Remembering Dana Crawford

Historic Preservationist Dana Crawford passed away last Thursday at the age of 93. Crawford was responsible for preserving much of what was left of Denver's historic buildings after the Denver Urban Renewal Authority leveled much of downtown Denver. Back in the 1960s, Crawford's car overheated in the 1400 block of Larimer Street, which at the time was Denver's skid row. The urban renewal people thought that if they leveled all the buildings on that street, including the Windsor Hotel and Tabor Opera House, the bums would just disappear. But Crawford looked around that particular block and immediately knew it needed to be revitalized. She fought very hard to save it, eventually making it the most vibrant part of downtown Denver and seen in the photograph on the left.

Crawford also was instrumental in preserving Denver's Lower Downtown neighborhood, which is now the city's main entertainment district. In conjunction with that, she redeveloped both the Oxford Hotel and Union Station. She also worked on projects in Pueblo, Trinidad, and Idaho Springs, Colorado, where she was most recently helping to turn the Argo Mine there into a major tourist destination. And not only were the places she restored important historical areas, Crawford also had a vision of how they could become both important parts of the community and economic successes. She will be missed.