In 1959 when he bought the stunning property that now holds The Fort, former advertising executive Sam Arnold was just looking for a place to build a house for his family.  Then his eye was caught by a photograph of the fabled Bent's Fort, one of the original trading posts in Colorado.  His family home became an adobe-brick replica of Bent's Fort, which then became The Fort, an extraordinary restaurant whose fame has spread far beyond the wide borders of the West even as the city of Denver has expanded toward Arnold's once rural locale.  Read more on Holly and the late Sam Arnold   Sam Arnold Holly Arnold Kinney

Tour of The Fort

The Fort's nine dining rooms are built around a central courtyard.  In summer months a typical Plains Indian tipi stands in the courtyard. 

Bent's Quarters, a private dining room, recreates much of the feel of the 1840s.  A collection of medicinal herbs from New Mexico and various items of the fur trade period line the shelves: knives, beads, buckles, musket caps, tobacco twists and "segars", tea bricks, loaf sugar, Florida water, lucifers, and much more.

The St. Vrain Bar, on the west side of the courtyard, is named for Ceran St. Vrain, partner of the Bents.  A French aristocrat from St. Louis, he brought fine wines, crystal glasses, and damask tablecloths to the remote West.  Set in a niche in the wall of the bar is an adobe brick from the original Bent's Fort.  The herringbone planed ceiling with its decorative bead is typical of the earliest New Mexican planked ceilings. 

The St. Vrain Council Room angles off the St. Vrain bar and accommodates private parties and music evenings.  It features artwork by Carrie Arnold and Edward Curtis, a corner fireplace, and French doors out to the courtyard.  After dark, the small fire in the courtyard glows orange through the panes. 

Adjoining the Tower Room is the East Terrace, from which can be seen the magnificent panorama of red rocks and Pike's Peak to the south and Denver and its suburbs to the east.

The Main Dining Room, with its fireplace and view of the foothills and lights of Denver and the plains beyond, features a beamed ceiling, artwork, and authentic mid-nineteenth-century artifacts.  Throughout the building, the vigas (log beam) were stripped by drawknife, and zapatas (footed supports) were rough cut and then finished with a foot adz.  All wood surfaces were hand-planed to remove machine saw marks.

Overlooking the Main Dining Room, The Grill is lovely for semi-private parties, with French doors out to the garden and a view of the Denver skyline.  The fountain to the north is carved of pink Mexican limestone.

Two round bastions stand at the northeast and southwest corners of The Fort.  With their two-feet-thick adobe walls, these were used for defense in the original fort.  We use the northeast bastion as a wine cellar, while the southwest tower accommodates an intimate dining room with a fireplace and a lovely view of the city lights.  The Tower Room is furnished with portraits of mountain men, William and Charles Bent, Uncle Dick Wootton, Kit Carson, and Henry Clay.

The Outdoor Patio is delightful during warm weather and a good place to gather when the cannon are shot.  What would a fort be without a cannon?