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Molly Brown Museum

Posted by Tami Scripps on

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Molly Brown. She came from humble beginnings, but the ‘Unsinkable’ Molly Brown has gone down in history as the heroine who helped load the lifeboats on the Titanic.

Historic Denver’s Molly Brown House Museum enhances Denver’s unique identity by telling the story of Margaret “Molly” Brown’s activism, philanthropy and passion through educational programs, exhibits, and stewardship.

The Molly Brown House Museum stands as an enduring symbol of the turn of the 20th century in Denver. In the 1880s, the lucky few who made millions in the mountains, the railroads, or trade moved to the prestigious Capitol Hill neighborhood. This included Isaac and Mary Large who made their fortune in silver mining and built the house at 1340 Pennsylvania Avenue. They commissioned the well-known architect William Lang who combined the styles of Classic Queen Anne and Richardsonian Romanesque to create a unique and eclectic home. The home contained all the modern technology of the day including electricity, indoor plumbing, heat, and telephone. Shortly after its completion, the Larges became victims of the silver market crash. They sold their home to James Joseph “J.J.” and Margaret Brown in 1894.

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Emphasis on local natural materials and simple designs became guiding fundamentals of the related Mission and Prairie schools of design in the 1900’s
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In a book by Wharton and Codman published in 1898 when the house was transferred to Molly Brown’s name, the creation of houses with rooms decorated with strong architectural wall and ceiling treatments, was advocated. Well-suited furniture and rooms based on simple/classical design principles such as symmetry and proportion were encouraged, and a sense of architectural balance was upheld.

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The first decades of the 20th century saw the decline of Victorian home styles in both Britain and America, in favor of the Arts-and-Crafts school of design.

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Dining room of Margaret “Molly” Brown
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The study….
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Molly Brown’s insurance claim list (what she lost on the Titanic)
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Convention Victorian Table Setting. Upon Margaret’s death in 1932, at the height of the Great Depression, the house was sold. Subsequent owners altered the house dramatically, creating twelve separate spaces for roomers.

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