Discovering
DENVER
by Joseph Pedro
As the largest city within a 600-mile
radius, Denver tends to attract liberal, like-minded
people from across America’s heartland, while offering
residents and visitors a massive cultural scene, a low
cost of living, and the largest urban parks system in
the United States. Denver is also home to a burgeoning
LGBT community. “The Denver GLBT community has
become much more visible. The LGBT Community Center
of Colorado hosts the seventh largest Pride celebration
in the nation with an audience of 250,000 people, and
each year PrideFest continues to grow,” according
to local gay rights activist, Anthony Aragon. Denver
is also lucky to have elected representatives who look
at the gay community as a vital part of the city. “Denver
has always been fortunate to have GLBT-friendly politicians.
In 2003, John Hickenlooper was elected Mayor and he
has been an amazing ally for GLBT Denverites. We also
have three GLBT Colorado legislators who all call Denver
home,” Aragon adds.
With a thriving entrepreneurial spirit
and government programs to beautify and increase Denver’s
cultural offerings, the city’s new and energetic
outlook is contagious to visitors. A stroll down the
16th Street Mall, Denver’s main pedestrian artery,
showcases this diverse and vibrant city. Walking past
the galleries, clothing stores, restaurants, bars, boutiques,
public artwork, and intermittently stopping to take
in the various street performers that range from circus
acts, to jazz musicians, to painters, I was amazed by
both the diversity and energy the Colorado state capital
had on display. Free spirits of all ages sat and drank
coffee at outdoor cafés, teenagers gossiped along
the promenade, men and women boarded the free shuttle
bus with their day’s worth of shopping bags, and
even lesbian and gay couples sat outside comfortably
enjoying a meal and a beer. It’s here that I felt
a sense of excitement and joi de vivre that I wasn’t
expecting to find in America’s heartland.
A large part of this excitement is due
to the city’s obsession with art and culture. All
the public art throughout Denver is made possible by
the “One Percent for Public Art law,” where
one percent of any capital improvement project over
one million dollars must go toward public art. While
this money allows for works to appear around the city
that range from beautiful to bizarre, it also has helped
foster a growing arts community. The bountiful galleries
and museums rival those in other major cities. Additionally,
a sales tax of 0.1 percent supports the Scientific and
Cultural Facilities District, which in turn contributes
to art, music, theater, dance, zoology, botany, natural
history, and cultural history.
You can’t talk about art in Denver
without first talking about the Denver Art Museum.
Housed in a magnificently modern building, the museum
is home to more than 68,000 international pieces and
features exciting, rotating exhibits. Their modern and
contemporary collection is a must for art aficionados.
One of the most popular pieces is the playful Sandy
Skoglund installation, “Fox Games.” A great
piece on societal gender views is John Fudge’s
1981 painting “Sex Change Operation.” The
piece features two bulldogs one with a blue collar,
the other with a pink collar. The special exhibit on
display through January 9, 2011, is the showy King Tut
exhibit that has Denver residents lining up in droves
to catch a glimpse of the boy prince’s belongings.
A lesser-known museum that houses rotating
exhibits is the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver.
Here, you’ll eat up the creativity and thoughtfulness
that goes into each exhibit. The excitement oozing from
the volunteers is almost palpable when they try to help
you understand the sometimes puzzling installations.
The roof has a pleasant café where you can sit
and enjoy the view and garden. If you’re in town
on a Friday evening, indie boys and girls meet here
to listen to music and enjoy a few cocktails.
Before these brand-new public art spaces
were created, Denver’s art scene was found in galleries
throughout the city. Large loft spaces and an experimental
spirit helped promote a thriving and creative scene
that’s interspersed throughout almost every neighborhood.
For one-stop perusing, the Arts District on Santa
Fe is the place to be. With a long history as a
hub for creative types, Santa Fe Drive boasts a membership
of over 60 industry members around 5th and 11th Avenues.
The studios and galleries regularly open their doors
to the public and make for an excellent way to enjoy
the local talent. The ever-popular First Friday Art
Walk is a great way to see the galleries and chat
with the artists, as you’re shuttled, free of charge,
throughout the district.
When it comes to accommodations, Denver
embraces a new cosmopolitan identity that both leisure
and business travelers will appreciate. Last month saw
the opening of the Four Seasons Denver, a massive
complex (part residential, part hotel) that has redefined
the city’s skyline and most likely its definition
of luxury. The 218-guestroom, 21-suite hotel provides
guests with enormous and lavish rooms as well as stunning
views of the city and beyond. Bilkey Lilinas interiors
complement the natural beauty of Colorado with wood
accents, warm earth tones, and paintings and sculptures
by local artists. Oversized bathrooms are complete with
deep tubs, flat screen TVs, and illuminated sinks. The
hotel is also home to a massive ten-treatment-room spa
with a playground of equipment that includes sunken
tubs, rain showers, and steam rooms. After a day exploring
the city, it’s great to go for a swim in the rooftop
pool with the Rockies serving as a majestic backdrop.
