SkyscraperPage Forum - Part 2 of Two Denver Museums and the Areas Around Them by DenverAztec

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Part 2 of Two Denver Museums and the Areas Around Them by DenverAztec

Part 2 of Two Denver Museums and the Areas Around Them by DenverAztec

If you missed part one, here is the link:

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=143312

Here are photos I shot of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver, sections of the Central Platt Valley, Lower Downtown (LoDo), Ballpark, Prospect and Riverfront Park areas during the months of September through early December. This thread is a mix of pics from summer to fall as the seasons don’t really matter with respect to the structures and all the new development that is occurring in this part of Denver. This area will dramatically change within the next two years as this is a hot bed of construction activity on a low-rise and condo basis. It’s location to highways, light-rail, sports venues and downtown Denver is significantly the best at the moment. It is a mixture of Denver’s oldest areas and buildings combined with the newest.

We will start out with the Tivoli Brewery. Currently, it is named the Tivoli Student Union and houses the student union for the Auraria Campus combining Community College of Denver, Metropolitan State College and University of Colorado at Denver. Built in 1866 as the original Tivoli Brewery and large brewing equipment still remains. It was converted to student union in 1984. We start our tour here as it is one of the most visible landmarks on Auraria Parkway along with the Pepsi Center and Six Flags Amusement Park.

The Observation Tower at Six Flags Amusement Park

The Pepsi Center – home to the Denver Avalanche, the Denver Nuggets and used as a large concert venue along with Red Rocks ampitheater . It will also be the main site for the 2008 Democratic National Convention in August! Denver beat out NYC for this convention, about time as they get all the big stuff. I have volunteered to work the event in hopes of shaking the hand of our next President.

For those who moved away from Denver, this used to be Thirsty’s Nightclub. Glad the building is still there.

Let’s cross over Speer Blvd.

The Central Platt Valley had many residences along the Platt River and the Cherry Creek River when Denver was first founded in the mid 1800s. However, the rivers consistently flooded their banks when the snow melted in the Colorado Rocky Mountains (spring run off) and many folks lost their homes and lives without warning. Brick structures became incredibly popular over wood as they were not washed away but mostly warehouses sprung up in this section of town as too many homes were lost. Eventually, Chatfield and the Cherry Creek reservoirs were created upstream to prevent flooding in Denver. Many of those old buildings and warehouses remained in this area and some are used as such but also since the early 80s most have been altered into residential lofts.

Wazee Super Club – Long time great place for burgers and beer.

Crane for Sugar3

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/d...LoDoMCA022.jpg

Heading down 15th Street

Crane for the Alliance Center Phase 2

The Museum of Contemporary Art opened in October 28, 2007 at 16th and Delgany Street. From their web site, “Our New Home - The New MCA, designed by David Adjaye, one of the leading architects in the world today, is at once bold and refined, meeting all the criteria set forth when a permanent home for MCA was first envisioned…The design clearly articulates the Museum's exhibition and program requirements…The construction cost for the new building is $16.3 million…MCA is actively pursuing LEED certification, which would make MCA the first contemporary art museum in the country to achieve such status.

This little guy was fascinated by the sensory activated sliding wall/door as he watched it move from the museum store.

To the contemplation room and roof top café.

Waterside Lofts. The parking lot below will be developed into the Komorebi, 7 stories with 43 residential units and retail at street level. Construction is expected to begin within the next few months.

The turquoise four story structure is the Steel Bridge Lofts Annex. This view is going to change dramatically within the next two years as three building will enter the picture and each will be in the 50 floor range, Four Seasons, 1401 Lawrence and the Spire.

Looking back up 15th Street

Looking below you will see construction on 1900 16th Street. From www.denverinfill.com , “The 1900 16th Street project consists of a 1200-space parking garage facing 15th Street and two office towers that will front 16th Street. One will be a 335,000 SF, 17-story tower planned for the corner of 16th and Delgany. The second will be a 13-story 250,000 SF tower planned as a future phase at 16th and the railroad tracks at the base of the Millennium Bridge. Construction began November 2007.” The Glass House can be seen on the other side of the Millennium Bridge spire. Dozens of projects will infill this once vacant area, much of which was one time owned by Arnold Schwarzenegger (boy did he make a profit or what).

Monarch Mills

Rooftop café

Look up!

