBureau or stayed at local lodges earlier in the year. Uf,- ' -"-K-tr.-it,tW.,efcy-JaiJii I in Specializing in Unique M$, Gifts from the Mountains North Woods U.S.A. Beautiful selection of Oak-Framed Trivets and Indian Weavings 537 lTrJ ro. U1a Towne Shopp es Open Daily 10 a.m. 645-8326 Beef Wellington Rack of Lamb Chateaubriand Veal Oscar Long Island Duck Salmon Fresh Fish Special Daily DAILY SPECIALS ncludes house salad, entree, fresh veg., bread, butter $10.95 THE. - PORK CALVADOS WED. - ROCK CORNISH GAME HEN THUR. SOLENANTUA FRI.- CALAMARI, MEUNIERE SA T. - SHRIMP PROVENCAL SUN. HALIBUT EN CROUTE (Wellington) Lounge Open 5 p.m. Closing Reservations Recommended Dining From 6 p.m. Located 438 Main St. Below Car 19 649-9474 Rear entrance from Swede Alley Private Club for convenience ot our members and guests. Don't miss getting your ad in the soeciai iiuvc-i jclivi i C .. a r rr a A Call now ov-vu i h- ! Real Estate Sales FOR THE WEEK ENDING MARCH 21, 1986 NUMBER TYPE 3 10 6 0 1 TOTAL TOTAL SOLD VOLUME YEAR TO DATE Single Family Residence Condominiums Vacant Lots Multi-Unit Commercial Properties VALUE $235,975 $2,652,800 $218,000 $122,526 $3,251,356 $18,973,007 COMPARATIVE WEEK VOLUME LAST YEAR TOTAL $1,607,400 YEAR TO DATE 1985 $1 1 ,574,539 The preceding figures are reflective of statistics reported to the Park City Board of Realtors. Sales are not reported to the Board in all cases, so these figures can be assumed to be generally low. SOURCE: THE PARK CITY BOARD OF REALTORS Weekly Comparison up 102 m mm i t i J- r irrmii Year To Date Comparison up 64 200000 J00000 600000 800000 '.00000 '.10000 M0000 160000 180000 20000 Visitor Nights Week of March 30 This Year Last Year Sunday, March 30 4145 5314 Monday, March 31 4372 5259 Tuesday, April 1 4243 5399 Wednesday, April 2 4610 5520 Thursday, April 3 4745 5254 Friday, April 4 4661 5061 Saturday, April 5 3566 4013 Total 30342 35820 Convention total 81 3 580 1 985 year to date 519,499 1986 year to date 642,520 Weekly Comparison ill I0OO0 20000 31000 Year To Date Comparison up 24 IOOO0O 200000 300000 400000 500000 600000 700000 Bus Ridership March 17-23 Same week last year Regular Service: Trolley (Began Nov.1 7): Silver Lake (Began Dec. 7): 48,737 3,073 302 47,282 Week Total 1 i- 52,112 Weekly Comparison 47,282 3 ' " "1 up 10 YTD 85-86 YTD 84-85 Ski Season 634?577 578,769 reg. service volley ,odate 37,953 Silver Lake 5,350 Total 677,880 578,769 MM up 7 I0O0O0 200000 300000 400000 500000 600000 700000 |