To begin, here is a series of photos captured from the Auraria Campus. The crane for 1144 Fifteenth Street is visible. When Looking closely, you can see a concrete boom just above the roofline of 1401 Lawrence that is in place to pour concrete for the elevator shaft of 1144 Fifteenth Street. It won’t be long before 1144 Fifteenth Street makes a major impact on the Denver skyline.

Here is one looking towards the north where we can see The Confluence, a 34-story luxury apartment building that is under construction.

Here are a few pictures a little closure to 1144 Fifteenth Street:

The glass installation is moving along at 1144 Fifteenth Street.

Here are some black and white photos of Downtown Denver I captured while walking around:

And a few Downtown Denver photographs in color:

Denver Union Station all set for the holidays with Christmas lights.

Bridge over Cherry Creek.

Here are a few photographs I snagged around the Denver Art Museum.

The ART Hotel has been open for over a year now and I see it as a nice addition to this part of Broadway.

An eclectic mix of architectural styles in a relatively small area of Denver.

Here is one of the Clyfford Still Museum:

I hope you all enjoyed taking a look at some of my recent photos of Denver.

The post Downtown Denver Photos appeared first on Denver Urban Review.

Back in 2014 the former Colorado National Bank Building located in downtown Denver at 17th Street and Champa Street, opened as The Renaissance Denver Downtown City Center Hotel. Included in this adaptive re-use project was the addition of two new floors to the upper portion of the building. The City of Denver required that the new floors be set back from the rest of the structure to not distract from the original architecture.

This is not the first time floors have been added to the building. In the below photo one can see the original 4-story structure, the first expansion in the middle portion of the building, and the most recent expansion with the upper two floors. 

Since the hotel opened a couple of years back, I have stepped off of 17th Street and into the lobby of the hotel to admire the fantastic murals that adorn the walls. Alan Tupper True painted the murals in the building which opened in 1915.

The Renaissance Denver Downtown City Center features 221 guest rooms and nine suites; 6,000 square feet of meeting space and a fitness center. The Colorado National Bank’s originalvaults have been incorporated into the design of the hotel.

Thanks to the folks at the hotel for an inside look at the building.

Here is a look at one of the suites:

The post Inside the Renaissance Downtown Denver Hotel appeared first on Denver Urban Review.

The ART Hotel spring 2015 DUR.

Rendering of 4th floor lobby at ART Hotel. Image courtesy ART hotel.

The ART Hotel has announced Executive Chef Chris Jakubiec will be heading FIRE Lounge & Terrace, a new restaurant in the soon-to-open hotel located at 12th and Broadway in Denver’s civic and cultural district. This restaurant will utilize locally-grown and sustainably raised foods. Ingredients will be sourced from local farms, like Millberger Farm, Friends Fields Farms and Fiber of Life.

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“Not only does ‘Monolithic Orchestration’ depict the construction of the new Hotel and Transit Center, but it also displays a talented local artist,” said Denver International Airport’s Art and Culture Manager, Chris Stevens. “These paintings illustrate the simple beauty behind the construction of the hotel.”

Goldman painting depicting the construction of the DIA hotel and transit project. Image courtesy DIA.

A 22.8 mile commuter rail line from Denver’s Union Station to DIA known as the East Line, is under development and is slated to begin operation in the spring of 2016. This rail line will utilize a different technology than RTD’s the light rail lines and is designed to carry passenger farther and faster than light rail. Trains will reach a top speed of 79 mph and will whisk passengers between downtown Denver and DIA in 35 minutes. Trains will run every 15 minutes during peak hours.

In conjunction with RTD’s new commuter rail line, is the development of the 519-room Westin Denver International Airport Hotel. This hotel project is currently under construction, but is nearing completion as an opening date is expected this November.

Goldman painting depicting the construction of the DIA hotel and transit project. Image courtesy DIA.

The East Line will deliver passengers to the Jeppesen Terminal- DIA’s main terminal. A 26,000 square foot conference center will be housed at the hotel and an 86,000 square foot public space will sit just outside of the hotel. The hotel was designed by the architecture firm Gensler and the general contractor on the project is Kiewit.

According to Goldman, the purpose of her artwork is to recreate abstract moments that convey the people, city, and the nation that contributed to the beauty of the new hotel and transit project.  Goldman focused specifically on the construction of the hotel and transit development because it allowed her to reflect on the architecture and design of the hotel as a piece of art.

Passengers and airport visitors may view the paintings during regular business hours without having to go through security, at the Airport Office Building lobby, which is west of the A-Bridge security checkpoint.

Rendering of Westin Hotel. Image courtesy DIA.

Photo of Westin Hotel at DIA. Denver Urban Review April 2015.

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“Rain” A photograph of Denver’s Union Station. Ewing Photography

An unassuming photography studio sits just east of downtown Denver at 800 East 19th Avenue. The building in which this studio is housed has been witness to Denver’s booms and its busts. A building that has been home to a laundry mat and a grocery store. Photographer Gifford Ewing purchased the building that would become his studio in the early 1980s when the area was referred to as North Capitol Hill and bullet holes could be found imprinted in the adjacent buildings.