No Hoochies were harmed in the making of this exhibit, only their hooves were removed!

My favorite exhibit was these thirty televisions, each running independently, made up of Jamaicans singing Bob Marley songs in unison. It sounded like a Marley choir with their voices resonating throughout the entire museum.

Three incredibly different sides to the Gates building across the street from the museum. It was designed to follow the flow of the space allowed by the surrounding streets.

Side One

Side Two

Side Three :worship:

Art House Townhomes behind the MCA.

Along the Riverfront of the Cherry Creek River

The Delgany

Summer

Winter

View of 16th Street Mall from the Daniel and Fisher’s clock tower looking toward LoDo.

16th Street

EPA Region 8 Headquarters, it better be a Green building! Zimmer/Gunsul/Frasca Architects and was just recently completed.

17th Street

New building trying to fit in with the historical gems.

Barth Hotel

Front side of Union Station, circa 1880

Back side with the light-rail train and the ski-train in the distance.

Denver Millennium Footbridge - tapered 200ft (61m) tubular steel mast of the Denver Millennium Bridge. A central marker and icon in a new residential and commercial development, the bridge is intended as a pedestrian crossing over rail tracks from Commons Park and over the Regional Transportation District light rail-system. It carries the extension to Denver’s renowned 16th Street Mall. Completed to a tight timescale, the bridge won a Gold Award at the New York Association of Consulting Engineers ‘Engineering Excellence Awards 2003.’

The Denver City Cable Rail Way building will remain but there will eventually be a 17 story tower attached to it becoming the Cable Railway Hotel. The building was built in 1889 to operate Denver’s cable car system.

The old Rock Island went through rehab this fall and is now cleaned up. This was the site for the Punk scene of the 80s and the entrance was actually under a viaduct connecting to the highway. That viaduct with a few others were raised when the lofts developments began.

Neighbors, one has a loft and the other does not.

Tattered Cover bookstore

Heading out toward Coors Field

My favorite place for breakfast – Snooze Restaurant

Flour Mill Lofts, the right half is the original mill but the left half is a new addition meant to match the old. Excellent units inside with spectacular views of downtown and the Rocky Mountains.

Inside the INCA Lofts

The nice thing about Coors Field where the Colorado Rockies play is that the structure itself does not dominate the neighborhood. You can see it looking down these streets but it is not offensive or overbearing like so many ballparks/stadiums.

Pedestrian bridge that opened last summer connecting the Highlands to Lodo

I will cover some local churches in my next thread.

In the meantime, a few more snow shots in my neighborhood.

Your photos continue to be incredible

:worship:

Awesome work, my friend!

Aaron (Glowrock)

Wow, another great thread. I will have to go back again and read it all when I'm not rushing off to work.

Thinking back to the schools thread and the other museum thread, Denver really has some great institutional buildings. Excellent photos here too!

Denver seems to have an unending supply of beautiful century-old brick buildings all over the place. And to think of what the city would look like with out going through "urban renewal", which meant the wrecking ball for many more. If only all cities could have kept a significant amount of their past building stock.

Great tour and great photos!

Quote:

Originally Posted by denveraztec (Post 3267290)

I have volunteered to work the event in hopes of shaking the hand of our next President.

Great Photos DA:cheers: You should ask Obama to appoint you as Secretary of Photography:) .

Quote:

Originally Posted by denveraztec (Post 3267290)

My favorite place for breakfast – Snooze Restaurant

Snooze should be paying you a commission for the increased business they are going to get from that pic;) .

You've captured one of the very nice things about Denver... the old historic structures and the new modern ones often side by side; combined with the huge rail transportation expansion that is happening over the next several years -- Denver is doing some good stuff.

Thanks again for the photos... Excellent!!!!!!!:banana:

Great pics Denveraztec!
Made me miss Denver badly-

Also- which one doesn't own the Loft? :haha:

Thank you for all the nice comments! :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by flar (Post 3267618)

Thinking back to the schools thread and the other museum thread, Denver really has some great institutional buildings. Excellent photos here too!

