Please note special days and/or hours for each site.
Much more information on each site may be found at:
www.DoorsOpenDenver.org
New this year indicated in blue
Kittredge Building
Location Number: 31
Urban Adventures: G
511 16th Street
SAT 10AM - 4PM
SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: A. Morris Stuckert
When this building opened in 1891, it was the first building west of the Mississippi to
have an elevator and clay tile fireproofing. Its first tenant was located on the rooftop as a
public beer garden: The Casino Rooftop Garden.
www.
Year Built: 1891
Photography Allowed: Yes
Services: Disabled access; food/beverage service
Public Transit:
Charles Marble Kittredge hired morris Stuckert to design this building. Rusticated granite
and rhyolite were quarried from Colorado and provide the medium for the ornate exterior
designs and corner gargoyles. In 1934 the Paramount Theatre leased the space
currently occupied by the Paramount Café restaurant for the Theatre Lobby. When the
lease expired in 1984, the Paramount Café opened. The Kittredge Building was
renovated in 1981 and Marlowe’s opened in 1982, just as the 16th Street Mall was
completed as a pedestrian mall. Floors 2-7 were renovated and fully occupied in 19821983 as office space with some of Denver’s most prestigious tenants, including the
Downtown Denver Partnership (and still here 31 years later!) and The Piton Foundation.
Current tenants have a combined continuous occupancy of more than 180 years! In
2004 the Kittredge Building won Denver BOMA’s Historic Building of the Year Award. In
2012 the building was given an updated EnergyStar Rating of 94 and continues to
upgrade and modernize within its walls of historic Denver pride. The lobby will be open
during DOD weekend.
Although the Kittredge Building was constructed before the City Beautiful movement, it
still stands as a reminder of Denver’s first skyscrapers with a style that makes it stand
out as a beautiful historic building on 16th Street mall.
Built in 1890, this building followed the Richardsonain Romanesque Style that Denver
architects favored at the time. The building, although constructed before the City
Beautiful movement that Mayor Speer pushed only years later, the Kittredge Building
has a certain elegance and beauty that allows 16th Street to still be a historic and
beautiful city to walk down.
The man that ordered the building to be constructed was Charles M. Kittredge, a wealthy
developer in Denver. In the original plans the building was to have retail space on the
first floors to allow shoppers to walk along 16th, even before 16th street was turned into a
pedestrian mall almost a hundred years later. The Kittredge was one of the first
skyscrapers in downtown Denver, reaching seven-stories tall, with an elevator and clay
tiles for fireproofing.
The building stands next to the Masonic Temple, the two exemplify the use of Native
dimension stone. When it was finished the bottom two floors are built of Pikes Peak
granite. The upper floors are built of castle rock rhyolite. Around the building there are
beautiful ornate carvings on cornices and torrents, elegant ornamental carvings and
polished columns. The building was finished with two and a half foot blocks, rounded
arches and polished columns at the openings.
Today the bottom floors are still used for retail purposes; the bottom floors house the
Paramount Café and Marlowe’s restaurant. The Kittredge Building was renovated in
1981 and was recognized as the Best Historic Preservation Project in Downtown Denver
by the Downtown Denver Partnership. The Kittredge building is on the National Registry
of Historic Places.
Magnolia Hotel
Location Number: 17
Urban Adventures: D, H
818 17th Street
SAT 10AM - 4PM
SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: Harry Edbrooke
This 13-story First National Bank building was 17th Street’s first high-rise development.
During DOD the hotel common areas and the Magnolia Ballroom (across 17th Street)
will be open for self-guided tours.
www.
Year Built: 1921
Photography Allowed: Yes
Services: Disabled access, public restrooms, paid parking
Public Transit:
This 13-story First National Bank building was 17th Street’s first high-rise development.
The building was designed by Chicago architect Harry Edbrooke, who also designed the
Tabor Opera House at 16th & Curtis, with stone and terra cotta ornamentation on the
front façade. Over the years, the building was renamed the American National Bank
Building. In keepign with the times, the front façade was covered with decorative
concrete to modernize the look of the building in the 1960’s. Like many historic structure
downtown, the building became outdated, fell victim to deferred maintenance, and by the
1980’s sat vacant. The building was redeveloped in the early 1990’s by Steve Holtze and
HEP-Denver, which included removing the false façade and restoring the original
Edbrooke façade.
