Boggio's in the 1940s
In 1924, thirty year old Natale Boggio opened his high-end French-Italian restaurant in Denver.
Boggio's was a success. So with the end of prohibition in 1933, it was expanded to include the serving of alcoholic beverages.
A Greeter's Guide ad from that summer reads: "Large glass of beer with lunch and dinner FREE."
This old matchbook locates Boggio's at Tremont at Broadway. Boggio's was originally located on California St before moving to Tremont in 1929.
Boggio's Rotisserie reads: "Delicious Foods, Superb Service".
In 1934 Broadmoor Art Pottery began operations in Colorado Springs and made ashtrays for Boggio's.
This one shows a shapely woman turning a bird on a spit, flames below, savory smells rising above. A well fed man is holding his belly and picking his teeth, pinky finger in air.
The glaze is a thick dark Broadmoor red. Former tile designer and Broadmoor potter Cecil Jones must have had a prominent hand in the ashtray's design.
Its ink stamp reads "Manufactured by Broadmoor Art Pottery, Colo Springs, Colo, Next to the Post Office".
These were the Great Depression years. Restaurants commonly fell on hard times, but high-end businesses often did surprisingly well. Such was the case for Boggio's.
This Greeter's Guide ad from 1938 reads: "Across from the Cosmopolitan and Brown Palace Hotels".
After the move to Denver in 1937, Broadmoor continued to make advertising pottery for Boggio's.
This ashtray has an ordinary form but is glazed with a nice harder to find yellow.
Finally this unusual turquoise Boggio's vase has a tilted rim we have not seen before. Its Denver ink stamp is nothing special, but otherwise is complete and crisp.