University of Denver (DU) PHOTO TOUR (Evans, Center: sales, apartments, rentals)

[MobyLL]

The University of Denver (DU) was founded in 1864 by John Evans, who was a close friend of Abraham Lincoln. DU has been at it's current location about 4 or 5 Miles south of Downtown Denver since the mid 1880's. Mt. Evans (14,264 ft) which is visible from the campus is named after John Evans.

DU currenty has almost 11,000 students with slightly more being graduate students than undergrads. 60% of the students live on campus, about 40% are from out of state and 5% are international. DU has a 125 acre campus.

From wikipeida:
The reverse initials "DU" are used as the University's shorthand moniker (rather than the more intuitive "UD") as part of a Rocky Mountain and midwestern tradition of initial reversal, similar to the University of Colorado's "CU", the University of Tulsa's "TU", the University of Oklahoma's "OU" and the University of Kansas' "KU."
University of Denver - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I was over in the area yesterday (4/13/09) due to my unhealthy obsession with the Chicago Style hotdogs at Mustard's Last Stand. This time I brought my camera and took some photos of the campus and surrounding area. All of the shots not on the campus itself are within 3 or 4 blocks of the campus.



Buchtel Chapel Tower -- the rest of the Chapel was destroyed in a 1983 fire. The bell in the tower rings during commencement.




Evans Chapel


Mary Reed Hall on the right -- love this building




Some shots of housing around campus






The DU light rail station is on the north side of the campus








These next 3 photos are from the intersection of University Blvd and Evans Ave.










Chicago Style! I don't really know if they are authentic... but they. are. good.


Cubs game was on TV








University Blvd.


The Iliff School of Theology is adjacent to DU on the south. I think it was once part of DU and somewhere along the line they parted ways... not sure though.


Mary Reed Hall again


Pedestrian crossing at Evans Ave.


This is the original Chipotle. They have New York style efficiency at this one.


Just in case you doubted the veracity of DU being a real college.


Houses west of the campus are generally relatively small and wood-frame and many are rented to students. Very generally speaking the further from campus you get the more the homes are owner-occupied and consequently are better maintained. There are pockets of new construction even close to the campus however.
The neighborhood west of the campus is known as University.




I hereby officially nominate the house in the middle for the "ugliest house of the new millenium" award. I assume it is designed for the residents to drive in and out through the alley and never see or use the front entrance. Nice.






This new modern house is a couple blocks west of the campus.


This house had some art in the windows...


... and a mural in the backyard


The Ritchie Center is in the background with the gold-leaf pyramid top. I believe it was at the basketball arena in there that Obama gave a speech in spring 2008.


Different angle on the Ritchie Center






I believe this is an Iliff School of Theology building, but not positive


Mt. Evans in the background


A few other establishments on Evans near the original Chipotle






Newman Performing Arts Center




I told you I love Mary Reed Hall


Houses East of the University are larger than those on the West side. Most students live in apartment buildings on this side rather than homes. East of DU the neighborhood is named University Park.








Margery Hall


University Hall


The large building is the Ricketson Law bldg.


Back on University Blvd here


This building... horrible design for the base facing the sidewalk/street


Observatory Park about 3 blocks East of the campus




School of Hotel & Restaurant Mgmt --The Crown is pretty bad... makes you wonder if it was donated by Burger King

[DenverAztec]

Cool tour. Amazing how many buildings have been built on the campus in the last five years. As well as the condos and increased density to meet the housing needs. So glad you included the neighborhood around the campus!

[the_koolkat]

Great tour!

[vegaspilgrim]

Great photo tour, MobyLL, this is quality work! I completely agree with your captains too. I've always liked DU, I used to go to summer camp programs there as a little kid. A bunch of friends from high school went there. Heck I should have gone to DU for my current master's program instead of the place I ended up.

The contrast between the grand old mansions of Observatory Park and the tiny box shaped homes of the neighborhood north, south, and west of DU could not be more extreme. I'm surprised the DU neighborhood hasn't seen much more gentrification and scrapes than it has already experienced.

[the_koolkat]

Is there star viewing at Observatory Park? Is it open to the public?

[Legs1357]

great stuff. and Mustard's Last Stand is DELISH. have you tried The Sticky Star? it's across the street. family friends own it, the have amazing sandwiches and fabulous desserts, the owner's wife makes all of them.

[DenverAztec]

Originally Posted by the_koolkat

Is there star viewing at Observatory Park? Is it open to the public?

Check the link for Doors Open Denver as the park is on it and they should have the building open, just not at night. They do have special events in the summer, but you would need to contact the university for details.

[denver_hacker]

Originally Posted by the_koolkat

Is there star viewing at Observatory Park? Is it open to the public?

Yup, sure can:

2008 - Welcome to the Virtual Tour - DU's historic Chamberlin Observatory

As for the photo tour - very cool! I live south east of DU a bit and love the area. DU itself has lots of cultural events, the Newman Center is a stunning performance space and pulls in top notch national acts (making Boettcher Hall jealous - but hey, the acoustics are better in the Newman Center), the area along Evans and University has great restaurants, there are lots of nice parks nearby (Observatory, McWilliams, etc), the Highline canal is sort of near, Old South Pearl in Platte Park has two of the best restaurants in the state, Wash Park and Cherry Creek are just over I-25, and getting to downtown is easy thanks to light rail.

I think there haven't been a lot of scrapes immediately west of DU because most of the homes are rentals. You have guaranteed income so you won't sell, and college kids don't care if the place is a rat's nest, so you won't spend to fix it up.

What's really interesting are the new condos on University, directly across from the Newman Center - not the ones bordering Iliff. They are very pricey, and the main sales pitch is the Newman Center itself - be a patron of world class arts kind of thing.

Also, according to the Wash Park Profile, someone is going to build a 125 foot tall building on the south east corner of Univeristy and Evans. That's 10 stories! Most of that block will be razed for the new structure, which will have street level retail and residential on top.

The worst thing to happen to the area was the god-awful concrete apartment building on the east side of University near Buchtel. Street level is a sheer concrete face and a car entrance for underground parking. For all the talk about new Urbanism in Denver and pedestrian focus, that 70s throwback really surprised me. The new apartments at Iliff and University, built at the same time, blend into the area much better and has an appealing street face.

[MobyLL]

Thanks for the comments everyone.

Legs -- I have not tried Sticky Star... I'll check it out though.

denver_hacker -- thanks for the link on the observatory. I'll take my kids over for some stargazing.

[Katarina Witt]

Great pix! My daughter lives in that area (not a DU student). We've eaten at Pete's many times.