We are experiencing a good construction streak at the moment and surprisingly it is blending very well with the old structures instead of destroying them physically and perspectively. Blocks that did not have a building on it in LoDo was open fields and parking lots but that is all changing quickly. If only I would have know to snatch up some of that property when I was in my 20's!!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by PHX31 (Post 3267672)

We didn't escape entirely and many beautiful buildings were demolished either due to politics or the building of glass towers. What has saved the current structures is the slow growth Denver had historically. It went in spurts, so many of these lofts sat vacant for several decades and if fact some still are the further east you go. However those areas have also been discovered and that is where many large nightclubs are relocating. I get so sad when I think about and see pictures of all the structures here and in other cities that were destroyed. :(

Quote:

Originally Posted by MobyLL (Post 3267832)

Great Photos DA:cheers: You should ask Obama to appoint you as Secretary of Photography:) . Excellent idea! Then I accidently bump folks like Bill O'Riely in the head with my camera lens, that just might happen to be spiked! :notacrook:

Snooze should be paying you a commission for the increased business they are going to get from that pic;) . There are always beautiful people in Snooze, hence the reason for the summer pic instead of winter! :crazy2: :naughty: :hug: :male: :psycho: :crazy: :laugh: :eeekk:

Thanks again for the photos... Excellent!!!!!!!:banana:

Quote:

Originally Posted by loftlovr (Post 3268096)

Great pics Denveraztec! Made me miss Denver badly- Also- which one doesn't own the Loft? :haha:

Let me guess, if it was the girl without a loft you might have one that she could stay at? :kiss: :pet: All the more reason for you to come back in the summer for another visit!

Quote:

Originally Posted by denveraztec (Post 3267290)

Neighbors, one has a loft and the other does not.

Your photo threads never cease to amaze. Awesome job!

Another great set of pictures. And thanks for the shot of the former Thirsty's!

denver's got it goin on.

would love to see a night shot of this:

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/d...LoDoMCA054.jpg

A very enjoyable couple of threads.

again, I had no idea that Denver kicked so much ass! wow!

This is actually the crane for 1515 Wynkoop, 8 story office building with ground floor retail:

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/d...LoDoMCA024.jpg

Quote:

Originally Posted by DownhomeDenver (Post 3269063)

This is actually the crane for 1515 Wynkoop, 8 story office building with ground floor retail:

Thanks DownhomeDenver, so much to cover and I was bound to miss naming properly one or two of the dozens of cranes up in Denver at the moment.

Sure thing, you're pictures are OUTSTANDING!!!!!

That Thirsty's shot totally takes me back. Another brilliant photo thread. Thank you DA!!!

Thank you all again for the great comments!

This is my favorite NEW building in LoDo! Only fitting it 'tries' to look like its old counterparts. I wish we could have saved more turn of the century structures, but I love the ones we have saved; and how well DenverAztec shows these buildings to the world. I love this city! :tup:

Comprehensive display !

Thanks again, Denver Aztec for an awesome thread of your home city! Its amazing how you tell Denver's "stories" with your pictures. Love your composition...its an art.

hey, these are my neighboors as well....although, i don't recognize the girl off the top of my head. i routinely hand money to that guy when i'm turning that corner to get home from work tho. he helped me get my friend out of ice during the bad winter we had last year...5am and somehow he's out walking around with shovel and gravel. amazing...we coulda never got out without him, and my friend is an idiot for taking the alley exit from the parking lot right there. i was so happy with getting NLCS tix one day i just handed him $10 and you could tell that made his day

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/d...LoDoMCA106.jpg

This thread was better than part one IMO.

Btw, what they did to the ground floor level of that building on the right is an abomination:
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/d...LoDoMCA117.jpg

Quote:

Originally Posted by BroncoCSU05 (Post 3273625)

LOL, this cat probably makes more money then you and I put together as he is always there and everyone is always giving him money. He knows when the folks from the burbs are in town for games and he knows how to work the crowd.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cementglow (Post 3274410)

Btw, what they did to the ground floor level of that building on the right is an abomination:
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/d...LoDoMCA117.jpg

Sometimes you just want to slap around the owners of some of these buildings! I think they closed off the front and put the entry on the side. It is now a residence and the owner didn't want the front of his house to have store front windows. He could have at least thought up something to fit in with the area instead of just bricking it up!:yuck:

God Damn You DenverAztec!!! :hell:

Just when I am going through a major Denver withdraw you flash a excellent photo thread of Lodo infront of my eyes!

you're like the guy pushing a shot of Vodka on the alcoholic that has been sober for years.

