Denver Downtown
WHAT: Denver Downtown FAM
WHEN: Thursday, June 6, 2013
FAM Coordinator: Mike Pearl E-Mail: mike.pearl.rmga@gmail.com
9:15 a.m. – Meet at the Ralph Carr Judicial Center
1300 Broadway
9:30 a.m. – Tour Ralph Carr Judicial Center
Guided tour led by Dan Cordova, Supreme Court Librarian
The Ralph Carr Judicial Center, dedicated January 2013, is a significant piece of civic architecture prominently sited on the south side of Denver’s Civic Center Park.
10:30 a.m. – Transit
Walk across Civic Center Park to RTD’s Civic Center Station, then hop on board a shuttle bus for a ride along the 16th Street Mall to Wynkoop Street
11:00 a.m. – Tour Region 8, Environmental Protection Agency 1595 Wynkoop Street
The Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 8 headquarters building stands as a tangible example of EPA’s mission: “to protect human health and the environment.” The tour program introduces visitors to the design features, green products, innovative technologies and business practices that make this building a model of sustainability.
12:00 noon – Transit
Walk along the 16th Street Mall to Blake Street Vault Restaurant
12:30 p.m. – Group Lunch at Blake Street Vault
1526 Blake Street
1:00 p.m. – Tour Blake Street Vault
Completed in 1863, it served as one of Denver’s first saloons. It was renovated in the mid-1880s before many of the larger buildings in Lower Downtown were first built. At that time, the ground floor was raised off the street level, and the secret basement vault and elevator were added. You may even catch a glimpse of the “brown ghost.”
1:30 p.m. – 1860’s Walking Tour
Guided tour led by RMGA member Ed Weising
On the way to the final venue, Ed will describe the buildings we would have seen in the 1860s.
2:30 p.m. – Backstage Tour of the Denver Performing Arts Complex at 14th and Curtis
Guided tour led by Carol Krueger
Explore backstage at the Denver Center Performing Arts Complex, the world’s largest performance facility under one roof!
4:00 p.m. - Depart
Guide Line Review
Denver Downtown FAM
Met at 9:15 am at Ralph L. Carr Judicial Center –14th Avenue entrance. There are many school groups who visit here with coach loading/unloading on Broadway. Walk-ins are welcome though your tour may be self-guided. Call ahead for groups and a guide will be arranged (Contact: 720-625-5100 and ask for Dan Cordova). Ralph L. Carr was the 29th governor of Colorado and was the only person of note who objected to the segregation of Japanese citizens during WWII – upholding the 13th (outlaws slavery and involuntary servitude) and 14th Amendments (defines citizenship) to the US Constitution. He lost his bid for re-election over this objection.
Our guide was Dan Cordova – Colorado native (Las Animas County), attorney and Supreme Court Librarian. Dan took us first to the Learning Center which introduced us to the Rule of Law through a short video about and several exhibits that ask visitors to consider what life would be like if there were no rules and nothing to guarantee our freedoms. There are interactive exhibits as well – all geared to educating the visitor to the need for law and how law works for everyone’s benefit including trial scenarios (sentencing scenario, landlord/tenant scenario, liquor code – underage ID, and a divorce scenario. The exhibits in the Learning Center will change over time and the Center is actively looking for feedback on the exhibits currently displayed. Dan told us that we could apply to be docents, however, applying involves filling out a 16-page application.
Any new public building must set aside 1% of the cost of the construction for art. The judicial Center has actually spent $2.8 million on art, or 2% which is dedicated to free public art. This includes 10 commissioned pieces - two of which refer to Japanese heritage. Dan gave us each a brochure on the building and the public art displayed I the building. The Learning Center is considered part of the Law Library and so is under Dan's jurisdiction.
Dan told us that judges must retire at 72. The law does not allow you to serve longer. The judges are not elected, they are appointed. However, once appointed, the judges must pass retention elections in order to stay in office every two years. Colorado has 64 counties, 22 judicial districts and 7 water districts.
Dan next took us into the Law Library which is a collection of books about law has 5,500 sq. ft. of space, as well as 4,000 sq. ft. in the Learning Center, and another 5,500 sq. ft. in the basement of the building. The Law Library has several computers that are available and free 1 hr./day to attorney general’s use, as well as the bench, bar and general public. The librarians can produce almost any book you might need for your case in less than 15 minutes. There are several stained glass windows in the library – 1 thru 6 show the beginnings of law (includes Greek laws, Magna Carta, US Constitution). Others show the face of justices. The library has the original handwritten state constitution for Colorado.
