Colorado Blvd -- PHOTO TOUR (Denver, Parker: apartment, how much, hotel)

[vegaspilgrim]

This is probably the last of my commercial strip photo tours of the season. Colorado Blvd, IMO, from end to end, is a perfect snapshot of what the essence of Denver is all about. This photo tour focusses on the 3 mile area between Yale and Alameda-- a stretch that is probably the most hated and derided as one of the ugliest parts of Denver. And a lot of this certainly is ugly, but looking beyond the ugliness there's a lot of great stuff, a lot of raw urban chaos.

The tour begins by the University Hills area.



One of the best places to see non-mainstream films:







Love it or hate it, a Colorado institution:







Denver's "inner ring suburbs" seem to have a lot of dense high rise, old apartment buildings like these. This is a perfect example of why I believe there is no black and white distinction between "urban" and "suburban."













Wonder was this used to be:



I can't get enough of these old school signs:







Denver seems to have an unnatural obsession with imitation Philly cheesesteaks and "NY" style pizza.



But I love places like these:

























Ethnic strip malls-- can't get enough of 'em:





















Something looks a little wrong with this picture...













WTH are those purple thingies?















The restaurant everybody on this forum loves to hate. Me too.



I just had to get a shot of this building. I see this all the time from I-25, always thought it looks/sounds cool:













More strip mall mania:







































Interesting concept:







Tried this for the first time a few weeks ago. Mediocre, imnsho.













I used to go here when I was a little kid:





You could literally live your entire life on Colorado Blvd-- from birth until death.









I am continually impressed with that snazzy new building in the right side of the picture:









Notice how Glendale uses SoCal style white on blue street signs:



Crossing over the Cherry Creek:















Almost by Alameda, end of tour:

[Summerz]

Thanks for another tour, much appreciated.

[subsound]

What, no National Jewish Health? (Colfax and Colorado)

Love the houses along 6th too near CO

[Jester76]

=) we stayed at the Cherry Creek Hotel 2 summers ago!!

[zenkonami]

1) So what is "Colorado Style Pizza" (other than BIG.)

2) Can anyone tell me what that snazzy building in the right side of that picture is?

3) Can't wait till you're done with school and back in CO full time so we can have even more of these fantastic photo tours =)

[BlueWillowPlate]

To me, Colorado Blvd is one of the least attractive aspects of Denver, but for anyone who lives in or near the city center, it is unavoidable.
I went regularly to Chez Artiste, the Bookies, U-Hills and United Artists, and my kids' dentist was on Colo Blvd at Florida--there were side streets and parallel roads (Steele is a good one) that I would use to get around having to use CB.
What's with the graffiti on the I-25 traffic sign in the United Artists photo?

[vegaspilgrim]

Originally Posted by zenkonami

1) So what is "Colorado Style Pizza" (other than BIG.)

Beaujo's is the only place I know of that refers to themselves as "Colorado style pizza," afaik they invented the term. The crust is really big and it's served with honey.

2) Can anyone tell me what that snazzy building in the right side of that picture is?

That building is 4550 Cherry Creek Dr So.

3) Can't wait till you're done with school and back in CO full time so we can have even more of these fantastic photo tours =)

I can't wait until I'm out of school forever (or at least the forseeable future) too. Only 4 more months! Probably the biggest reason why I do these tours is to remind myself of home when I'm away in LA. I do NOT want to end up taking a job in LA and getting stuck there the next 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 years. I want to start off right, in a place I want to live. That means either Denver, Phoenix, or Albuquerque. And most likely just Denver and not the other two. I want to come home now.

But the kind of photo tours that I really want to see, that really remind me of home were nonexistent. You can find hundreds of photos all over the internet showing what the downtown Denver skyline looks like, a few historical landmarks here and there, and posters like Denver Aztec here have produced some fabulous photo tours showcasing thousands of historic homes in Denver's old neighborhoods. And don't get me wrong, I appreciate it all. But to me, that's just not what "home" really looks like. Also, you can find a million and one pictures of the mountains, but really good pictures of the high plains are far and few between.

So I've had an ongoing project to really document different bits and pieces of what the Denver metro area is really like for those who don't live in new or old "urbanist" gentrified "historic" areas-- for the vast majority of metro area residents, what we really see on a daily basis. Streets like Colorado, Federal, Colfax, Parker/Leetsdale, Iliff, Arapahoe, Smoky Hill. I don't want to reinvent the wheel, so I let the experts like Denver Aztec who know and love those designated historical areas do what they know and love best. For me, I focus on the under (or never) photographed, the under-appreciated, the ugly, the gritty, the beautiful where you least expect it, the unique native landscaping and landscape, the ethnic, the signage, the "inner ring suburbs," the 1950's ranch homes, and even a taste of the "outer ring" suburbs, the yucca and prairie grass.

Originally Posted by BlueWillowPlate

To me, Colorado Blvd is one of the least attractive aspects of Denver, but for anyone who lives in or near the city center, it is unavoidable.
I went regularly to Chez Artiste, the Bookies, U-Hills and United Artists, and my kids' dentist was on Colo Blvd at Florida--there were side streets and parallel roads (Steele is a good one) that I would use to get around having to use CB.
What's with the graffiti on the I-25 traffic sign in the United Artists photo?

And ironically, given my statement above, I would say Colorado Blvd, at least the 3 mile stretch featured here, reminds me a lot of LA-- gritty huge boulevards with a grab bag of "stuff" like Venice, Sepulveda, etc. And apparently Denver has its fair share of graffiti, vandalism, and urban grit too.

[Mike78613]

Notice on this picture (below) the burgers used to cost .29cent then went to .39 cents when we left in 1996.

How much do they charge now per burger?

[MantaRay]

Thanks for the tour! As a person considering future places to retire, one MUST is ample ethnic cuisine. Middle Eastern, Jamaican, Thai, German, etc. Glad to see there are so many places, even if they are in strip malls. Some of the best food I've had has been in hole-in-the wall type places. Right now Denver is at the top of my list of 5, and info like this helps keep it there. Again, thanks.

[vegaspilgrim]

Originally Posted by MantaRay

Thanks for the tour! As a person considering future places to retire, one MUST is ample ethnic cuisine. Middle Eastern, Jamaican, Thai, German, etc. Glad to see there are so many places, even if they are in strip malls. Some of the best food I've had has been in hole-in-the wall type places. Right now Denver is at the top of my list of 5, and info like this helps keep it there. Again, thanks.

If you like ethnic food, CO Blvd barely scratches the surface. Check out these two photo tours from last summer:
http://www.city-data.com/forum/denve...eral-blvd.html
http://www.city-data.com/forum/denve...hoto-tour.html