Denver NeighborhoodsThe
neighborhoods that surround downtown Denver offer a
wide variety of choices. You will find commercial
districts, art galleries, shopping, dining, shops,
boutiques and spas, as well as museums and
sightseeing attractions. Following are highlights of
Denver's top neighborhoods, including links to
additional information.
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LoDo
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The Lower Downtown Historic District(LoDo) is the
birthplace of Denver. A 25 block area surrounding
union station, and encompassing Wynkoop Street
southeast to Market Street and 20th street southwest
to Speer Boulevard, this charming and busy historic
district has changed a lot in recent years. Once a
neighborhood of run down Victorian homes and
redbrick warehouses, a major restoration effort has
brought it back to life and made it one of the
jewels of the city. Its now home to chic shops, art
galleries, nightclubs, restaurants, and coffee
shops. It's both a city and country historic
district, and boasts a number of National Historic
Landmarks. It retains a historic Denver feels
because of a law prohibiting the building of
skyscrapers. Major attractions in LoDo include Coors
Field (home of the Colorado Rockies), the Pepsi
Center (home of the Denver Nuggets), Union Station,
the Museum of Contemporary Art, Elitch Gardens,
Lannie's Clocktower Cabaret and more. To get the best and most complete tour and
history of LoDo, consider taking one of the many
walking tours available in the area. Stay in one any
one of the hotels in LoDo, and you'll have quick and
convenient access to one of the hottest areas in
Denver. See
related web site.
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| Central Business
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Extending along 16th, 17th, and 18th streets between
Lawrence Street and Broadway, The Central Business
District is one of the major business hubs of the
mid-west. Accordingly, the Central Business District
is home to many of Denver's skyscrapers, and is a
thriving home to many of Denver's most charming
historic buildings You'll find the Brown Palace
Hotel, the Westin Hotel at Tabor Center, and
numerous other upscale lodgings here. The high
levels of activity here have resulted in a thriving
number of restaurants and bars, as well as the ever
popular 16th Street Walking Mall. Within the Central
Business District you'll find the Denver Pavilions,
(home to over 52 shops, plus theaters, restaurants,
and more), Larimer Square, Writer Square, The Tabor
Center, Skyline Park, and the Ellie Caulkins Opera
House.
The Central Business District has also become a
fairly thriving residential area over the past
years, and a number of historic buildings have been
renovated into lofts and apartments, creating a
unique mixed zoned neighborhood in the heart of the
city.
See
related web site. |
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Far East Center
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Denver's Asian community is concentrated along this
strip of Federal Boulevard, between West Alameda and
West Mississippi avenues. Though the Asian
population of Denver is small (just under 3
percent), it has had a large impact on the city and
this community has become one of the prime examples
of Denver's increasing cultural diversity. Denver's Asian population exploded in the
aftermath of the Vietnam War, and as vast number of
Southeast Asian refugees, especially Thai and
Vietnamese came to the city. In Far East Center
you'll find dozens of authentic restaurants,
bakeries, grocery stores, gift shops, and clothing
stores. Piglets hang in windows, chicken feet float
in soup, and exotic trees covered in bamboo leaves
are just some of the sites you'll see in this slice
of the East. One must see is The Far East Center
Building at Federal and Alameda, which is built
classic Japanese pagoda style. See
related web site.
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| Five Points
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One of the oldest neighborhoods in
Denver, comprised of blocks of Victorian homes,
luxury lofts, and a vibrant entertainment scene, the
Five Points neighborhood of Denver is often called
the Harlem of the West. Famously often mentioned in
Jack Kerouac's On the Road, the “five points”
actually meet at 23rd Street and Broadway, but the
cultural and commercial hub of Denver's African
American community, from 23rd to 38th streets,
northeast of downtown, covers a much larger area and
incorporates four historic districts. Though Five
Points is no longer statistically a predominantly
African American community, most still consider it
the historic center and symbol of African American
communities in Denver. Five Points is home to a
large number of restaurants, which offer soul food,
barbecued ribs, catfish, and excellent Caribbean
cuisine.
The Five Points has a long standing history of
great jazz, famous musicians like Billie Holiday,
Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, and more frequented
clubs like the Rossonian and the Rainbow Room.
Today, many jazz and blues musicians along with
contemporary dance troupes perform in the many
various theaters and nightclubs in the area. Special
attractions/events in The Five Points include The
Black American West Museum, the Heritage Center, and
the Juneteenth celebration which attracts over
100,000 people every year. See
related web site.
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| Highlands
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One of the fastest growing and most
increasingly popular parts of Denver, the Highlands
neighborhood is one area of Denver not to miss.
Situated northwest of downtown from 32nd to 38th
avenues between Federal and Zuni streets, the
historic and increasingly popular Highland
neighborhood is the most densely populated
neighborhood in Denver other than Capitol Hill. The
districts making up highlands are home to live music
venues, bars, pubs, and many Mexican and Italian
restaurants sitting alongside high end boutiques and
galleries. The nearby West Highlands is an eclectic
retail district and has become one of the most
vibrant regions in the city. Highlands Square, at
32nd and Lowell, is a pleasant neighborhood of small
restaurants and boutiques tucked in with bungalow
style houses. Along with the great commercial and
cultural attractions of Highlands, there also sit
three major parks, Sloans Lake, Rocky Mountain Lake,
and Berkeley Park. Special events in the Highlands you won't want to
miss include First Friday, in which on the first
friday of every month all the neighborhood's
galleries open up for artists to display and sell
their work. It's a great, low cost way to spend a
Friday night. In June of every year comes the
Highlands Street Fair, which brings live music,
delicious food, loads of arts and crafts, a car
show, and more to the neighborhood. Finally,
experience the beauty of Asian culture during July's
Dragon Boat Festival, an annual family friendly
festival that is free and which culminates in a
parade and dragon boat races on Sloan Lake. See
related web site.