Today Denver locals refer to this neighborhood as Uptown and the bullet holes have faded away. Now Ewing’s studio is in a hip and gentrified neighborhood.

Although Ewing without hesitation identifies himself as an artist as opposed to journalist or a documentarian, his photographs of Denver have showcased the tremendous changes that have taken place in the Mile High City in recent decades through his photographs.

Denver’s Union Station 2010 Ewing Photography.

I sat down with the warm yet low-key coffee sipping Ewing at his studio to learn more about the photographs he has captured of Denver in advance of his Size Matters? photography opening reception that will be held at his studio at 5pm on April 2nd showcasing 5×7 foot prints of his work. Before I asked any questions he picked up a black and white photo of a cowboy that on first glance could have been from the 1880s.

Ewing explained that he saw the cowboy that he would photograph riding along a road in Arizona near the four corners area. Ewing pulled over and began to chat with the cowboy. It turns out the cowboy was ridding from Ontario Canada on a six thousand mile ride to Mexico to raise money for an orphanage in Cambodia.

The first time Ewing bought a camera was when he was stationed in Thailand while serving in the Air Force during the Vietnam war. “Strangely enough I was so against the war that I did not take very many pictures,” said Ewing.

After the war Ewing, a native of Rhode Island, relocated to Denver and set up a dark room in a little house that he purchased near Washington Park. After a few years of shooting commercial photography and shooting aerial photographs for an engineering firm, he bought his current studio.

“In 1990, 91, 92 I had this incredible desire to get back into the black and white art. My whole focus went into the black and white world of art and I weaned myself away from the commercial advertising world and that is when I started building my portfolio of Denver,” explained Ewing.

Platte Valley Rail Yards. Ewing Photography 1999.

The bulk of Ewing’s photographs have been captured in black and white using a 5×7 Deardorff wooden field camera utilizing the zone system for exposure. To develop the prints, he utilizes techniques that date back to the 19th century. Archival silver gelatin paper is used and finished with selenium to bring out the richness of the image. Ewing never had any formal training or education in photography. He is entirely self- taught.

When asked why he has not transitioned to digital photography Ewing explained, “People think that I am kind of nuts. It is more cumbersome, it is more stuff to carry, you can’t shoot as fast, and you are done once you reach the end of the roll, but I just love my environment of the world of film.”

Ewing has witnessed and captured the changes that have taken place in Denver particularly in the LoDo and Union Station neighborhoods.

Denver’s Union Station and Long’s Peak. Ewing Photography.

Ewing has collaborated with award winning Denver preservationist Dana Crawford who is well known for spearheading the preservation of Larimer Square.

“I was asked by Dana Crawford when she did the Flour Mill Lofts, to take some photographs and now those are hanging in the Flour Mill. She told me about the Flour Mill project and it was sitting out there as this hulk in the rail yard. I shot on and off for a week and a half and the rail yards and all that stuff was still there, but the Platte Valley was empty. I want to go back and shoot it. There has been so much development that has gone on,” said Ewing.

Platte Valley rail yards in 1999. Ewing Photography

He went on to tell Denver Urban Review that he was driving around on a snowy night about a month ago looking for some shots of the city of the snow where the Union Station rail yards used to be and stated, “It really has turned into a modern city down there.”

Ewing looks forward to capturing more images of the the Union Station area and as he puts it, “It is the hub now.” He has also captured natural landscapes focusing on Maine and the American West. For more information and to view more of Gifford Ewing’s photographs visit his website at ewingphoto.com

Denver’s Union Station 2010 Ewing Photography.

The post Denver in black and white appeared first on Denver Urban Review.

According to Merriam-Webster:

Eclectic: composed of elements drawn from various sources; also : heterogeneous

While on a recent urban hike this Sunday (3/15/2015) I was attempting to communicate the hodgepodge of elements that contribute to RiNo’s unique vibe. I struggled to find a theme that best expressed this vibe, but after strolling up and down Lawrence and Larimer streets, I realized it was the art displayed on the facades of the buildings that best represented the ambiance of RiNo.

RiNo is short for River North neighborhood and is bordered by I-70 to the North, I-25 to the West, Park Avenue West to the South, and Arapahoe Street to the East. Below are some examples of the artwork in the area.

Below are some photos of advertising in the area which hopefully will be saved as new developments take root in the neighborhood.

Technically the above picture is in Denver’s Ballpark neighborhood located adjacent to RiNo. I can remember going to this building when it still was a paint store. I was about 5 years old at the time and my dad was remodeling an old victorian house on Raleigh Street and about 35th Avenue. That house was located just a few blocks from the original Elitch Gardens, and I can remember hearing people that were riding the roller coasters screaming.

Above is a photo of the Gold Star Sausage Co. building at 2800 Walnut Street that just sold for $3.2 million. For more information on this transaction take a look at this article .

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