The 16th Street Grand Reopening

This past Saturday Denver celebrated the reopening of the 16th Street Mall (now officially called simply 16th Street) after a three-and-a-half-year renovation. Restaurants, bars, and shops on 16th Street have had a hard time over the past 5 years, first with Covid restrictions and the rise of work from home emptying out office buildings, and then the long period when the mall was basically a construction zone. Many went out of business, and there are still many vacancies. However, I did see two new restaurants filled with customers when I walked 16th on Saturday, and so perhaps the street will indeed return to its former glory. And by the way, I believe that is the Denver-based band Flobots in the photograph on the left.

The reopening event included speeches, live music, aerial dancing, belly dancing, DJs, and even free pork belly tacos. There was also a marching band parading down the street, as seen in the photograph on the right. I moved to Denver back in 1981 when the 16th Street Mall was still being built. It opened the following year, and back then it was home to no fewer than 4 department stores: The Denver, May D&F, Joslins, and Neusteter's. And when their long-term leases ended, those stores closed one by one, and the 16th Street Mall became more of an entertainment and tourist destination, which it still is today.

I took the photograph on the left of what I assume is 16th Street's new mascot. All the sports teams have mascots, of course. The Colorado Rockies have Dinger the dinosaur, called the worst mascot in sports by a Denver Post columnist, the Colorado Avalanche has Bernie the St. Bernard, the Denver Broncos Miles the horse, and the Denver Nuggets have Rocky, the supermascot, so why not a mascot for 16th Street? I do have to wonder what this mascot will be called. To be honest, it looks more like it was designed to scare people off than welcome them to 16th Street, but what do I know? Personally, if I were you, I would run away if you saw it coming toward you. Which, I have to add, has always been my policy with Dinger.