September 19, 2005
By Neil Fraser
STAND on the fifteenth step of the gold leaf-domed Colorado State Capitol building and you are at precisely 5 280 feet, or one mile (1 609 metres) above sea level.
Hence Denver's mantra, "The Mile High City". This week Denver was the venue for the 51st annual conference of the International Downtown Association (IDA), entitled "Mile High Mosaic - Solving the Urban Puzzle".
It is a city with a metro population of 2,1 million, of which between 110 000 and 120 000 work downtown, and a growing number live downtown.
The first thing that struck me as the plane began its descent to land, was that we were flying over a vast plain ringed by a large mountain range with very little evidence of habitation, let alone a city.
This area would once have been populated by Indian tribes and herds of buffalo. The Indian chief who greeted the first settlers was reputed to have said that they could take the gold but leave the land - they took both, an ignominious start to what would be the state of Colorado and the city of Denver.
Denver International Airport, where we landed, is new by world standards - only some 10 years old. It covers an amazing 53 square miles (137,27 square kilometres), which is twice the area of Manhattan. It is located way out of Denver itself, probably 12 to 15 miles away, and is a very slick, ultra-modern edifice that I found totally confusing.
The centre court is covered with a huge, white, tented roof structure whose 34 peaks represent those of the Rocky Mountains. It houses a $7,5 million art collection designed specifically for the terminal buildings.
Downtown
My first impression of the city itself, or rather the city centre or downtown, was one of a typical mid-sized American city - no discernable plan; many vast, black-topped parking lots interspersed among classical, low-rise buildings of an earlier era; and faceless, modern high rise monoliths of designs that seem to be replicated throughout cities of the USA.
Maybe you can buy the plans cheaply off the net.
At the stage that I was forming these impressions I was admittedly somewhat weary and crabby after a 24-hour journey - the Joburg to Atlanta section being particularly uncomfortable. These new SAA Airbuses are incredibly cramped.
Then, on arrival, after waiting in vain at the luggage carousel, I was informed that my suitcase had evidently been left in Joburg. It was not a good start.
After some sleep and a shower, having first searched to find a place where I could buy some interim clothing, my equilibrium was restored. But not my jet lag - Denver is eight hours behind Joburg - and I was ready to walk the city.
The downtown core is, in fact, very compact, covering probably only 100 city blocks. It is bisected by the 16th Street Mall, which is classified as a pedestrian-transit mall. This means that it is restricted to pedestrians and dedicated shuttle buses that constantly ply its one-mile length.
They appear in both directions at what appears to be less than a minute's interval. They run on a mixture of low pressure gas and electricity in order to reduce harmful emissions, a decision taken some years ago but now even more sensible given the fuel price issue.
The bus service is free and averages about 63 000 passengers a day, or 16 million a year. It gives commuters an opportunity to get from one end of downtown to the other and anywhere between, easily.
Opened in 1982 after a two-year reconstruction of the previous roadway, the original design was by IM Pei and Associates, responsible for such wildly divergent projects as the Pyramide du Louvre in Paris and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.
I understand that when viewed from above the granite paving is in the form of the skin of a Western Diamondback rattlesnake.
Improvement district
The Downtown Denver Business Improvement District (an equivalent of our city improvement districts) manages the mall, from cleaning and safety ambassador provision to snow removal, tree care and flower planting and maintenance.
The resultant $1 million a year cost is borne by the property owners lining both sides of the mall. These are predominantly entertainment venues, restaurants and retail, including the ubiquitous Hard Rock Café, Virgin Mega Store, Gap and Banana Republic.
Major retail, in fact, appears to be all decentralised. Cherry Creek North is a pseudo retail "city" of 280 shops concentrated in a 16-block area outside the downtown area and described as "the largest gathering of independent merchants in the region".
The adjacent Cherry Creek Shopping Centre offers a further 160 stores, including all the usual US anchors. The result is something like Sandton without the office space. What a pity this hadn't been used to strengthen the downtown area.
