Walking Denver

Downtown Denver is compact and easily walkable, and perhaps the most pedestrian-friendly place of all is the 16th Street Mall. These 16 blocks are closed to vehicular traffic (not counting the cross streets every block or the free shuttle buses that go from end to end all day) and make for an easy stroll among shops, restaurants, and hotels. Better yet, just a block or two in either direction of the 16th Street Mall there are many of Denver’s best hotels—both historic, renovated, and brand new—as well as public art, art collections, and other attractions.

Start at the Civic Center Plaza at 16th Street and Broadway. Walk north on Broadway and cross the actual 16th Street (not the mall portion).

At 17th Street, look right. Inside the lobby of this reflective high-rise at 1670 Broadway is a Dale Chihuly piece, titled Colorado Wildflowers, that was installed by a previous owner of the building.

Walk north on Broadway again as you walk along one side of the triangular-shaped

Brown Palace Hotel. The Brown is Denver’s most elegant historic hotel. It is named for the man who had it built in 1892, Henry C. Brown. The 230-room Brown has three restaurants—Ship Tavern, Palace Arms, and Ellyngton’s—as well as Churchill Bar, a cigar bar. Oh, and there is a luxurious spa in the basement . . . somewhere near the original artesian well that still supplies water to the hotel. Did I mention the eight-story atrium with stained glass ceiling and decadent chandelier? The lobby below the atrium offers tea service, cocktails, live piano music, and more throughout the year. There’s so much rich history that they have their own historian to give you a tour (by reservation). For starters, they might tell you that every US president except Calvin Coolidge has stayed here. The holidays are a magical time here, kicking off with an annual Champagne Cascade and lighting of the decorations (and champagne brunch to boot!), holiday teas (make those reservations months in advance), and more.

At Tremont Street you will see

Trinity United Methodist Church across the street. The church’s 200-foot spire is made from rhyolite, a volcanic rock from Castle Rock, Colorado, and inside they proudly show off an 1880s-era Roosevelt Organ. Historic tours of the church are offered regularly.

Turn left and walk around the National Western Stock Show bronze statue. You might be wondering what this statue is doing here. Each year during the National Western Stock Show, there is a parade—complete with cattle drive—that makes its way up 17th Street (in the middle of January, no less) and ends at the Brown Palace. And there is a long-standing tradition that the stock show’s prize-winning steer is put on display in the hotel’s lobby . . . during teatime.

Walking down Tremont Street with the Brown Palace Hotel on your left again, you can see the historic Navarre Building on the right. More is known about the past use of this building than the present. Built in 1889, it was a bordello, and rumor has it that an underground passage allowed men to sneak from the Brown Palace to the Navarre. It has also been a school and a hotel and now it is the

American Museum of Western Art–The Anschutz Collection (sorry kiddos, age restrictions), and you’ll need to have a scheduled tour to see the art.

Cross 17th Street, and note that four and five blocks down 17th Street, respectively, are the

Magnolia Hotel in the fully restored Equitable Bank Building (at Stout Street), the

Hotel Monaco in the 1917 Railway Exchange Building and the Art Moderne Title Building (at Champa Street), and the

Renaissance Denver Downtown City Center Hotel in the former Colorado National Bank building built in 1915. If you liked the Allen Tupper True murals on Walk 2, be sure to circle back to step into the Renaissance, where there are 16 of his murals in the lobby.

But for this walk, turn left and walk one block to the 16th Street Mall, which was built in 1982. If you were to continue two blocks farther on Tremont Street you would see the

1882 Denver Firefighter’s Museum (open for tours), which is a big hit with little kids.

Turn right on the 16th Street Mall and cross Tremont Street to begin walking west on the mall. On your left is the Denver Pavilions, like a mall at the mall that opened in 1998. Within the two-block-long Pavilions mall are chain restaurants, shops, bowling, and a movie theatre. There is an exception here and it’s the

I Heart Denver Store on the second level. This locally owned store not only sells Colorado-made products but a percentage of sales also goes to the makers.

Just before the corner of Glenarm Place is Cook’s Fresh Market, a gourmet deli and market with delicious sandwiches, salads, soups, and more. On the other side of Glenarm Place is the

Paramount Theatre, which opened to great fanfare in 1930 and still proudly shows off its Art Deco style both inside and out. In an era when newspapers are struggling and Denver’s original newspaper, The Rocky Mountain News, closed up leaving only the Denver Post daily, there is the living relic of the

Denver Press Club nearby. The Denver Press Club is the oldest of its kind in the United States, opened in 1867, and has been in this building about two blocks away on Glenarm Place between 14th and 13th Streets since 1925.

Keep walking west on 16th Street. At Welton Street is the 1889 Masonic Building, which was nearly lost to a fire in 1985 and then renovated for offices, shops, and restaurants, such as the Appaloosa Grill.

As you approach California Street, stop in at Visit Denver on your right. Here you will find plenty of brochures, maps, guidebooks, and helpful advice. They might even direct you to the

Dikeou Collection across the street. Located on the fifth floor of the Art Deco Colorado Building, you would never guess there is office after office of wild contemporary art from artists around the world.

Turn left and walk south on California Street. On your left is a piece of public art, Vacationland, by artist Gary Sweeney (his art can be seen elsewhere in Denver, including at the airport). To your right is the Denver Dry Goods Building, built between 1889 and 1906 and home to the local retailer until the 1980s. It now serves many purposes as lofts, retail space, and offices. Across 15th Street is the Hyatt Regency, where Peaks Lounge on the 27th floor has fantastic views of the mountains.