The 246 room hotel opened in August 1995 with 6,000 square feet of ground floor retail.
The renovated building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996
and added to the Downtown Denver Historic District in 2000. The project, in combination
with the Boston Lofts and Guaranty Bank Building, helps preserve a full block of historic
structures along 17th Street between Stout and Champa.
The Magnolia Ballroom, along with the current Bank Lofts, was originally the US
National/Guaranty Bank Building, designed by Arthur Addison Frisher and William
Ellsworth Fisher. The 10-story building’s façade is coveredin smooth ashlars limestone
and features an ornamental bronze storefront. In the 1980’s, the building sat vacant and
was almost demolished, but in 1994 it was listed on the National Register of Historic
Placed and was renovated in 1995.
On April 13 and 14 the hotel common areas and the Magnolia Balloom (across 17th
Street) will be open to the public for self-guided tours. There will be an information table
at each location with hotel and architectural information.
Masonic Temple
Location Number: 28
Urban Adventures: G
1614 Welton Street
SAT 10AM - 4PM
SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: Frank E. Edbrooke
This site was completed and dedicated on July 3rd, one day before the July 4th dedication
of the State Capitol.
Year Built: 1890
Photography Allowed: Yes
Services Provided: Disabled access; public restrooms
Public Transit: 16th Street Mall Shuttle
Built by Brown Palace Hotel architect and 33rd degree mason Frank E. Edbrooke, this
Romanesque building built 1890 is known to its club-members as Oriental Lodge
number 87. It was formally granted approval to serve as Colorado’s Lodge on June 15,
1891, and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. 2009 marks the
150th anniversary of the first Masonic meeting in Colorado.
The interior of the building was destroyed by fire on March 4, 1983 and a modern
building rebuilt inside the historic façade. The 4th and 5th floors are owned by a non-profit
fraternal group (Freemasons) and the remainder is owned and operated by a
commercial real estate company.
Built in 1890 the Masonic Temple, with its characteristic red-orange sandstone with a
rough texture, was dedicated on July 3rd, 1890 the day before the Colorado State Capitol
Building was dedicated on July 4th, 1890.
During the late 1800s Denver was transforming into a beautiful city, thanks to Mayor
Speers. He was inspired by Chicago and wanted to renovate his city to have more public
spaces and more beautiful buildings. The Masonic Temple is one of the few remaining
sandstone buildings in downtown Denver. Built in 1890 by the Brown Palace Hotel
architect and 33rd degree mason Frank E. Edbrooke, it was built in a style that was not
very popular at the time but has since grown on the people of Denver. The building was
constructed of red-orange Manitou Sandstone from El Paso County of Colorado. The
foundation of the building is constructed of Peak Granite, a strong stone to hold the
building. The bottom floors of the building are styled with the rough texture the building is
characterized by. On the top floors the sandstone was a smooth cut style. When it was
finished the Masonic Temple stands five stories tall. This site was completed and
dedicated on July 3rd, one day before the July 4th dedication of the State Capitol.
This Romanesque building is known to its club-members as Oriental Lodge number 87.
It was formally granted approval to serve as Colorado’s Lodge on June 15, 1891, and
added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. 2009 marks the 150th
anniversary of the first Masonic meeting in Colorado.
The interior of the building was destroyed by fire on March 4, 1983. The fire was so hot
that the two foot thick walls that held the building up buckled, causing $12 million worth
of damage to the historic building. Renovations involved putting a steel frame within the
historic building, basically building a modern structure inside the historic façade in order
to protect it. The 4th and 5th floors are owned by a non-profit fraternal group
(Freemasons) and the remainder is owned and operated by a commercial real estate
company.
