It may be 100 years since we’ve hosted a major political convention, but Denver hasn’t forgotten how to lay out the red carpet.
Are we ready for this century’s world premiere? Absolutely. While we may not be steeped in political history like Boston (site of 2004’s Democratic National Convention) or offer the vast array of multicultural neighborhoods like New York City (site of that year’s RNC), delegates and visitors who slip past the barricades at Pepsi Center will find the Queen City of the Plains to be a rather dynamic place and a city that’s ready to strut its stuff.
Still, Coloradans can’t help but entertain a moment of stage fright as we prepare to put our best foot forward to the world. What will they think of us?
When Denver burst forth on the national stage in 1908 as the Democrats nominated William Jennings Bryan for his third unsuccessful run for the presidency, there were few such qualms. The Mile High City was aglow with the civic pride infused by the late Mayor Robert Speer and embodied in the City Beautiful movement.
Speer’s ideas, incubated at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1892, flowered in such still-active gems as the Denver mountain parks system and Civic Center.
The latter, ironically, will be the staging ground of some of the protests aimed at the Democrats. That’s fair enough. The City Beautiful movement didn’t seek beauty for its own sake, but as a means to inspire moral and civic virtue among the populace.
Some of the protesters may fail to live up to that lofty goal, but the great majority of them, like the convention delegates themselves, are at least showing the kind of consciousness of public affairs Speer encouraged.
Today, Denver’s essence is more subtle and diverse than the boisterous energy projected by Speer’s overgrown cowtown. While we can’t match either the architectural triumphs or legendary political culture of some past convention cities, we do anchor a Rocky Mountain region that — once regarded as Republican presidential fiefdom — is now very much in play.
Unlike the now-rebuilt City Park fountain that first gushed in 1908 to delight the visiting Democrats, contemporary Denver’s proudest civic achievement won’t be apparent to the casual glance of visiting delegates.
It’s a collaborative political culture that has united 55 municipal and county governments in the metropolitan era into a cohesive effort to combat such common ills as air and water pollution and to craft one of the nation’s most ambitious rapid-transit systems, FasTracks.
It’s equally hard for delegates or journalists deplaning in Denver to see the intellectual ferment that is making Colorado the hub of the nation’s “new energy economy” — though the ubiquitous images of those wind power turbines in eastern Colorado adorning political literature may drive that point home.
This is a city that is proud of its history and has preserved much of it.
Stroll the historic and lively LoDo entertainment district. Hop the Southwest light-rail line to downtown Littleton and learn that even our suburbs have a proud history and vibrant ambience. Check out the big blue bear at the convention center and enjoy our penchant for whimsy.
Even something visitors may not see — the relative paucity of homeless people — is no accident.
Denver didn’t just hustle such unfortunates out of town for the convention. By systematically providing housing and services, Denver has achieved a 36 percent drop in the number of chronically homeless people living on the streets, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness.
Yes, we still have our problems, but we also have a century-old tradition of coming together to solve them.
So welcome to Denver, Democrats.
We hope you enjoy your stay. And we’ll see you again in 2108.
