[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 103 (Monday, July 23, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1399]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING DAN AND MARY KING

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. SCOTT McINNIS

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 23, 2001

  Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, today I'd like to congratulate and thank 
Dan and Mary King of Ouray, Colorado, for having the courage and 
initiative to take on a project that will enrich the City of Ouray. The 
couple, who are working to completely renovate the historic Beaumont 
Hotel, will provide residents and visitors both with a sense of history 
and foundation.
  Dan and Mary, who are from San Antonio, Texas, have made a huge 
investment in the once crumbling hotel. They purchased what Lori 
Cumpston of The Daily Sentinel called ``the pink elephant--an eyesore'' 
at an auction in 1998 with the hopes of transforming it into ``a 
revitalized hotel with retail shops, restaurants, and a spa.'' 
Currently, the Kings have found fifty workers to help them update the 
building with new electrical, mechanical, plumbing, and fire 
suppression systems, as well as handicapped access to all floors. They 
are also baring the natural brick that has long been covered with 
bubblegum pink paint. ``Every square inch, including the mortar, has 
had to be hand scraped,'' Mary said. While the new Beaumont will 
portray new amenities, however, they are also keeping the hotel 
authentic. Dan said, ``We want to change as little as possible. We want 
the experience to be that it's 115 years old.''
  Even though Mary and Dan estimate that the hotel will not be finished 
until the summer of 2002, the first shop owner in the hotel is already 
enjoying the King's project. David Smith, whose business is the first 
in 37 years to open in the Beaumont Hotel, has already opened Buckskin 
Booksellers at the Beaumont, which houses over 4000 new and rare books. 
Smith says of the Beaumont, ``Most people see this as becoming the core 
of the town.''
  Mr. Speaker, the Kings have done a great service in transforming what 
used to inhibit the town's atmosphere into what might be the new 
``core'' of Ouray. I ask we pay tribute on behalf of Congress to their 
personal sacrifice and their initiative.

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