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The St. Cloud Hotel was originally built in Silver Cliff in 1883, but could not make a profit there. Owner J. P. DeWoody and his moving crew were set to dismantle the hotel and move it to Cañon City in February, 1886 until the Custer County Treasurer intervened. After dealing with some unpaid taxes, the move was completed later that spring.

Using the pieces and parts from Silver Cliff, the hotel was rebuilt here, adding a mansard roof. The new hotel boasted an elevator, a bar, a billiard room, call buzzers in every room and hot and cold baths. By 1888, the hotel had electric lighting and an outside telephone connection.

This impressive Second Empire structure has also been called the Hotel Denton, Miller Hotel and Hotel Cañon before returning to St. Cloud Hotel in 1987. Remodeling projects have added bathtubs and flush toilets in each room. The number of rooms in the hotel decreased from 100 rooms when it opened in 1886 to just 35 rooms by 1998.

Many businesses have been housed in the building’s commercial spaces. Some of these include the Ku Klux Klan in 1925, both Continental and National Trailways Bus Systems, Havens Men’s Shop and Ladies Ready to Wear. The superb menu in the hotel’s dining room attracted many banquets, including the Cañon City High School prom.

During the height of Cañon City’s run as a silent movie production location, the hotel inadvertently became the set for filming when a 1914 fire broke out in the building. The headline of The Cañon City Record on June 25, 1914 read “$10,000 Fire at Hotel Denton Monday Morning.” The sub headline was “Guests Escape in Night Clothes – Thrilling Rescues and Brave Deeds of Fire Fighting Staged.” The article read like a script for a suspenseful comedy. The film crews had quickly staged rescues of “fainting maidens” while smoke poured from the structure.

Actors who stayed there through the years include Tom Mix, Jack Donahoo, Scott Brady, Burt Lancaster, Slim Pickins, and Charles Bronson.

Although vacant for a number of years work is underway to revive the St. Cloud so it can continue as a vital part of downtown for decades to come.