Art – Denver Urban Review

Executive Chef Jakubiec brings restaurant to ART Hotel

Thu, 21 May 2015 07:27:14 +0000

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.

“The menu is designed to be social and approachable, while incorporating cooking techniques that elevate classic ingredients,” says Chef Jakubiec. “Our dishes are inspired from the energy of the city and the exciting cultural shift towards progressive dinning and art forms. We’ll be constantly evolving and look forward to bringing playful yet sincere cuisine to the dinning scene.”

Situated on the same block as the Denver Art Museum and directly across the street from History Colorado, the ART Hotel is slated to open this June and will add 165 hotel rooms to downtown Denver. This project was designed by architect Guadalupe Cantu of Davis Partnership Architects, which happens to be the same firm that worked with Daniel Libeskind when he designed the Frederic C. Hamilton Building addition to the Denver Art Museum.

Works of art will be displayed at every gathering place in the new hotel and selected works were curated by Dianne Vanderlip, former curator of modern and contemporary art at the Denver Art Museum. Fire Lounge & Terrace will also serve as an art gallery with original works on display.

The Art Hotel will feature 7,000 square feet of space that can be used for meetings, banquets and weddings. Once completed the exterior will showcase a large-scale light installation by artist Leo Villareal who is know as the artist behind the San Francisco Bay Bridge’s “Bay Lights.” The installation will include 22,000 LED bulbs that will stretch between the motor lobby and along a portion of Broadway.

The post Executive Chef Jakubiec brings restaurant to ART Hotel appeared first on Denver Urban Review.

]]>

Denver Botanic Gardens most visited public garden in North America

Mon, 13 Apr 2015 07:40:53 +0000

Chihuly glass at the Denver Botanic Gardens 2014. Photo Credit: Urban Safari Photography.

The Denver Botanic Gardens has announced that it was the most visited public garden in North America in 2014 with 1,411,116 visitors. This was due in part to the popular display of Chihuly glass.

“One of the best outcomes from 2014 was the vast increase of visitors from all 50 states and dozens of countries around the world,” said Botanic Gardens CEO Brian Vogt. “The most important statistic is the fact that we have 2,700 volunteers who, arm in arm with the staff and Board, are utterly fearless, passionate and dedicated.”

Next year the Botanic Gardens will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the iconic Tropical Conservatory. The charter for the gardens was established in 1951 by the non-profit Botanical Gardens Foundation of Denver. Landscape architect Saco R. DeBoer was hired to design the grounds. The first plants were placed at the York Street location in 1959 and the Tropical Conservatory was dedicated in 1966 featuring tropical and subtropical plants.

Chihuly Glass at the Denver Botanic Gardens in 2014.
Photo credit: Urban Safari Photography

In addition to the attendance record, the Gardens is honored to be included in the North American Garden Tourism Conference’s ‘Top 10 North American Gardens Worth Traveling For’ 2015 Awards. The Garden Tourism Awards are presented to gardens that have distinguished themselves in the development and promotion of the garden experience as a tourism attraction. Now presented annually, the inaugural Garden Tourism Awards were bestowed at the 2011 North American Garden Tourism Conference in Toronto, Canada.

Photographs courtesy Urban Safari Photography.

The post Denver Botanic Gardens most visited public garden in North America appeared first on Denver Urban Review.

]]>

The art of RiNo

Mon, 16 Mar 2015 06:21:49 +0000

Only one word stands at the nexus of adjectives when comes to describing the vibe of Denver’s RiNo neighborhood: eclectic.

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 .

Below are a couple photos of Denver’s RiNo neighborhood:

Above is a self storage building in RiNo under construction that appears to be nearing completion.

These photographs were taken March 15, 2015 on a day where the temperatures hit a record high. For more information about RiNo visit the official RiNo website.

The post The art of RiNo appeared first on Denver Urban Review.

]]>