The January 28, 1929 edition of the Rocky Mountain News carried another interesting tale. "Two men were arrested and 28 pints of liquor were seized when the Haunted House Roadhouse ... was raided last Saturday night by Sheriff Lee Templeton and 10 deputies."
Fifty persons were whooping it up when the officers arrived. The raiders entered so quickly that an elaborate warning system failed to alert the partygoers. Proprietor Leo Bomareto was arrested when one pint of liquor was found under a rug near the entrance. Officers found another 25 pints of "hooch" hidden near a pump house. Although Sheriff Templeton and a representative of the District Attorney's office searched all the attendees in the roadhouse, no additional liquor was found and all were released.
The house on 55th and Washington had once been the dream home of John B. Hindry, an early Denver builder and entrepreneur. In 1873 he built his two-story Italianate mansion on 110 acres of high ground overlooking the Platte River with a plan to create an exclusive subdivision of fine homes nearby.
The influx of railroads, smelters, and meatpacking plants made the area more suitable to heavy industry than exclusive homes. Fumes from the smelters poisoned the grass and trees, and ate up the lace curtains and carpets. But Hindry stayed and rumors spread that the old man had a hoard of money hidden in the house. After being robbed several times, Hindry devised a solution. He set up a shotgun with the trigger tied to a cord so the shotgun would fire if the window was raised. It didn't take long.
On September 18, 1901 Hindry set his trap and traveled to Golden on business. When he returned home at 6:00 pm he found a man dead in his front yard. Eventually, the trap became his undoing. One night he bought he heard a prowler, tripped over the trigger cord and was wounded in the right side. Although he physically recovered, he abandoned the house and moved to California in 1906. The empty mansion and poisoned grounds was known for years as Globeville's Haunted House.
In 1921, Leo Bomareto purchased the property at a tax auction and made enough repairs to open a Roadhouse (during Prohibition). Sheriffs and Federal agents raided the place frequently. The fines paid and the bail posted must have been a good source of revenue for the city, but neighbors were less pleased with the rowdy establishment, drunk drivers, and party patrons passed out nearby.
In 1923, Bomareto leased the property to the city for an isolation hospital, which also distressed the community. In 1940, Bomaretos fixed up the house and lived in it. In 1962, a mysterious explosion and fire destroyed the house. But tales of bootleg parties and mysterious ghostly appearances remain.
