When you’re up 489 feet, the last thing you need is to add another inch and a half of elevation to the bottom of your foot.
I’ve always been told not to look down when at a dizzying height, but this time I had to to keep my stiletto heels from getting wedged in the metal-grate walkway atop the Convention Center Hyatt.
I was new to construction reporting in 2005 when I toured the nearly finished hotel at 650 15th St., and I didn’t realize exactly what they were going for when they said “closed-toe shoes” were required on the job site. In my defense, my toes were fully covered by the funky chartreuse heels I wore that day.
But even the fear of falling to my death couldn’t keep my eyes from the expansive view of Denver below. From 38 floors up, the whole city fills only the foreground as you look to the foothills and mountains beyond. Everything is so small, but so close. The Convention Center’s Blue Bear looks like a gummy bear at your feet, the Pepsi Center appears to be the bottom of a soda can and the grid of buildings is a maze dotted with movement.
The Hyatt was the first skyscraper to be built since the building boom of the mid-’70s to the early ’80s — and it wasn’t alone. Cranes stretched across the city like fragmented scaffolding stacking up The Four Seasons Hotel, the Spire, The Pinnacle Towers, One Lincoln Place and several other new high- and low-rises.
Denver’s skyline has grown up. If you haven’t taken in the view of downtown in a while, or if you have visitors seeing it for the first time, several places offer stunning angles of the city’s new silhouette.
About 10 stories below my harrowing walk on the roof of the Hyatt is a much more relaxing vantage point of downtown. on the 27th floor is a popular place to celebrate life with a cocktail while looking down into the lighted urban canyons.
When we stay at the Hyatt, my daughters like to sit at the end of the hallways, look out the floor-to-ceiling windows and pretend they are birds soaring over the city.
From my perch atop the Hyatt in 2005 I could see construction of the Four Seasons far below. At the time it was about seven stories high, and they were building at the rate of a floor a week. They built 45 floors in all, topping out at 565 feet before opening in 2010.
The only one of those floors you need to know about as a scenery spectator is the third, home to the Four Seasons’ , the coolest pool I’ve been to downtown since Celebrity Sports Center closed. Treat yourself and your guests to a treatment and then spend the rest of the day floating in the iridescent-blue tiled pool. Designers of the rooftop space succeeded at creating their aim for “a bit of Miami vibe” with an outdoor bar and extensive landscaping. I’d argue it’s a bit more of an Aspen vibe since the 60 trees surrounding the pool are aspen and junipers, not palms. In summer the hotel, at 1111 14th St., hosts popular pool parties that are open to the public.
From the Four Season’s pool there is a direct view of the Daniels & Fisher Tower (the one with the big clocks on each side), which is considered Denver’s first skyscraper. Built in 1910, when Denver’s founders decided a mile wasn’t high enough, it stands 371 feet high at 1601 Arapahoe St.
Speaking of Denver’s beginnings, the newly remodeled Union Station at 1701 Wynkoop St. offers an impressive view of the skyline from the bottom up. The , located on the mezzanine above the main entrances, makes visitors feel like VIPs overlooking the fray of The Great Hall below.
Turn to the east, and large, arched windows frame glittering views down 17th Street. The Cooper is inspired by the golden age of swank bars and lounges that followed the end of prohibition in 1933. Although there are tables and chairs to settle into on the mezzanine, the best view out into the city is from the bar.
The Cooper’s gleaming, sleek surroundings are the perfect place to take in our city’s new stature — with a pair of stilettos hooked securely under the bar.
Chryss Cada is a freelance writer and journalism instructor at Colorado State University. Visit her at www.chryss.com.