Mathews-Gotthelf Mansion
Location Number: 10
Urban Adventures: K
2601 Champa Street
SAT 10AM - 4PM
Architect: Unknown
In 1880, James F. Mathews, a prosperous ore and bullion dealer, built the Mansion on
the prominent corner lot at 26th and Champa Streets. In 1890, Isaac Gotthelf purchased
the house for $25,000.
www.coloradopreservation.org
Year Built: 1880
Photography Allowed: Yes
Public Transit: Light Rail
The Mathews-Gotthelf Mansion is a two-story Second Empire style building and
contributes to both the Curtis Park National Register Historic District and the Denver
Landmark District, which is made up of over 500 homes. The Curtis Park neighborhood
has a rich history, beginning with the introduction of the railroad into Denver. Curtis
Park’s wide and tree-lined streets were an easy fit for the city’s first horse-drawn
streetcar, making the neighborhood Denver’s initial streetcar suburb. The large homes of
Curtis Park were all built between the 1880s and1890s. During this time, the prosperous
merchants of the new city quickly developed the area, establishing a period of
significance for the neighborhood and the Mathews-Gotthelf Mansion.
In 1880, James F. Mathews, a prosperous ore and bullion dealer, built the Mansion on
the prominent corner lot at 26th and Champa Streets. The original house consisted of
5,000 square feet and occupied three lots. Mathews and his wife were socially prominent
members of early Denver society. In 1890, Isaac Gotthelf purchased the house for
$25,000. Gotthelf made his fortune from a mercantile in the San Luis Valley, cattle
ranching, and banking interests. He was elected to the Colorado House of
Representatives for the first General Assembly in 1876 and also served in the second
General Assembly. Isaac Gotthelf died in 1910, and in 1915 his widow and four children
sold the Mansion and moved back to the San Luis Valley. As early as the Silver Crash of
1893, the Curtis Park neighborhood began to deteriorate. Similarly, after 1915, the
Mansion began to deteriorate as it cycled through various owners and was eventually
divided into ten apartment units. Today the area is experiencing a renaissance, and
dedicated residents are slowly restoring the neighborhood to its early grandeur. To aid
the community’s revitalization efforts, and to prevent the loss of this significant historic
resource, Colorado Preservation, Inc. purchased the house in 2007 with the intent to
restore the Mansion to its period of significance (1880-1890s). Without this intervention,
the building would have continued to fall into disrepair.
Work completed to date has included removal of all exterior paint, restoration of exterior
masonry, and reconstruction of the wood cornice and mansard slate roof. Community
feedback so far has been positive and the project was recently awarded the “Best Rehab
Project” by Denver’s Westword magazine in March 2009. We also held a volunteer work
day in August 2010 to “deconstruct” some of the interior alterations, and then had the
Mansion open for a very successful Doors Open Denver event that hosted nearly 400
visitors. Future work set to begin this early winter and spring includes the reconstruction
of the original front porch and south side door overhang, reconstruction of the iron finials,
rehabilitation of all windows and doors, removal of the north annex (built in 1920) and
landscape improvements. We plan to hold additional volunteer/work opportunities at the
Mansion this year that will likely coincide with fundraising and public awareness about
the project.
Colorado Preservation Inc. purchased the Mathews-Gotthelf Mansion in 2007 with the
intent to restore its exterior and resell it, and is available to assist a future owner with
rehabilitating the Mansion’s interior for use as a single-family residence and/or office.
Colorado Preservation, Inc. has also applied for Federal and State Historic Rehabilitation
Tax Credits (see http://www.nps.gov/hps/tps/tax/incentives/index.htm) for the project,
which depending on the final use of the property can yield up to 20% of the project’s total
cost in tax credits. Because CPI formed a limited liability company (LLC) in conjunction
with a private developer, there is an opportunity for another private entity to join the
partnership to reap the benefits of these tax credits. It is our hope that this MathewsGotthelf Mansion multi-phase project will ultimately serve as a state model to illustrate
how historic preservation, historic rehabilitation tax credit syndication, and a
public/private partnership can make economic sense and revitalize historic
neighborhoods such as Curtis Park.
This project is supported by the State Historical Fund, the Curtis Park Neighbors,
Historic Denver, Inc., the City and County of Denver, the Colorado Historical Foundation,
and Colorado Preservation, Inc.