While I was there another $363 million of decentralised retail shopping centre investment was announced, let alone what is currently under construction.
Lower downtown
But what makes Denver's downtown really great is what happens on its edges. Lo Do (Lower Downtown) is a 23-block historic district on the north west edge of the core. It comprises stunning red brick, Victorian low-rise warehouses progressively transformed since 1988 into loft apartments, funky retail, art galleries, restaurants and brew pubs, and so forth.
The area has attracted about $125 million for preservation purposes from the state's gambling taxes. It also houses the distinctive, historic Union Station, originally built in 1881 and reconstructed in 1914 following a fire.
The building will again be put to full use with the planned rapid transport system that has recently been approved for the region - 119 miles of track at a cost of $4,7 billion.
The Lo Do area includes Coors Field, a hi-tech design baseball stadium seating 50 000 people. It is evidently full about 84 times a year, making it a "people generator" for Lo Do and the whole downtown.
In fact, all major American sports (baseball, basketball, football and ice hockey) are housed on the edge of downtown in newish and quite distinctive stadiums.
Conversions
I was fortunate to be able to join an IDA conference tour of Lo Do and, in particular, to visit three loft developments, two of which were superb conversions; the other was a new development.
The first was in a massive structure that had been built many years ago as a flour mill (shades of the Mills at Newtown!); the second was in a converted Victorian warehouse.
Both were stupendous, embracing great spaces. The steel and concrete structures had timber balks and floors, large industrial windows and exciting interior design.
The flour mill loft project was developed by a feisty preservationist whose unit we visited, our 50-strong group being easily accommodated in the space. The second unit was in a block developed and owned by the mayor of Denver, John Hickenlooper (it was developed some years prior to his recent mayoral election). It also houses his business, a local brew-pub.
Close by is Larimar Square, which again is an upgrade-conversion of historic buildings referred to as an area of "defined hip urban revitalisation through a unique collection of speciality stores and restaurants".
The square was in use for the city's annual October Beerfest - yes, it is September but this is America!
Golden Triangle
On the south west edge of the downtown core is the Golden Triangle, Denver's arts and crafts precinct. It includes the Denver Art Museum, Denver Public Library, Colorado History Museum, Acoma Centre and Curious Theatre Company, Colorado Ballet, Ballet Arts Theatre and more than 50 art galleries, studios, speciality shops and restaurants.
On the first Friday of every month all facilities open up from 5pm to 9pm and are served with a free shuttle bus service. While I was earlier a bit dismissive of the high-rise architectural styles, many of the arts and culture buildings are quite distinctive and extremely eclectic.
The "late modern" Denver Performing Arts Complex is a striking structure. The master design was been done by Kevin Roche, who studied with Mies Van der Rohe, of Kevin Roche, John Dinkeloo and Associates, with a host of other professional firms responsible for various sections of the huge complex.
A total of $92 million has just been spent on upgrading the opera house component.
An extension to the Denver Public library in 1995 was the result of an international competition won by Michael Graves, working with a local partner. The post-modern design is quite something, not the least of which is the pseudo heliport roof crowning the tallest structure instead of a dome.
The seven-storey "brutalist style" Denver Art Museum was built in 1971 and designed by Milanese Gio Ponti with local partners. It is now being extended, with a new structure described as "a geometric explosion of glass and titanium" designed by Daniel Libeskind.
Libeskind was responsible for the design of the Jewish Museum in Berlin, additions to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Royal Ontario Museum in Canada, the Imperial War Museum in Manchester and, of course, is probably best known as having been selected to design the New York World Trade Centre buildings.
I am not name dropping; I am deliberately mentioning the architects and styles for a particular reason. But I'll leave that until next week, when I pick up on what lessons I think we can learn from Denver and Boulder, which I am currently visiting.
So it's cheers from Colorado.
Neil
Permission to use web site material
Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as:
- Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website
(www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency
(www.joburg.org.za)";
- If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original
article on this website;
- The name of the article's author is acknowledged;
-
The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill
in this brief online form).
Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 |
