The Face on the Barroom Floor

In 1936, Denver artist Herndon Davis — furious after a fight with his project director — snuck into the Teller House saloon after midnight and painted a woman's face on the barroom floor, finishing at 3am; the model was his own wife, though the bar cryptically credited the work to a 19th-century poet for decades. Today the mysterious face is roped off with stanchions inside the historic Face Bar, a genuine oddity of Colorado history and a perennial stop on the Central City trail.

The move: Visit the Face Bar at Teller House during the summer opera season (open daily, roughly noon to 9-10pm), peer down at the haunting painted face preserved in the floor, then order drinks at the same bar and debate the legend before catching a Central City Opera performance just up the street.

• 📍 Central City
• 💸 $$
• ⚡ Up for anything
• 🌗 Indoors

Where: 120 Eureka St, Central City, CO 80427

Hours: Mined 2026-06-07 — confirm current hours before you go.

Plan a visit & invite your people →

Proof: source 1 · source 2 · source 3

Verified 2026-06-07.