McNichols Building
Location Number: 1
Urban Adventures: G, I
144 W Colfax at Bannock Street
SAT 10AM - 4PM
SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: Albert Ross
The McNichols Civic Center Building is located at the northwest corner of Civic Center
Park, at the intersection of Colfax and Bannock.This stunning Greek Revival building
with its classic Corinthian columns and iconic colonnade across its front, offers new
experiences in a classic space.
www.artsandvenuesdenver.com/venues/mcnichols-civic-center-building/
Year Built: 1910
Photography Allowed: Yes
Services Provided: Disabled access, public restroomg, street parking
Public Transit: Several RTD routes
The three story, 23,012 sq. ft. building, on the corner of Colfax and Bannock
Street, will be open for private events and cultural activities such as gallery
shows, speaking engagements, performing arts and more. Each floor will be
curated with art exhibits from local artists and will be available for free public
viewing at various upcoming events and during normal operating hours,
Thursday – Sundays, 10am- 5pm beginning in November.
The Beaux Arts library featured three-story Corinthian style columns, grand floor-toceiling windows and a beautiful skylight that allowed sun onto the third floor black and
white mosaic tiled atrium which displayed open book stacks, an art gallery and a place
for children to play.
In the late 1800s, Mayor Robert W. Speer embraced the City Beautiful movement and
acted to turn Denver into an urban sprawl of parks, civic centers and streets that would
eventually make up Denver’s Civic Center Park. The stunning Greek Revival style
McNichols Building, originally opened as a Carnegie Library in 1910, was a cornerstone
of that vision.
In October 2012, Denver’s Civic Center garnered national attention when it was officially
proclaimed a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior, putting
a spotlight on the area’s place in American history.
The library eventually outgrew the space, then became home to the Denver Water Board
in 1955, and later the Denver Treasury. In 1999 it was renamed the McNichols Building
after Colorado’s 35th Governor, Stephen McNichols and Mayor William McNichols. The
building then sat vacant for many years, to be revived in July 2010 for the inaugural
Biennial of the Americas with public-private funding for basic phase one renovations.
Since 2011, Arts & Venues Denver has invested $1.8 million toward the second phase of
construction and renovations include abatement, life safety upgrades, exterior cleaning,
catering kitchen, restrooms, and windows. Other major funders are Boettcher
Foundation, History Colorado | State Historical Fund, Bonfils-Stanton Foundation and
the Gates Family Foundation. The second floor houses the Boettcher Cultural Pavilion,
dedicated to bringing cultural opportunities to the people of Denver.
Montclair Civic Building – Molkerie
Location Number: 47
Urban Adventures: F
6820 E 12th Ave.
SAT 10AM - 4PM
SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: Alexander Cazin (original); Fred W. Ameter (1909 remodel); SlaterPaull (2004
restoration)
Completed as the Molkery of Baron Walter von Richthofen, this sanitarium resort for
tuberculosis patients offered fresh-air verandas, therapeutic fumes and the “Swiss milk
cure” of unpasteurized dairy.
www.DenverGov.org/parksandrecreation
Year Built: 1888
Photography Allowed: Yes
Services Provided: Disabled access; public restrooms; free parking
Purchased when Denver annexed Montclair Park, this oldest community center of
Denver’s parks was not always a City building. The cupola and rhyolite bearing walls are
original; the Neoclassical columns on brick pilasters were added when the failed
sanitarium expanded to accommodate civic function. Baron Walter von Richthofen
constructed the building as part of the Montclair subdivision, which he had hoped to
market as a suburban resort town. Over the years this cornerstone of the Montclair
Neighborhood has served as a polling station, community center and branch library. It is
now used as a special events facility and administrative office for Denver Parks &
Recreation. During DOD, the Molkery will offer building tours and historic presentations.
The Montclair Civic Building, also known as the Molkery, was originally designed by
Alexander Cazin and opened on September 15, 1888 as a tuberculosis sanatorium.
Baron Walter von Richthofen constructed the building as part of the Montclair
subdivision, which he had hoped to market as a suburban resort town.
The building includes several historically significant features, including a large cupola, a
wraparound veranda, and a now-closed tunnel linking the Molkery to the former
Richthofen residence two blocks to the east. In addition the tennis court to the west of
the building is one of the first public courts to be opened in the city.
Over the years, the Montclair Civic Building has been a cornerstone of the Historic
Montclair Neighborhood, and has served as a polling station, community center, and
branch library in addition to its current use as a special event facility and administrative
office for Denver Parks and Recreation. Now recognized as an historic landmark, the
Molkery is available to host private events such as weddings, work retreats, family
reunions and holiday parties in a beautifully restored facility.