We went back into the atrium which has a view up to the dome. On the floor is a design of a Columbine (Colorado state flower) made of white marble from Yule, Colorado. The columbine design is repeated in the carpeting for the court rooms – one in blue, one in red and one in gold. The red and gold courtroom mimics the colors of Colorado’s flag. Around the atrium on the upper floors is a railing representing the gold and silver mining history of Colorado. The paneling has stylized CO for Colorado in a vertical pattern. The courtroom on the first floor will hold about 150 people – the benches are padded! The 3rd floor courtroom has space for about 50 people. On the second floor are mediation rooms.
We went into one of the two appellate court rooms – this one has blue carpeting with the columbine motif. There are three chairs behind the desk – one for each of the appellate judges (in a trial court there is one judge and may be either a six or twelve person jury; in the Appeals Court there are three judges only, no jury; in the Supreme Court there are seven judges). If you bring your case to the Appeals Court, it must be heard. There are seven divisions of the Appeals Court, each with three judges who are assigned quarterly. The state legislature has created the Appeals Court three times and dissolved it twice. The Appeals Court hears about 4,000 cases/year. The Supreme Court, required by the Constitution, chooses which cases they will hear. The Supreme Court wrote about 100 though they read through about 1,500. The wings of the building house the judges’ chambers. An Appeals Court judge may have three attorneys working for him while the Supreme Court may have two attorneys working for each judge.
On the fourth floor is the Supreme Court courtroom which has red carpeting. The Chief Justice (chosen by the Supreme Court Justices) always sits in the middle – each chair has the justice’s name on it. To the Chief Justice’s right sits the Justice with the most tenure, on the left is the Justice with the second longest tenure, etc. This courtroom can hold about 200 people. The “bailiff” now runs the AV screens and records the proceedings. They no longer use court reporter/stenographers. Everything heard in this courtroom is open to the public. The Justices can ask questions. The presenters have a limited time frame and are notified when they have one minute left and they must finish in that time.
Dan escorted us back down to the atrium and we departed – walking down to the 16th Street Mall free shuttle and riding on it to Wynkoop Street and on to the EPA Building at 1595 Wynkoop. Photos are not allowed here! Security here is Level 4 (as a comparison the Pentagon is a Level 5).
The mandate of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is to protect human health and the environment. This building is the Regional Headquarters of the EPA. The Toxic Disease Office is also located here. This is EPA’s Region 8 office – there are ten regions – this office covers the Mountain States – Colorado, Montana, Utah, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming. There are 17,000 employees total in all ten districts. The EPA also monitors the tribal nations in the region and the library has flags from 27 tribal nations.
We met in the lobby on a series of risers made of bamboo (rapidly renewable – within 12 years) next to a water wall. The water serves two purposes – increases humidity and deadens noise. The stone in the wall is made of quartzite from China – there are 5 – 10 squares to each brick. The floor is Kashmiri granite. There is a grill at the bottom of the water wall that is used to take dirt/grit of the bottoms of your shoes which keeps the dust down and the carpeting cleaner. The carpeting backing is made of recycled plastic water bottles. The desk in a cubicle is made of recycled agriculture byproducts and PVC. The desks can rise and be lowered so that users can stand or sit to work. The tan cloth on the walls is recycled corn. The cubicles have sliding doors to help with privacy. Trivia – an aluminum can is generally recycled every 90 days.
This site was the PO Annex opened under President Eisenhower. The land under the building was contaminated and earth had to be removed. Construction started in 2005 and the building opened in January 2007. The architects were Northrop Grumman and the GSA purchasing bought the materials. The building is sustainable – 27% of the materials were purchased within 500 miles. Our Guide told us that interior air is six times more polluted than outside air. Formaldehyde is used in much of the material manufacturing. The building is built in two ells and there is a separate HVAC system for each because of the differences in available sunlight and the direction of the wind.
Our Guide showed us how the HVAC system works – it is an under the floor air delivery system, has no ducting and the fan can be smaller and quieter than traditional HVAC systems. Chris told us it is more “pink” noise – wooo rather than “white” noise – sh-sh-sh. The turbulator slots on top open and close. In general, 42% of energy consumed is used by the “built” environment and mostly used by air conditioning rather than heat.
We went out into the atrium which has Teflon-covered canvas sails to deflect light. Light is cast inward to about four floors. The sails are curved and face south to capture the sunlight and deflect it inward. To be day-lit the span of open space needs to be less than 60’ wide. This building is 80% day lit, cutting down on energy costs. The elevators also open into the atrium and use counter balance to go down and electricity to go up – again saving energy.
We went to the roof garden - tis is the largest "green" roof in the region - it does need to be watered however. The plants absorb heat so that the building expands and contracts less. Each new building needs a vault in the basement with sand and gravel to filter water - which is 50% of rainfall. The roof trays can be lifted and moved. Colorado has wind scouring which takes soil from these plants. The plants here are succulents – EPA feels that grasses and cacti do better in this climate. The solar panels along the roof produce 3.3 KW, which is used in the building. The concrete has fly ash in it (residue from coal burning) and also has mercury in it. Ninety-eight percent of elemental mercury stays in the atmosphere. There is also nitrous oxide and ammonia in the fly ash.
