Palace Hotel Sign, Cripple Creek, Colorado Poster

Now empty (and said to be haunted), the Palace Hotel in Cripple Creek, Colorado, began as the Palace Drug Store. In 1892, the building was transformed into a hotel. With the influx of the many miners to the area, the hotel also featured one of Cripple Creek's original gambling dens. As one of only two hotels during Cripple Creek's early days, the place was so crowded at times that the hotel even rented chairs to sleep in for $1 per night. The building didn't survive an 1896 fire that destroyed the entire town. However, the building was rebuilt. With its lavish décor, it soon became a major attraction for gold barons and high-rollers When it was sold, it was saved from the wrecking ball by the Historical Society. The ghost of turn-of-the-19th-century owner Miss Kitty is said to roam there still. The Palace Hotel was featured on the History Channel in 2001 among documentaries of places with ghostly manifestations.