North High School
Location Number: 9
Urban Adventures: A, L
2960 N Speer Blvd.
SAT 10AM - 4PM
SUN 10AM - 4PM
www.DPSK12.org
Year Built: 1911
Architect: David W. Dryden
Denver’s best example of Beaux Arts style, with its grand entry combined in recessed
arched portals, Ionic columns, broken pediments and finials. The highly ornate façade
culminates in a rooftop balustrade.
Photography Allowed: Yes, but no photos may be taken of students
Services Provided: Full disabled access, public restrooms, free parking
Public Transit: RTD #32 to West 32nd & Eliot
Oxford Hotel
Location Number: 12
Urban Adventures: D, H
1600 17th Street
SAT 10AM - 4PM
SUN 10AM - 4PM
www.TheOxfordHotel.com
Year Built: 1891
Architect: Frank E. Edbrooke, Gilbert Charles Joka
Rated “One of the 50 Best Hotels in the World” by Hemispheres Magazine, the Oxford
Hotel was designed in a U-shape with an interior light well.
Photography Allowed: Permission must be obtained
Services Provided: Paid parking
Public Transit: 16th Street Mall Shuttle
In 1912 a 200-room annex of white terra cotta was added by Robert Willison and
Montana Fallis. Denver’s oldest hotel sits a block from Union Station, anchoring a
revitalized LoDo. Be sure to visit the Cruise Room Lounge to see the art deco detailing.
The classical simplicity of the Oxford’s exterior belied an extravagant interior, as opening
day guests discovered on October 3, 1891. The Oxford, according to the Rocky
Mountain News, sported the latest in gadgets and technology as well as Gilded Age
opulence. The hotel had its own power plant and “the most perfect system of steam
heating, electric and gas lighting,” and “on each floor bathrooms and separate water
closets .” Antique oak furniture, marble and carpet floors, frescoed walls, silver
chandeliers and stained glass glistened inside. Every room had an abundance of light
and air because Edbrooke wrapped the hotel around a light well. The hotel boasted a
“vertical railway” or elevator, which carried guests to the upper floors for a bird’s-eye
view of the blooming metropolis. From the windows of the Oxford’s upper floors, one
could safely watch the bustle on Seventeenth Street, including a colorful array of
tourists, street vendors, businessmen and urban characters, dodging horses and hacks,
streetcars and delivery wagons. With its own dining rooms, barber shop, a library, a
pharmacy, a Western Union office, stables and a splendid saloon serving Zang’s “Fritz
Imperial,” the Oxford was a city within a city.
The Oxford Hotel was built near the Union Station to provide visitors with a place to stay;
because of its perfect location the hotel had to expand twice and now contains the
Cruise Room which is on the National Register of Historic Places in its own right.
The Oxford Hotel is one of Denver’s operating hotels, opening its doors for the first time
on October 3rd, 1891. The project to build this hotel was supported by Adolf Zang.
Shortly after this building was finished the City Movement was in full swing, this hotel
was designed to give visitors a place to stay that was neat Union Station. As more
people were attracted to the City of Denver the occupancy of the hotel was almost
always full.
The original building, constructed of brick and carved sandstone, was built five stories
tall with 400 rooms, but by 1902 the building had to expand so 55 rooms were added to
the building on the Wazee St. side. In 1912 a 200-room annex of white terra cotta was
added by Robert Willison and Montana Fallis. According to the Rocky Mountain News
this hotel “offered the latest technology along with gilded age opulence”. The hotel had
its own power plant and a steam heating system. It also had electric and gas lighting.
The hotel was impressive and boosted that “each floor had bath rooms and separate
water closets” with the latest improved sanitary appliances. The visitors of the hotel had
access to dinning rooms, a barber shop, a library, a pharmacy, a Western Union Office,
stables and a splendid saloon all within the hotel. In 1933 the Cruise Room was opened,
and since then has become important in its own right. The room was designed by
Charles Jaka in the Art Deco style. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
The hotel was purchased by investors in 1979. The building underwent a three year
restoration costing more than $12 million. The grand re-opening was on June 19, 1983.
Today Denver’s oldest hotel sits a block from Union Station, anchoring a revitalized
LoDo.