Our guide pointed out the light trays above the windows on the east side of the building which are there to keep icicles from forming. Everything the EPA does is to support life – the building was built to consume less – though it originally might cost more, it has a faster payback. On the north side of the building there are vertical wind catchers and a spoiler to keep the wind from whirling around the east side. The top portion of the windows is for lighting, the lower portion is to see out.
We visited an employee lounge - which are built with cork floors covered in plastic, also used recycled tires. The cabinets are made of recycled agricultural byproducts. The "trash" is recycled and used in compost - about 84% is recycled. We also visited a men’s bathroom which has waterless urinals – saving 40,000 gallons of water for each urinal /year (which is about what a family of four uses each year). The water pipes required run about 2’/second. The ice stone on the walls is recycled cement. And, the paper towels are unbleached and can be composted.
After leaving the EPA building, we walked down the street to the Blake Street Vault (1526 Blake Street) where we had lunch. Menus were e-mailed ahead of time so that selection time was kept to a minimum. Our contact person was Janae Reed, marketing coordinator (303-825-9833). At each place at the table was a page of historical information about the restaurant. The Blake Street Vault was built in 1863 and until 1881 was a boarding house and a saloon. In 1881 it became a liquor and tobacco distribution site. Katie took us on a tour of the basement for a look at the vault and information about the ghosts/spirits that haunt this location. Lydia is their most famous ghost – a replica sits n a rocking chair above the front door. There appears to be something wrong with her neck. Her high heels can be heard walking across the floor. Lydia also likes to rearrange the cabinet and put all the glasses and bottles on one shelf. When we went to the basement, Katie pointed out the location of the tunnel that once went down to Union Station. There is a ghost/spirit named Margaret who has been seen in the tunnel; also a man screaming Harold. We proceeded through the basement to the vault which came from Chicago. It is quite cozy to walk into and has very poor ventilation. On the walls and ceiling there are nail scratch marks from people trying to get out. The vault was used to store liquor and cigars. The door on the room dates from 1847. There are two dueling spirits here as well as a spirit of a man with no feet. The Blake Street Vault is famous for its Moscow Mule drink – comprised of vodka, lime and ginger beer in a copper cup. They found old ginger beer bottles in the basement when opening the restaurant/bar four years ago. The Moscow Mule was popular in the 1940s, when made with dark rum it was called a Dark and Stormy. Oprah touted the Moscow Mule on her show and their sales quadrupled! we had a great inexpensive lunch here and then walked up toward the DCPA.
On the way to DCPA, our guide talked about some of the buildings that were here during the 1860s. Next door to the Blake Street Vault was the Empire Bakery. All the buildings around this area were wooden and when a drunk started a fire at the Cherokee Hotel across the street, the buildings on Blake Street all burned. Then there was the Barney Ford Building – Barney Ford first owned a barbershop in Denver, and borrowed $9,000 to build a brick building. By 1875, Barney was worth $225,000. He had started in Breckenridge and later owned the Interoceanic Hotel on 16th and Market Streets.
At the corner of 15th and Market Ed pointed out the location of the Leavenworth and Pikes Peak Express stage stop. William Larimer gave free lots to get the stage to stop in Denver. Holladay bought the Leavenworth & Pikes Peak Express and later sold it to Wells Fargo. Later, at the corner of Blake and 15th, the First National Bank was built. In 1875 the state constitution was written here in the upper floor. Across 15th where the Palace Lofts sit was the Palace Theater and Bat Masterson ran it in the late 1800s.
At 16th and Market, Clark and Gruber made gold coins. The federal government shut them down in 1863 and they went on to found the 1st National Bank.
At 15th and Larimer was Gilpin's office - he was the first territorial governor. William Larimer's cabin with its coffin lid door was on the site of the Granit Building at 15th and Larimer on the SE corner. is cabin had the only plate glass window in town. Larimer’s son built his cabin on the NW corner of this intersection. Larimer Square was Denver’s first historic district. Graham’s drugstore was on this block – it also had a bookstore which was run by David Moffat. Mr. Kettle’s butcher shop was in the covered alcove on the east side of the street. Mr. Kettle saved money on his building construction by using the north and south walls of the adjoining buildings. The murals on the ceiling here depict Little Raven, Annie Oakley and William Larimer. William Larimer is depicted in his Union Army uniform – he actually was in the Pennsylvania State Militia. He was also a surveyor but he left Denver in 1863 when he was not named territorial governor. The other mural purports to be Soapy Smith and William Speer.
A statue at the rear of the Kettle Arcade was once in front of the Manhattan Steak House which was located between 15th & 16th on Larimer Street. Mr. Pinhorn, the proprietor, willed it to his employees when he died.