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SLIDESHOW
OF DENVER
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Across the street from the Four Seasons
sits one of my favorite hotels in Denver, Hotel Teatro.
Housed in the former Tramway Tower, this 110-room hotel
is perfect for the style-conscious, theater-loving traveler.
With a location in the theatre district, a recent renovation,
and two Kevin Taylor restaurants, you can expect a posh
crowd to convene nightly. The plush rooms come with all
the necessary amenities, including an iPod dock, plasma
TV, complimentary Wi-Fi, and custom designed bedding.
For those who like to hit the town, the hotel has a life-saving
car service that will not only bring you to your destination,
but also pick you up at any hour of the night—free
of charge. If you have to wait for a car (usually no more
than ten minutes), grab a glass of wine at the Prima Ristorante.
For a more personal stay in the heart
of Downtown, the Kimpton’s Hotel Monaco is known
for its quirky style, friendly service, affordable prices,
and the goldfish pet you’ll receive upon checking
in. The eccentric and energetic colors and style of
the Hotel Monaco may be toned down in the near future
as a huge renovation is currently underway. The signature
yellow-and-white wallpaper in the guestrooms will be
discarded and a new color scheme is expected to highlight
the earth tones for which Colorado is known. Along with
technology upgrades, the rooms will get new bedding
and floors. The renovation will happen in stages, so
it won’t affect daily operations. Expect Kimpton’s
signature services that include a free breakfast spread,
daily wine reception and afternoon beverages, and a
Dance Dance Revolution tournament.
For at least one repast, visit the hotel’s
restaurant Panzano. One of my favorite meals
here is the exceptional brunch featuring eggs Benedict
that is served over a sun-dried tomato polenta cake
topped with prosciutto cotto, fontina cheese, and hollandaise
sauce.
If you’d like to experience Denver
as if you were staying at a good friend’s home,
spend a couple nights at the gay-owned Capital Hill
Mansion Bed and Breakfast. Carl S. Schmidt II and
his daughter Bailey run this historic, castle-like mansion
and treat every guest like they’ve known them for
years. Perfect for a romantic escape, the rooms come
with fresh flowers, complimentary beverages, free Internet,
and some even come with a whirlpool tub. Each morning,
partake of Schmidt’s expertly prepared breakfast
on the patio while enjoying great conversation with
the B&B’s many interesting guests. The quaint
Capital Hill neighborhood is a perfect jumping off point
to explore nearby attractions, restaurants, theaters,
museums, and plenty of shopping.
Denverites are outdoorsy by nature,
unfortunately they can’t make it out to the mountains
every weekend—so, the Denver Botanic Gardens
is the next best thing. This vast, urban oasis is one
of the first botanic gardens in the country to place
heavy emphasis on native species and conservation. Spend
time journeying through the winding paths that lead
to gorgeous gardens (many areas feature some of Henry
Moore’s well-known bronze sculptures).
If you’re tired of looking at the
prodigious Rockies from your hotel room, take a trip
outside the city to experience the stunning beauty of
Colorado at Rocky Mountain National Park. You’ll
want to rent a car to reach the park, which is located
northwest of Boulder. You’ll also be able to see
many parts of the park by driving. Do as the Coloradans
do and get out of your vehicle and start exploring the
359 miles of trails that wind through 150 lakes, 450
miles of streams, and 60 peaks higher than 12,000 feet.
Each month, the Gay and Lesbian Sierrans come
together for outdoor action that includes day hikes,
climbs, camping, bike rides, river trips, skiing, snowshoeing,
and conservation activities. This friendly group will
be glad to have you join them.
Combining urban living with an active,
outdoor lifestyle is reflected in Denver’s unique
shopping opportunities. Explore the city’s various
neighborhoods to find stores that range from luxurious
to secondhand. While Denver is most famous for its western
apparel with shops like the iconic Rockmount Ranch
Wear and the eclectically chic Cry Baby Ranch,
be sure to make room in your suitcase for more than
just western snap-button shirts when visiting the Cherry
Creek neighborhood. Located about four miles south of
Downtown Denver, you’ll either want to take a taxi
or rent a bike (bicyclists can simply follow the Cherry
Creek Trail). In addition to the Cherry Creek Shopping
Center, which has more than 160 upscale stores, across
the street is a 16-block neighborhood called Cherry
Creek North, packed with shops, galleries, and restaurants.
The area, previously home to abandoned mines, has only
seen this kind of change in the past twenty years, and
because of rapid new developments, the area lost a sense
of identity. A major streetscape renovation has vastly
improved the Cherry Creek experience. With new sidewalks,
lighting, signs, and beautiful potted plants, it will
make visiting the area a much more pleasurable experience.
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