Excellent thread, you bring back all the denver memories for me. I use to work down on Wazee. I love Denver, and miss it.

I hate posting twice in a row.

However, I was just thinking. It would be cool if one of you denvernites would do nothing but a long colfax thread. It is labled one of the longest twisted streets in America. If you set foot by the Capitol and just headed east you would probably end up with some excellent shots. Take some shots of the homeless crackheads that hang out in front of Harry's bar. It would make a good picture.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JackStraw (Post 3276751)

Actually, a few forumers from other cities have asked me to meet up with them for a Colfax shoot this Spring. Colfax is the longest commercial street in the country, not just "twisted". You will eventually see some shot on this colorful and diverse street!

Quote:

Originally Posted by denveraztec (Post 3290974)

That would be cool. I use to live two blocks off colfax, and walked East Colfax from downtown to Cherry Creek many times. Colfax made me angry sometimes. I read about how it use to be historic buildings going down the whole way. Then they tore many down to put up Argonout liquor, pizza huts, wendy's, and other chains with parking lots. However the other's that are left are wonderful.

Actually, last night I was looking at discount airline tickets online, and I could fly out there for about 275. Most likely I am taking a few days of vacation and going out to Denver to see old friends again. I want to walk all over the city and get pictures that I never got when living out there. I would go to the belcaro neighborhood, east colfax, all of Capitol hill, uptown, downtown, lodo, washpark, cherry creek, Baker, Five points and so much more. I really need to photograph the places that I remember out there as I never did when I was there. I also want to get the dump of a place I lived on Clarkson for a year before they tear the old dump down and put up a new condo.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JackStraw (Post 3291228)

That would be cool. I use to live two blocks off colfax, and walked East Colfax from downtown to Cherry Creek many times. Colfax made me angry sometimes. I read about how it use to be historic buildings going down the whole way. Then they tore many down to put up Argonout liquor, pizza huts, wendy's, and other chains with parking lots. However the other's that are left are wonderful.

It must have been really nice in its trolly car days! Still a lot to see but so much was demolished. :hell:

Actually, last night I was looking at discount airline tickets online, and I could fly out there for about 275. Most likely I am taking a few days of vacation and going out to Denver to see old friends again. I want to walk all over the city and get pictures that I never got when living out there. I would go to the belcaro neighborhood, east colfax, all of Capitol hill, uptown, downtown, lodo, washpark, cherry creek, Baker, Five points and so much more. I really need to photograph the places that I remember out there as I never did when I was there. I also want to get the dump of a place I lived on Clarkson for a year before they tear the old dump down and put up a new condo.

Some real arm pits on Clarkson, I lived at 8th and Clarkson for a few years until I bought my condo at 7th and Washington. In Belcaro/Bonnie Brae area, be sure to check out the Phipps Mansion when you are here. They use to give tours but not sure any more, call first. However, the outside and the old English gardens are worth a look on their own. It had more then seventy rooms when built and one of the best mansions in Denver.

http://www.du.edu/phipps/hours_location.html

The Phipps Mansion

Built between 1931 and 1933, the 33,123 square foot Georgian style Phipps Mansion is comprised of more than seventy rooms, two of which were imported from England. The facility is furnished in the Chippendale and Queen Anne styles and features American, European, and Asian art.

Damn nice pics !!! Thanks for the time spent shooting & uploading. Funny how sometimes you've been by a place many times and then you see it with great lighting, composition and it just pops out at you. Great job !!!

Wish I woulda seen this thread sooner. Amazing set of pics.

Seems like the building on the corner could become a cool restaurant with outdoor seating. Lotsa extra sidewalk space.

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/d...LoDoMCA115.jpg

you should get to know the girl and skip the guy.

I sat here for about 40 minutes re-looking at this Denver thread. Thanks for the bump

My friend gave that dude some guitar strings once. He only had two at the time.

Outstanding pics, Aztec! way to go! I am in the middle of my Colfax thread, starting from the western end (Sheridan and colfax) and I hope to end up at the eastern end, Zenobia and colfax? just before Aurora. I will try to edit the pics down to the most basics which capture the atmosphere and vibe of that fabled avenue. When will I post it? Soooooon! I hope... (ps..the infamous alleyways are included, thank goodness I brought my "bodyguard" with me while I was photographing.

Aztec, your pictures make me so proud of living here in the mile high city!