8 JUNE 13-19, 2024 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | The Cash Register came in 1983; initially named the One United Bank Center, it’s now the Wells Fargo Center. The pink granite building at 1700 Lincoln was designed by famous architect Philip Johnson, who had created the AT&T Headquarters in New York City. Today it’s Denver’s third-tallest building — and, as Discover Denver notes, “perhaps the skyline’s most recognizable.” The 38-story Ritz-Carlton Denver, at 1881 Curtis, and the Granite Tower, at 1099 18th, were also constructed in 1983. Denver’s tallest building rose in 1984 at 330 17th Street. Republic Plaza was designed by the international architecture fi rm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, which had created not just the Cadet Chapel, but also the master plan for the U.S. Air Force Acad- emy in Colorado Springs. Made of granite, Republic Plaza soars 56 stories. The last two oil boom buildings in Denver — 1999 Broadway and One Tabor Center, at 1200 17th — went up in 1985. The Tabor Center included a shopping area fronting the 16th Street Mall, the Westin hotel and a thirty-story offi ce tower; it cost $330 million to complete. But it was never really completed. “The depressed economy stalled construction of a planned second offi ce tower,” according to Discover Denver. The Boom Goes Bust The economic depression caused by the oil bust halted all skyscraper construction in down- town Denver. From 1985 until 2005, no build- ings over 25 stories were built there. Denver’s population decreased for the fi rst time in the late ’80s, with more people moving out than in. “Historically, Colorado’s economy had experienced ups and downs, and the oil crash in the mid-1980s revealed modern times were not immune from characteristic boom-and-bust cycles,” Discover Denver reported. “The excess offi ce inventory and depressed economic conditions curtailed high-rise construction for the remainder of the 1980s and well into the 1990s, with planned downtown buildings canceled or placed on indefi nite hold.” As Denver’s economy picked up, more buildings rose up — though there was an- other stall when the Great Recession hit at the end of 2007. “According to the Downtown Denver Partnership, between January 2008 and April 2014, $3 billion of investment enriched downtown,” Discover Denver noted. “The projects included 2.7 million square feet of offi ce space, nearly 2,300 hotel rooms, and 5,688 residential units.” The fi rst building to go up after the twenty-year lull was the Hy- att Regency Denver, at 600 15th Street, in 2005. It’s adjacent to the Colorado Convention Center, which had been built in 1990 as an attempt to stimulate Denver’s busted economy by drawing in more business visitors; the center just fi nished a massive expansion this spring that added a rooftop terrace, more meeting space and a new theater. The Glass House towers at 1700 Bassett Street, both 23 stories tall, went up in 2007. They were the fi rst big building project in the Platte Valley, an area opened up for development by the construction of Coors Field in 1995. One Lincoln Park, on 20th Av- enue, came in 2008, followed by the Spire, at 1434 Champa Street, in 2009. And in 2010, the Four Seasons Hotel and condo project, which rose 44 stories, became the most expensive privately owned building in the city, at a cost of $350 million, according to Dis- cover Denver. From 2016 to 2024, fi ve buildings over 25 stories high were added, including Skyhouse Denver, at 1776 Broadway, in 2016; the 1144 15th Street building in 2017; and the 1776 Curtis Street building, at 999 17th, also in 2017, with its jutting glass panels standing out against the very square buildings of Denver’s 1980s boom. That same year saw the construction of the 34-story Confl uence at 1441 Little Raven Street. Gleissner remembers the city getting lots of comments about the Confl uence, especially since its Platte Valley location put it blocks away from the other tall buildings that compose the rest of Denver’s skyline. “Although the new buildings represented the latest trends in architectural design and technological innovation, many of the build- ings were planned with recognition of the surrounding neighborhoods and intended as links between historic and more recent areas of construction,” Discover Denver noted in the report that came out as these buildings were going up. Things Are Looking Up Gleissner has been working for the city for eighteen years. He says it’s been fun, though at times challenging, to see the changes to the skyline from the Great Recession through the last decade. “It’s been kind of amazing seeing the variety of building types that we’ve had downtown,” Gleissner says. “Whereas older iterations of downtown development tended to be primarily offi ce-focused, we’ve had a lot more hotel and residential devel- opment in addition to offi ces come into our downtown.” Having a greater variety helps keep activi- ties going even when traditional offi ce em- ployees aren’t back at work, he adds, pointing to high-rise additions around Union Station over the past few years. But while their uses may be more varied, their looks often aren’t. There are notable exceptions, though. Block 162, at 675 15th Street, is the most recent skyscraping addition to Denver’s skyline, completed in 2021. The glass build- ing has a cutout between two sides of the structure, which gives it a unique look. The city sold the lot at 240 14th Street where the Populus Hotel will soon open; it was designed to look like an aspen tree. “It was really important to them to get a signature building in place at that location,” Gleissner says of Denver offi cials, and the Populus team was invested in freshening the skyline. Under construction right now is a condo development, the Upton, at 16th and Glenarm streets. The building will be over 400 feet tall and have two towers fi lled with over 400 residences. Preliminary render- ings show an interesting angled design with plenty of glass and balconies. Denver’s downtown skyline is also ex- panding into the RiNo Arts District, where industrial factories and warehouses have slowly been giving way to upscale apartment and offi ce complexes, including One River North. That structure, which includes a canyon cutout, opened last month to mixed reviews. Along with adding new buildings, Denver is looking to repurpose and redesign some of its old offi ce towers, Gleissner says. “As improvements and changes are made in some of the buildings, because they are going to get refi ts, whether they get new materials or new colors or new lighting, I think it’s going to change the way people perceive and think about some of the older fabric of our city center buildings,” he says. “Stay tuned. There’s always more to come.” Email the author at [email protected]. News continued from page 6 The Confl uence is located in the Platte Valley. CATIE CHESHIRE Republic Plaza is the tallest building in Denver. WIKIMEDIA COMMONS A view of downtown across Sloan’s Lake. JACK SPIEGEL
