U.S. City Spotlight: Denver

Denver Comes of Age

by NANCY HELLMRICH

Laid out in a sunny river valley on the front range of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains – with rodeo country to the north and ski country to the west – the Mile High City has undergone a renaissance over the last several years. Long known for its active outdoor lifestyle, comforting microbreweries, and aerospace engineers, Colorado’s capital is now riding high with an energetic, entrepreneurial spirit, dynamite new culinary options, rooftop lounges, new-meets-old architecture, and an off-thecharts music scene. Who doesn’t want in on that?

CENTERS OF GRAVITY

Union Station

➊ Union Station

This polished Beaux- Arts transportation hub has a Great Hall that’s known as Denver’s living room, the lofty Crawford Hotel, dining, shopping, and a classy Terminal Bar.

➋ Historic LoDo

In Lower Downtown, buildings that used to house saddleries, meat markets, and dairies now sport art galleries, trendy restaurants, chic boutiques, and Maven Hotel.

Maven Hotel

➌ RiNo Arts District

River North is a vortex of old warehouses, airy lofts, street art, and ironic urban creatives. Hotspots include the Insta-worthy alley between Walnut & Larimer Streets.

RiNo Arts District

➍ Highlands & LoHi

Across I-25 from Riverfront Park, you’ll find trendy rooftop restaurants, an epic sushi joint, charming shops, and life-affirming views of the city skyline.

➎ Cherry Creek

This posh neighborhood boasts designer shops, hipster coffee, an annual art show, Elway’s Steakhouse, a modern mall, and the highly social MOXY and Halcyon hotels.

Cherry Creek

➏ South Broadway

SoBo is the place to go for art films, vintage clothes, antiques, and the “green mile” of cannabis dispensaries (aka Broadsterdam).

LIQUID ASSETS

➊ Breweries & Tap Houses

Denver’s top microbreweries and distilleries include The Grateful Gnome, Cerebral Brewing, TRVE Brewing, The Family Jones, Mythology, and Stem Cider.

➋ Infinite Monkey Theorem (RiNo)

An urban winery operated by a “mad scientist” who makes pretty good wine from grapes grown on the Western slope of Colorado and Texas’ High Plains.

Infinite Monkey Theorem

➌ Speakeasies (LoDo)

Cruise Room (behind a hotel lobby), Retrograde (through an ice cream shop’s freezer door), Green Russell (secret stairwell), Williams & Graham (behind a bookshelf).

A BIT OF CULTURE

➊ Denver Performing Arts Complex

The nation’s second largest performing arts complex plays host to Tony-awardwinning theater, Broadway musicals, symphony orchestras, ballet, opera, and more.

➋ Denver Botanic Gardens

This botanical wonderland features a glass conservatory, theme gardens, and a sunken amphitheater. Stay nearby in the hip, new Halcyon hotel in Cherry Creek.

➌ Truly Remarkable Museums

Spend chilly days in the Denver Art Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art, and Museum of Nature & Science. Stay nearby in the ART Hotel and dabble in creative cuisine at FIRE or opt for Le Méridien and revel in 54thirty, Denver’s highest rooftop bar.

MUSIC & NIGHT LIFE

➊ Nocturne (RiNo)

A date-night-worthy jazz and supper club with “acoustically magical” original wood ceilings, an artist in residency program, and fabulous tasting menus.

➋ Ophelia's Electric Soapbox (RiNo)

A quirky “gastro-brothel” featuring live music shows from funk, soul, jazz, and electronica to hip-hop, roots rock, world music, and drag.

➌ The Ogden Theatre (Capitol Hill)

Snag tickets to see London’s Troyboi, Texas trio Khruangbin, and local artists like Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, The Lumineers, and The Fray.

➍ Up-and-Comer Venues

Syntax Physic Opera, Larimer Lounge, 7th Circle Music Collective, and The Black Box showcase new acts like Wildermiss, Amzy, The Still Tide, Dragondeer, Khemmis, Red Fang, Grateful Shred, Blind Trust, and Flaural.

➎ Red Rocks Amphitheatre

Tucked in the foothills west of Denver, the “greatest amphitheater on the planet” hosts world-class artists, sunrise yoga, leg-busting workouts, and Film on the Rocks.

Red Rocks Amphitheatre

THE CUISINE SCENE

➊ El Five (LoHi)

This rooftop-like tapas de Gibraltar venue overlooks the Denver skyline, serves a spectacular fixed-price Sunday brunch, and turns into a partying hotspot after dark. Nearby Linger and Little Man Ice Cream are also local favorites.

➋ Trendy Food Halls

Who knew food halls were so cool? If you like to graze, listen to music, and shop around, head to Avanti F&B, The Milk Market, The Source, Denver Central Market, Zeppelin Station, and Stanley Marketplace which is located on an old aviation runway.

Denver Central Market

➌ Citizen Rail (Union Station)

Give a chef his very own wood-fired grill and dry-aging room, and you get tender bison in blackberry brown butter sauce with fancy drinks called Buckshot and Is That a Proposition? Walk here from happy hour at the Kimpton Hotel Born.

➍ Punch Bowl Social (SoBo)

PBS has opened up shop across the nation, but this South Broadway local is the mothership. Perfect for those who love to pair their gastro-diner eats and craft cocktails with bowling, karaoke, virtual reality, and a vintage arcade.

Punch Bowl Social