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La Alma/Lincoln Park
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La Alma/Lincoln Park is another of
Denver's oldest neighborhoods. Hispanic culture,
art, food, and entertainment predominate along this
strip of Santa Fe Drive, between West Colfax and
West 6th avenues. Many gold-seekers settled in this
neighborhood when Denver sprang to life in the
1850s. It's notable for its Southwestern character
and architecture, and the generations of families
that continue to live in the same homes they grew up
in. This neighborhood is sure to please with its
numerous restaurants, art galleries, and craft
shops. Santa Fe drive has particularly become the
neighborhood's retail and commercial corridor.
Dozens of cafes and coffee shops, authentic Mexican
restaurants and bakeries, art galleries, photography
studios, and commercial offices keep the drive
humming day and night.
La Alma/Lincoln Park is home to the Asian and
Hispanic Chambers of Commerce and the Latino
Cultural Visitors Center, as well as The Denver
Civic Theater, Museo de las Americas, Sunken Gardens
Park, Lincoln Park, the famous Buckhorn Exchange
restaurant. Also of note, Denver's annual Cinco de
Mayo celebration takes place here, and is beautiful
cultural celebration for those lucky enough to be in
the area at the time. See
related web site.
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| Uptown
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Beautiful tree lined boulevards lined
with a mix of classic homes and vibrant cultural and
commercial outfits, Uptown is Denver's oldest
residential neighborhood. It runs from Broadway east
to York Street and 23rd Avenue south to Colfax
Avenue, and is home to a great deal of the city's
finest restaurants, bistros, spas, night clubs and
more. Additionally, the area is known for its great
number of its classic Victorian and Queen Anne-style
homes have been converted to captivating bed and
breakfasts.
Uptown is home to Denver's largest green space,
City Park. City Park alone is home to the Denver
Zoo, the Denver Museum of Museum and Nature and
Science, and has miles of biking and jogging paths,
a lake, and an amazing view of the Rocky Mountains
to the west. Two of Denver's most outstanding
entertainment venues are in Uptown, as both The
Fillmore Auditorium and The Ogden Theater host
hundreds of amazing musical acts every year. Special
events during the year include the free Jazz in the
Park summer concert series, July's Black Arts
Festival, and the Zoo Lights of the winter. See
related web site.
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| Washington Park
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A grand Victorian neighborhood centered on the lush
park of its namesake, “Wash Park” is one of Denver's
trendiest and popular neighborhoods. Located in
South Central Denver, and bounded by Broadway east
to University Boulevard, and Alameda Avenue south to
Evans Avenue, it features a good deal of dining and
recreational opportunities, and is littered with
record shops, coffee shops, and other hip
destinations, which along with its central location
in the city, make it particularly attractive to
young professionals. South Gaylord and South Pearl are two of the
busiest streets in the neighborhood, packed full of
small shops and restaurants. Washington Park was one
of Denver's first suburbs, and is an old
neighborhood full of classic houses, so architecture
and history aficionados will live a drive or walk
past the many grand rows of houses and buildings in
the neighborhood. The park itself is 162 acres, with
Smith and Grasmere lakes mirroring the ends of the
long grassy meadow in the middle of the park, and is
also home to Denver's largest flower garden. See
related web site.
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| Capitol Hill
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Capitol Hill is one of Denver's oldest and most
culturally diverse neighborhoods. Just southeast of
downtown, the neighborhood is centered around the
famous gold-domed Capitol building. Historic
mansions intermingle with new condos and apartments,
which has lead to the area being a hub for young
hipsters. Capitol Hill is also the home to the
majority of Denver's GLBT scene, and the city's punk
community.
Popular attractions in Capitol Hill include the
Denver Botanic Gardens, the modernist Vance Kirkland
Museum, and the historic landmark now turned museum,
the Molly Brown House. The neighborhood's excellent
layout has made it a very pedestrian friendly area,
with foot traffic often outnumbering car traffic.
Capitol Hill is home to the historic block of
apartments Poets Row, both Governor's and Cheeseman
Park, and number of quantity and charming bed and
breakfasts. Another focal point of the neighborhood
is the massive 210 ft tall French Gothic Cathedral
of the Immaculate Conception, the first Basilica
west of the Mississippi and the location of Pope
John Paul II famous mass in 1993. Every year the
number of new retail, entertainment venues, offices,
restaurants, and housing developments in Capitol
Hill continue to grow making it the most densely
populated region in the city. See
related web site.
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Cherry Creek
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Home of the famous Cherry Creek Shopping
Center and the Denver country club, the area of
Cherry Creek extends north from East 1st avenue to
East 8th Avenue, and from Downing Street east to
Steele Street. Massive and ornate stone mansions
fill the area, housing many of Denver's wealthiest
families. The neighborhood is home to a staggering
number of retail and cultural spots, adding up to
nearly 320 independently owned shops, boutiques,
galleries, restaurants, spas and more. Add those to
the nearly 160 Brand name stores in the Cherry Creek
Shopping Center and it creates the largest shopping
district between Chicago and Los Angeles. The
atmosphere of Cherry Creek is exquisite, with tree
lined streets, parks, small gardens, and numerous
pieces of public art to mix in with all the shops,
bistros, cafes, and 22 mile cherry creek bike path. Special things to look out for include the
weekend Farmer's Market in the summer, which offers
a huge variety of local baked goods and fresh
produce. Also not to miss is the massive Cherry
Creek Arts Festival takes place every 4th of July
weekend, and becomes an enormous outdoor gallery of
live music, art, and food. See
related web site.
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