Ace Gillett’s
Fort Collins, Colorado
- Hospitality
- Mountain West
- Art Curation
- Shall Design
25 + of prohibition era styling objects
8 portraits of old Prohibition era agents and criminals
Compliments the art experience of Armstrong Hotel also by NINE dot ARTS
Ace Gillett’s Is Fort Collins’ Swankiest Cocktail Spot. 5280
The Story
An underground speak-easy bar beneath the historic Armstrong Hotel, Ace Gillett’s is an ode to Fort Collins history and remains as one of the city’s cultural gems. NINE dot ARTS was brought in to partner with the General Manager, Hotel Owners, and interior design team during the lounge’s remodel to create an art collection which would elevate Ace Gillett’s as an upscale cocktail lounge and supper club.
As Fort Collins was a “dry city” well into the 1960’s, we brought forward a prohibition theme through the new collection, continuing Ace Gillett’s dark, jazzy, and cool reputation by implementing its story through a vibrant collection of found artifacts and artworks. The art experience begins at the stairway, with salon walls featuring prohibition-era items on either side of the stairs, allowing guests to travel back in time to an era where the visit to Ace Gillett’s might have been a bit riskier. These items, from bar tools to hand-embroidered handkerchiefs, were framed in custom shadow boxes to enhance the presentation of these historical artifacts to pieces of art themselves. Traveling further into the space, we curated a mix of art prints and artifacts to continue the theme all the way into the bathrooms which feature an ode to Bonnie and Clyde. The resulting experience redefines the space while speaking to the story of Ace Gillett’s as a Fort Collins relic.