Walking Denver

Begin on 9th and Champa Streets at the east end of the Auraria townsite, also called the

Ninth Street Historic Park. These 13 restored homes and former grocery store were built between 1872 and 1906. Walk west on either side of the grass divider between the houses. Although these charming Victorian-era homes are used as campus administrative office space today, small plaques in front of each house tell about the architectural style and who lived there originally. What makes this preserved block so appealing is how well maintained all of the houses are, including the individual fenced yards and gardens. It’s as if the original residents might return to finish pruning the roses any minute and strike up a friendly conversation.

At the end of the block, turn right on Curtis Street. Walk under the skybridge between the campus buildings to the 10th Street Plaza, and keep going to the stone church ahead on the right.

Turn right in front of

St. Elizabeth of Hungary Roman Catholic Church and walk east past the church to see the friary and shrine to St. Francis. The original church building became too small for the booming German, Irish, and other English-speaking parishioners, so it was torn down, and this building was erected in 1889. In 1908, the church became infamous when the pastor was murdered during morning communion. The monastery and courtyard were built in 1936. St. Elizabeth was one of three Catholic churches in a five-block area at Auraria, and only two were preserved during urban renewal efforts of the 1960s (St. Leo’s was demolished). This church was completely renovated inside in the 1960s, including the stained glass windows you see today.

Walk back to the western corner of St. Elizabeth’s and turn left. Walk south to the 10th Street Plaza again.

Turn right on the 10th Street Plaza. Just past the Lawrence Street Pedestrian Mall (which looks like a park to the left), you will see a very small stone building called the

Emmanuel Gallery. Built in 1876 as an Episcopal chapel, this is Denver’s oldest church structure. As the neighborhood around it changed, the church became a synagogue in 1903. It was sold, and from 1958 to 1973 the building served as an artists’ studio for Wolfgang Pogzeba; in 1969 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1973 the church became part of the Auraria campus and has functioned as an art gallery since that time. It’s as tiny on the inside as it looks from the outside—a mere 24 feet by 66 feet. The gallery is open during typical business hours, so chances are you can go inside during this walk.

Continue walking west on the 10th Street Plaza to the Tivoli Commons. In the near distance (or rather, blocking your view of the mountains from this vantage point) is the Pepsi Center. Sitting on 52 acres of the Central Platte Valley, the Pepsi Center opened in 1999 as a state-of-the-art facility for concerts and sporting and political events. Both the Colorado Avalanche hockey team and the Denver Nuggets basketball team play here, and the 2008 Democratic National Convention was held here. (And, it should be noted, the views of the city skyline and the Rocky Mountains are spectacular from six-story atriums inside the Pepsi Center.)

But practically right in front of you now is the

Tivoli Center. If you step inside this landmark-designated building you will quickly sense that it is comprised of 12 original structures (read: it’s like a maze). As early as 1859, Denver had its first brewery, and by 1861 John Good was co-owner of the Rocky Mountain Brewery. In 1870 German-born Moritz Sigi began construction of the Tivoli Center, then called Colorado Brewery. After Sigi’s untimely death, Good and another investor bought Colorado Brewery, changed the named to Milwaukee Brewery, and expanded with an opera house, tower building, a bottling company, and more at the site. By 1901 Good was the sole owner and changed the name to Tivoli, after the famous Denmark amusement park, then merged with the neighboring Union Brewery. The Tivoli-Union brewery even survived the Prohibition years by making a nonalcoholic beer called Dash. In the 1960s the name was changed to Denver Beer, and a few years later the brewery closed its doors for a decade. In the 1980s developers restored the buildings to their former glory with shows in the old opera house, restaurants, and added a three-story atrium to bind the once-separate historic buildings. In the 1990s it was mostly converted to a student union but has since also returned to being . . .

Tivoli Brewing Company!

At this point in the walk, you can begin to loop back by turning left (see directions in next paragraph), or I recommend seeing more of the campus that features many of the newer buildings. As you walk west in the front of the Tivoli Student Union the

Tivoli Quad is to your right. Take a right at Walnut Street, keeping the Tivoli Quad on your right. On your left is the

Marriott Hotel and Metropolitan State University of Denver Hotel and Hospitality Learning Center. If you stay at the SpringHill Suites by Marriott here, you will be part of the classroom. Everyone working here is learning how to work in the events and hospitality business. When you are ready to turn back, head east on 12th Street to Larimer Street, follow it to 9th Street, and resume instructions below.

Turn left and walk to the 9th Street Plaza. This might be the best spot on this walk to look west for a view of the Rocky Mountains, especially at sunset. You will also see the curved outline of Invesco Field at Mile High, the home of the Denver Broncos, to the left of this view. Also note that the Tivoli Commons connects to Larimer Street going north (or right), Cherry Creek, and Larimer Square.

Turn left to walk east on the 9th Street Plaza to

St. Cajetan’s Church, the first Hispanic parish in Denver that dates to 1925. Thanks to funding from a wealthy Irishman, the church was built on this site near his old home. The Hispanic community grew around this church with a school, credit union, and clinic, only to be pushed out in the 1960s and 1970s. All but the church itself was razed, and it is used today as a theatre and conference center for campus functions.

As you pass St. Cajetan’s, you will see two small homes on your right. The first is a rectory; the second is the relocated former home of Golda Meir. This house is out of place in more ways than one. This is the only remaining US residence of former Israeli prime minister Golda Meir. At age 15, Golda Meir ran away from home in Milwaukee to avoid an arranged marriage and continue her education. She came to Denver where her sister had already moved with her husband and child. Meir attended North High School in the Highlands neighborhood, while also working at her brother-in-law’s laundry business. The small brick duplex was narrowly saved from demolition and moved twice before being saved and relocated to this site in the 1980s to preserve it. One half of the home shows off some of Meir’s personal belongings and photographs of her, while the other is used as a conference center. Call 303-556-3292 to schedule a tour of the

Golda Meir House Museum.

Walk east back to the Ninth Street Historic Park and down the other side of the grass divider to learn more about these houses and who lived here originally.

Points of Interest

Ninth Street Historic Park Auraria Campus

St. Elizabeth of Hungary Roman Catholic Church 1060 St. Francis Way, Auraria Campus; 303-534-4014; stelizabethdenver.org

Emmanuel Gallery 1205 10th St., Auraria Campus; 303-556-8337; emmanuelgallery.org

Tivoli Center Auraria Campus

Tivoli Brewing Company Auraria Campus, 720-458-5885, tivolibrewingco.com

Tivoli Quad Auraria Campus

Marriott Hotel and Metropolitan State University of Denver Hotel and Hospitality Learning Center 12th and Walnut Streets, msudenver.edu/hospitality

St. Cajetan’s Church Lawrence Way, Auraria Campus; 720-556-3291

Golda Meir House Museum Auraria Campus, 303-556-3292, msudenver.edu/golda/house/museum