Doors Open Denver

The more time I spend in Denver, the more I like it. Last week I found out there was going to be the opportunity to tour buildings throughout the city behind-the-scenes. I was all in. I printed off a list so I could mark and map all the locations I wanted to visit, and invited a few people to join in. 

The night before, the four of us took a lighting tour near Union Station. Like most of these rail stations, Denver's is just beautiful inside and I was amazed to find out that all the lights in the station have been changed to LEDs. We walked down to the newly constructed rail platform and back around to another railroad and ended up at the DaVita building (the dialysis company). By that time it was cold and the rain had started, so I was happy to be done and warm up with coffee/tea and desserts. 

The next day, we started at the Governor's Mansion, not far from downtown. If I lived there, I would never leave the parlor. It seemed to consist of just pure white marble (from Marble, Colorado, of course!) and sunshine, even on the rainy day that it was. And lots of indoor palm trees. And a fountain brought back from Italy. The whole reason for the room being built was so there would be a place for that fountain. Oh, to be rich during the Gilded Age...

Next up was a condominium, also built at the beginning of the 20th century. 

It looks like any old basement, but we were in the laundry room, complete with a turn-of-the-20th century clothes dryer. The maids would have spend a lot of time in here. The current tenants have coin-operated machines, and much flashier surroundings.

After that, we were curious about the Masonic Lodge building downtown. All that came to my mind was the human sacrifices of the secret society in Sherlock Holmes. But the Masons even joked about that common association during our tour! We were surprised (disappointed?) when we were told the biggest secret they had (that they could tell, I suppose) was how much money they put toward public service in the form of scholarships and children's medical treatment. We even got the courage to ask what the wheat "broom" was hanging from the balcony overhang. Apparently the snack provider sits under it. And it's just a bundle of wheat. Oh well.

Our last stop was the interior of the DaVita building. We took a short guided tour through the lobby and then were sent up the elevators to the top floor. They were sure to mention that while the top floor is usually reserved for the CEO, at DaVita, they want everyone to enjoy it. So we did enjoy the great view of Denver below and even braved a bit of rain to walk out on the rooftop terrace and see where we had stood the night before. 

the gigantic REI store just on the other side of the river

Unfortunately, the city of Denver is no longer supporting Doors Open Denver financially, but I think everyone who was able to attend is hoping it's still around next year. There were so many locations I didn't get the chance to see!