The streets here were originally given letter names - i.e., 14th was "E" street and 16th was "G" street. At the NE corner of Lawrence was the location of the Lawrence Street Methodist Church which has moved several times and now is Trinity Methodist Church at Broadway and 17th - considered the oldest congregation in Denver.
We passed the Hotel Teatro which was once the site of John Evans home. The Colorado Seminary was built across the street from his home. When John Evans died, his son tore down the house and built the Denver Tramway building here which has become the Hotel Teatro.
We arrived at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts (DCPA). Built in 1908 originally at a cost of $400,000 and designed for education. There are ten venues under one roof – the largest under one roof in the US. We met Carol Krueger – Theater Services Manager (Contact: 303-446-4836). Carol expects DCPA to become a member of RMGA in July. DCPA has handicapped access. The regional theater sponsors 10 – 11 events/year. They will have three new plays this year including “Sense & Sensibility – The Musical” which is currently playing. In 2014 there will present four new plays. There is also Denver Center Attractions which has leased events and road show companies of Broadway shows. “Book of Mormon” is returning, opening on June 10th for its second national tour. The “Lion King” and several other productions have opened their “road” shows here. We split into two groups, each led by a docent.
The Bonfils is owned by the Denver Center Theater Company and other facilities are owned by the City of Denver – including the Boettcher and the Ellie Caulkins Opera House.
In 1972, Donald Sewell published the Denver Post. Helen Bonfils controlled the Denver Post. There was a hostile takeover attempt. Sewell sold the Denver Post to the LA Times. Ninety-one percent of the proceeds went to the Helen Bonfils Foundation. The Auditorium Theater, part of the complex, opened in 1908, three days before the start of the 1908 Democratic National Convention. This was also Denver’s first convention center. Sewell sketched the plan and trademarked it. In 1978 the concert hall opened. December 3, 1979 the Bonfils Theater opened. “Phantom of the Opera” played here for 10 weeks in 1991 – there were only five unsold seats for the entire run! Each venue had a separate architect and the plan ultimately reduced the parking garage to 1,700 cars. The entire complex has 10,400 seats.
The Ellie Caulkins theater has an all new interior - the exterior was kept, the interior gutted and rebuilt at a cost of about $70 million. Caulkins gave about $7 million for the interior artwork - which includes a Dale Chihuly glass piece of art. The acoustic in this theater are marvelous - easy to hear anywhere without amplification. There is a language interpreter build into each set and situated so that the next seat is not disturbed by the display. This technology use is one of the first eight in the world. The theater is a lyrical shape (like a lyre) typical of opera houses. The chandelier retracts into the ceiling. On the stage is a "ghost" light - the theater is never dark. The reason is that when there were gas lights n theaters, one was left on so that there was no gas fume buildup.
As many as 52 trucks have arrived at DCPA to stage a production. In the passageways under the theaters are painted posters signed by the actors of every production - I.e. there are two or three Lion King Posters, one for each production company.
The Buell Theater has 2,800 seats and ranks second to Atlanta in terms of gross revenue and tickets sold for theaters under 5,000 seats. However, Atlanta has more than 4,000 seats. The Buell is meant to be amplified. Bill Clinton spoke at DCPA on 7/22/96 and his “poster” is the Presidential Seal which he signed.
The Buell’s fly space – open area above the proscenium is 40’ high, the Ellie Caulkins has 120’ of fly space. DCPA prides itself on being one of the cleanest theaters.
The Boettcher opened in 1978 and has 2,600 seats in the round, designed after Berlin’s theater.
The Denver Center “Stage” theater connects to costume and scene shops and is a regional professional theater company. It incorporates actors, designers, etc. from other venues. Next year (2014) they will have 10 different show with four world premieres. Stage opened in 1979 and seats 700 – 750. Considered most technically advanced in the US by the NY Times. It has a thrust stage – that comes out into the audience like a tongue. It also has 4 voms (vomitoriums) – or entry ramps for the actors.
“Space” theater is also in the round and seats between 500 – 550 people. It has 5 voms coming into the center. Blocking is very important to staging – in the round actors need to keep moving so that they do not present their backs to the audience for any length of time.
The Donald Sewell Ballroom seats 1,000 for dinner. The Arts Academy was built in 1911 and was a train shed. In 1950 the city switched to rubber tired buses and so no longer needed this building. In the 1970s it was part of RTD, and then became part of the University of Colorado.
Kent Thompson started the “New Play Summit” which brings together playwrights to discuss and learn and present their new plays, have readings, etc. This usually takes place in mid-February. Directors identify designers and we went through the workshop where these stage designs are developed. We saw the scenic design for “Death of a Salesman” which will open this fall. Trivia – there is an average of 8-10 people never seen for each performer.
A well worth while day – I hope you didn’t miss it!
-- Nancy Brueggeman