Golden Burro Cafe

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 27, 2025

1. Golden Burro Cafe Marker

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From the National Register Nomination prepared by Daniel N. Lundeen, 2/2/2023:
The Golden Burro Cafe and Lounge is a one-story, generally rectangular, 5,200 square foot, brick building with a bracketed cornice and flat roof, facing west on Harrison Avenue in downtown Leadville, CO. Originally built in 1898 by E.H. Dimick for H.G. Richner in the Nineteenth Century Commercial Style, the building contains three main sections arranged north to south. The Golden Burro® café business was started as Roy’s Lunch by restaurateur Roy Pray in 1934 at 614 Harrison Avenue, renamed the Golden Burro Café and Lounge in 1938, and sold to Charlie Frey who moved the business to its present location in the Golden Burro Building in 1945. Since then, the middle and southern sections of the building house the original café dining

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 27, 2025

2. Golden Burro Cafe Marker

The marker is mounted below the storefront window on the right side of the front entrance.

room and kitchen. In 1958, Frey expanded the business into the north section, which houses the saloon at the front entrance (now known as the “Brass Ass Saloon”, adopting a pejorative nickname for the café among locals) and a banquet room at the rear. The front of the building has mid-century commercial updates ca. 1940’s to 1950’s, with Vitrolite tiles, enamel panels, glass-and-aluminum doors and windows, glass blocks, painted brick, and is topped by an iconic neon burro sign.
The Golden Burro Café and Lounge is significant in the area of Commerce as a prominent restaurant during a period of commercial resurgence for the town of Leadville, serving locals and tourists during this time period. The Golden Burro Café and Lounge was one of the few new commercial developments along Harrison Avenue in the 1940’s. The café’s development reflects a time when the commercial fortunes of Leadville began to improve, and the building became a recognizable property along the city’s main street. The building retains sufficient integrity to serve as a visual reminder of an important chapter in Leadville’s commercial history.
The development of the Golden Burro Café turned the building into a different commercial use than what had been there before, and demanded renovation such as construction of a kitchen, seating areas, and counter. This development also included the addition of character-defining

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 27, 2025

3. Historic Golden Burro Cafe Sign

features and integration of the café’s Golden Burro trademark into the façade that were meant to draw in customers. These updates including Vitrolite tile and glass block, were very much reflective of changes made to commercial corridors across the country to appeal to the mid-century American consumer. The two-sided neon burro marquee has advertised the Golden Burro® trademark since it was installed in the 1940’s with the illuminated words “GOLDEN BURRO CAFÉ” on both sides, “COCKTAILS” on the front, and a lighted burro with a wagging tail on top. The sign and trademark, which have been an icon in downtown Leadville for the better part of a century, are easily some of the most memorable features from passing through the town on highway US 24 (Harrison Avenue), especially at night.
During the period of significance of the building, the Golden Burro Café was an establishment of the downtown commercial core of Leadville that continually served locals and tourists alike. As a gathering place for the citizens of Leadville, it was a location of continued commerce that provided an essential service to the community. Numerous community groups, prominent citizens, and events came to be associated with the Golden Burro, solidifying its place within the commercial core of Leadville.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 27, 2025

4. Golden Burro Cafe

From the National Register Nomination:  The café section façade was installed ca. 1940’s and consists of brick, glass block, midnight blue Vitrolite glass tiles and aluminum doors and windows.

Excerpt:  The Golden Burro Café and Lounge is significant commercially at the local level as a prominent commercial property along Harrison Avenue — Leadville’s Main Street — serving as a café from 1945 until the present day.

Excerpt:  In April 2021, the establishment was purchased by Marcee and Dan Lundeen, who initiated a historic preservation process on the building alongside the Colorado State Historical Register, the National Historical Register, and Colorado Main Street. The following year, the owners received a $40,000 grant to fund preservation efforts from the National Trust for Historic Preservation and American Express Backing Historic Small Restaurants Grant Program. The Golden Burro was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2023. The Lundeens later leased to the building to local businessmen Armando and Fernando López. Under their direction, the restaurant's menu shifted more towards Mexican cuisine, but the sign and other features were still preserved.

(By Patrick Bilow, Jun 29, 2023) Excerpt:  A representative from the United States Department of the Interior visited Leadville earlier this month to officially list the Golden Burro Cafe on the National Register of Historic Places. Golden Burro owners Dan and Marcee Lundeen accepted the designation on June 6 and displayed a plaque next to the cafe’s entrance on Harrison Avenue. Representatives of the City of Leadville, the Historic Preservation Commission and the Leadville Main Street Program were present for the ceremony.