The Buffalo Rose’s large metal buffalo statue mounted near its front door signified the bar’s prominence on Golden’s historic Main street. Established in 1859, the building served as everything from a political meeting place to a church. It’s most interesting function was as the town’s public pool, then called the Golden Plunge. Now buried under the floorboards of the dance floor, the swimming pool was once even the training place of Nils Christiansen, an Olympic swimmer.
The bar itself was comfortable and unassuming serving good typical bar food. Although it had the historic Western bar feel, it didn’t seem too unique until the bartender let us look around the other room which was closed at the time. The closed part of the bar is actually a giant two-story room with a large dance floor that looked big enough to house some pretty great bands. I was disappointed that we weren’t there for a show, but I could easily see how great that venue would be on a busy night. It was a little spooky walking through that large dark room with so many shadowy spaces around the bars, booths, and balconies. According to their menu, The Buffalo Rose had a rowdy crowd where brawls would break out and end up in shootouts which resulted in permanent spirits lurking in the building. I didn’t see any ghosts, but I’d love to go back to see a band someday!