Lost Denver

As long as we are talking about nostalgia, I thought I would feature the front cover of Lost Denver, a beautiful photo book of Denver's lost buildings, put together by Amy Zimmer, a local author and historian.  It was definitely a bargain at $19.95 (less my bookstore employee discount, of course).  I went to a book signing and talk given by Zimmer a few years ago while she was promoting her last book, Denver's Historic Houses, but didn't buy the book, and so I feel I am making up for it now.  And in fact, that particular paperback was more expensive than this beautiful hardcover book, so go figure.  In any case, back in the 1950s through the 1970s, Denver's Lower Downtown area became pretty blighted.  The grand old hotels became flophouses and wonderful grand edifices like the Tabor Opera House and the Tabor Block were looking pretty run down. At the same time, urban renewal was born, and the city, instead of encouraging the renovation of these marvelous structures,  leveled virtually the entire area.  By the time I moved to Denver in 1981, the Lower Downtown area seemed to be a sea of parking lots.  Of course, since that time the area has been rebuilt, but it took 30 or 40 years to do it, and some really irreplaceable buildings were lost.  Be sure to buy the book, take a look, and weep.