It’s just one man’s opinion, of course, but it seems to me that nearly every new building erected in Denver looks and feels as if a single architect – a lazy architect, at that – had planned to bore an entire city.
Obviously, a population boom means neighborhoods have more difficulty allowing organic growth and stylistic variety. Instead, we have exposed metal and glass. Denver is being transformed into a giant Starbucks.
How will we view all of this in 10 or 20 years?
Last week, at the Colorado History Museum, I attended a fascinating photographic history of Denver. Myron Vallier is the author of a book called “Historic Photos of Denver,” and his program highlighted the ever-changing landscape of the city.
Vallier tells me architectural uniformity is nothing new.
“We look back on the buildings of the past of having great historic value, and a great many of them were of a similar style and used similar materials,” he explains. “After the big fire in the late 19th century, the city insisted that everything be built in brick and stone, for instance. So a lot of buildings during the late 19th century were alike.”
Vallier moved to Denver in 1980 from Santa Fe. He’s a researcher at the Denver Public Library, and he oozes Western ethos – complete with suspenders and jeans. More curious than zealous nostalgic, he’s a perfect man to relay this history.
His presentation flows with fascinating details regarding the rise and fall of Denver – dotted with dam breaks, fires and floods – a place that once housed a stellar Opera House and was home to hotels that were the envy of great cities.
Other tidbits of history might also tickle your fancy. I was, for instance, reminded that my humble but vigorously open-minded neighborhood is named, according to Vallier, after a former Ku Klux Klan member, Mayor Benjamin F. Stapleton. (Though Vallier adds that Stapleton had likely joined this vile group for political expediency. The Klan once boasted more than 17,000 members in the Denver area.)
“A nicer place to live”
I was equally surprised to find that many pictures of downtown Denver, including the picture on the cover of his book, depict a city more dense, energetic and vibrant than today’s version. One could easily have mistaken some of these shots for Manhattan.
“The picture you’re referring to was taken on 16th Street,” he explains. “Downtown used to be the center of Denver and the area. Before we had shopping malls and stores in the suburbs, you just came downtown for the things you needed. All the transportations led right to the middle of the city. So it was very busy.”
A 1967 picture of Larimer Square also reminds me of New York. The porn- and drug-infested New York of the 1970s. And the transformation reminds us that gentrification is often welcome.
“Larimer Street after the depression of 1893 started to go into deep decline,” Vallier tells me. “There was no significant building built there until a couple of blocks were preserved recently. LoDo was basically skid row.”
And they dealt with drunks quite differently in the early 1900s. In the collection, you’ll find pictures of a porta-potty- looking contraption called a portable drunk tank. The police would lock you in one of these handy mobile cells right where they found you until your release at a time unknown. I imagine this tactic would be frowned upon by the American Civil Liberties Union today.
Though our natural tendency is to romanticize, the truth is, in most pictures it’s hard to look past the dirt, mud and garbage.
Vallier tells me that it’s depressing to see all the beautiful structures that have fallen to fires and urban renewal projects. But for the most part, we’re lucky.
“I think we’ve lost some architectural gems, but on the other hand, I think Denver has become a much more sophisticated city,” Vallier says. “It’s probably a nicer place to live. A cleaner place to live. So many pictures of the city are dark; we used to burn coal, and it was everywhere. Totally dark. It doesn’t feel like that city anymore.”
For those interested in exploring more, go to the Denver library website catalog of some 103,000 historical photographs at . If you love history, it’ll be time well spent.
David Harsanyi’s column appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Reach him at 303-954-1255 or dharsanyi@denverpost.com.
