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I call this area North
Downtown because that is what it was when I
photographed some of the area. The
boundaries are roughly from 23rd Street on
the South to Brighton Blvd. on the West,
I-70 on the North and
Market St. on the East.
More recently the area West
of Brighton Blvd. and also West of the
Platte River has been included as an area
now called River North or Rino for short.
This area is now
reasonably small scattered warehouses,
working merchants, artist studios and
galleries and vacant land. Because of larger
spaces available at "cheaper" prices, ample
parking and once again people with vision
the area is becoming the emerging area of
the creative art community in Denver.
 The
photography here is of the south section of
North Downtown. The Brighton Boulevard
Viaduct was a small part of the area at
Blake Street and Walnut Street. A handful of
hobos and transients would gather under the
viaduct for shelter in the winter and shade
in the summer. The clock on the
McPhee-McGinnnity Building was often
motionless, a reminder of the surrounding
area also stuck in a time past.
The most prominent buildings of North
Downtown were on the south end of the area.
The McPhee-McGinnity Building with its large
clock tower, and the Benjamin Moore building
with its long neon sign atop, greeted those
entering from Lower Downtown.Other than a
few wise property owners and small business
owners who took advantage of the inexpensive
land or rent in the area, activity was
sparse.
| I did not
document the rest of the North
Downtown area. It was basically
some of my last work, and a lot
of fun later that had come to an
end.
I was walking
the area at 28th and Larimer
Street looking south into
downtown and approached the
"smiling face of T.J.'s Sunshine
Inn" painted on the wall as I
looked up. It said "welcome too"
above the sign, as an
invitation. Well you know I
could not pass up such an
opportunity and went inside. A
little excited, I talked some
about photos, and they looked at
me puzzled. I had seen
that look many times...I enjoyed
many beers and recalled many
wonderful times of past people
and buildings. |
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I had taken a lot of
average images, but in the
process had recorded many great images and
documented Denver's architectural heritage
from
1983- 1993 like nobody else. I worked
extremely hard to capture what I think was a
pivotal time in Denver's history.
I had to film some of
Denver's past, not necessarily in reverence,
but respect. Denver would be changing
rapidly and for the better. A city has
to grow with the times, just as people grow
or get left behind. I simply wanted to
document on film this transition of Denver.
Well sadly and tired, I put my camera over
my head and strap around my neck.
"Thank you" I said to the fellow patrons and
bartender. Out the door, and down the road I
went.
My photographs of Denver are dedicated to my
late Mother Betty, my wife, Candice, and her
late Mother, Jo.
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Kim Allen |