As you approach 14th Street and the

Colorado Convention Center, you will see large public art on display—there is even more inside the center. Jonathan Bonner’s Stone Garden invites people to sit and mingle outside the center. If it’s cold out, see if you can go inside and take a ride on Jim Green’s Laughing Escalator.

Turn right to walk west on 14th Street. By now you have already spotted I See What You Mean, or as most everyone calls it, the Big Blue Bear. Installed in 2005 by artist Lawrence Argent, the 40-foot-tall bear peeking in the convention center windows is by far the city’s most popular and recognized public art. Miniature versions are sold in gift shops, such as at the Denver Art Museum.

After cautiously crossing Stout Street, where bell-clanging light-rail trains come through, walk to Champa Street. On the corner is the

Denver Performing Arts Complex, which started with the Municipal Auditorium in 1908 to host the city’s first Democratic National Convention. That historic building is now home to the very modern Ellie Caulkins Opera House. There is a Dale Chihuly glass sculpture inside this theatre. Inside the complex are a handful of other theatres and public art. It’s worth taking a detour through the soaring glass-and-steel open-air atrium to see it all. On the south side of the complex is a lawn where special events take place throughout the year, including a children’s Shakespeare Festival. Jonathan Borofsky’s The Dancers is an immense public art sculpture gracing this side of the theatre complex.

Return to 14th Street, and as you cross, look left (west). One block away on 14th and Arapahoe Streets is the

Hotel Teatro, a luxury boutique hotel that honors the theatre connection with photographs of past productions throughout. Walking with a pooch? Hotel Teatro is pet friendly!

At Curtis Street you’ll see the All Together Now sculpture by artists Roberto Behar and Rosario Marquardt just outside of

The Curtis hotel and the Corner Office Restaurant and Martini Bar, both with hip retro touches in style.

Walk north to 15th Street. Look to your right, and one block east on 15th Street you will see the former Denver Gas & Electric Building, which features 13,000 light bulbs on the exterior. After you cross 15th Street make sure you walk over the easy-to-miss sidewalk grates that are actually a piece of brilliant public art, Soundwalk, by artist Jim Green. As you step on each grate, different sounds—a clucking chicken, a yodeling woman, subway cars, to name a few—play loudly. By now you will be back on the 16th Street Mall.

Cross over the mall and turn left to walk west again. On your left is the

Denver Money Museum in the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City—you can either schedule a guided tour in advance or take a free self-guided tour with reservations (closed weekends). On your right is the original Rock Bottom Brewery. In the center strip of the bus lanes are more pieces of functional public art—concrete and ceramic tile chessboards by artists Susan Wick and Doug Eichelberger.

At Arapahoe Street you will be just about face to face with the Daniels & Fisher Tower, which is locally called the D&F Tower. This Denver landmark was built in 1910 as part of the Daniels & Fisher Department Store, which was later razed. At the time it was built it was the tallest building west of the Mississippi River. The tower was converted to offices, and in the basement is

The Clocktower Cabaret, a nightclub featuring burlesque. About the only time to go inside the tower (aside from the cabaret) is during a private event or the annual Doors Open Denver architectural tour (doorsopendenver.com) in spring.

Perhaps the city’s most subtle “park” is also right in front of you. Yes, really.

Skyline Park is a linear park that stretches from 15th Street to 18th Street along Arapahoe Street. It was considered a highlight of Modernist landscape architecture when it was created in the 1970s. Although the park has been altered from the original design, the geometric fountains are a special feature. In summer free movie nights are held in the park, and in winter you can go ice-skating.

Continue walking west on the 16th Street Mall. After crossing Lawrence Street you will see Writer Square on your left. This collection of galleries, restaurants, and shops leads to Larimer Square and into the Lower Downtown Historic District (see Walk 5).

Walk west on 16th Street, and next cross Larimer Street. Looking to your left you will see—depending on the season—strings of holiday lights or banners draped across the street marking Larimer Square.

Walk one more block west on 16th Street to Market Street and cross. In the historic building facing Market Street Station is Two-Fisted Mario’s Pizza for all-day and into-the-late-night pizza fixes and Mario’s Double Daughter’s Salotto, a very cool bar with an almost-believable backstory. This walk ends at Market Street Station.

Points of Interest

The Brown Palace Hotel 321 17th St., 303-297-3111, brownpalace.com

Trinity United Methodist Church 1820 Broadway, 303-839-1493, trinityumc.com

American Museum of Western Art 1727 Tremont Pl., 303-293-2000, anschutzcollection.org

Magnolia Hotel 818 17th St., 303-607-9000, magnoliahotels.com/denver

Hotel Monaco 1717 Champa St., 303-296-1717, monaco-denver.com

Renaissance Denver Downtown City Center 918 17th St., 303-867-8100, rendendowntown.com

Denver Firefighter’s Museum 1326 Tremont St., 303-892-1436, denverfirefightersmuseum.org

I Heart Denver 500 16th St. #264, 720-317-2328, iheartdenverstore.com

Paramount Theatre 1621 Glenarm Pl., 303-825-4904, paramountdenver.com

Denver Press Club 1330 Glenarm Pl., 303-571-5260, denverpressclub.org

Dikeou Collection 1615 California St. #515, 303-623-3001, dikeoucollection.org

Colorado Convention Center 700 14th St., 303-228-8000, denverconvention.com

Denver Performing Arts Complex 1101 13th St., 303-893-4000, denvercenter.org

Hotel Teatro 1100 14th St., 303-228-1100, hotelteatro.com

The Curtis 1405 Curtis St., 303-571-0300, thecurtis.com

Denver Money Museum 1020 16th St., 303-572-2300, kansascityfed.com

The Clocktower Cabaret 1601 Arapahoe St., 303-293-0075, clocktowercabaret.com

Skyline Park 1125 16th St.