The Walk Down 17th Street

I took the bus up University Boulevard the other day, got out at Colfax, and then walked from there down 17th Street to Denver's Union Station, where I can catch the light rail train home.  This is the walk I used to sometimes take going home from the Tattered Cover Bookstore, and I must say it is an even more enjoyable walk when you don't have to work there the entire day first. The walk down 17th Street is hipster territory, and I enjoy seeing what changes are happening - or not happening - around there.  I still like to admire the old Victorian house at the corner of 17th and Park Avenue (seen in the photograph on the left).  It is now a law office, and still standing, although a massive new apartment complex is being built right across the street.  I have noticed, by the way, that a great many law offices like to locate in old mansions, probably to give them a proper level of dignity, as opposed to their ambulance chasing style commercials.

The first mile of this walk goes past restaurants, bars, and both new and old and still under construction apartment buildings.  As you approach downtown, there are more and more office buildings, and then at Broadway you pass the Brown Palace Hotel (as seen in the photo on the right), which has been happily serving rich people since 1892. I must admit, the interior is quite impressive, with a spectacular atrium, the first floor of which still has an afternoon tea service. From there I switch to the 16th Street Mall, where the office workers were leaving work and heading to the bars for happy hour.  That final mile is the heart of downtown Denver, and stays pretty lively, even after all the office workers go home, which is not true of many cities.  Lincoln, Nebraska immediately springs to mind, but I digress.  The only negative part of the walk is that now that I am no longer employed, I don't have an Eco Pass and actually have to pay money to take the bus and light rail.  However, since I have now reached geezerhood, it is only $2.60 round trip, and even cheapskates like me can afford that.