With construction moving at a frenetic pace in Denver these days, you may not have heard about a controversial proposal involving LoDo’s iconic historic district, Larimer Square.
Owners of the historic block, Larimer Associates and Urban Villages, are currently exploring a significant redevelopment that could add residential towers to the back ends of the block's structures, while maintaining just the building facades. This spring, an Advisory Committee is gathering feedback from the community about what could permanently alter this iconic row of early downtown commercial buildings. Recently, Historic Denver highlighted the proposal on its webpage.
The Western History and Genealogy Department has a number of collections and photographs related to the businesses that have occupied Larimer Square and the work that went into making Larimer Square Denver's first historic district.
Recently, the library acquired the blueprint drawings of the M.E. Harker Building, located at 1433 Larimer Street. Today, the Harker building is home to Corridor 44 Champagne bar. Charles and Mary Harker hired Denver architect William Cowe to design the commercial building in 1910. Drawings show a commercial ground level space with modest apartments on the upper level. Before this donation, the library had no records of Cowe’s architectural work in Denver.
Visit the Western History and Genealogy Department to see the William Cowe Architectural Records (WH2343) and over 100 other architectural collections.
Comments
What is this Advisory
What is this Advisory Committee, who is running it, and how do I contact it? I'm appalled at this proposal which would ruin Denver's landmark historic block, add to the sterility and anonymity of the new development downtown, and make it like a Dallas clone. In the '50s and early '60s the city had plans to demolish all of lower downtown and put a freeway through it. How would that have added to the livability of downtown? Is anyone sorry they didn't manage to achieve their megalomanical plan? Larimer Square was a pioneering effort that showed historic preservation was a viable development option downtown. After having shown the way for so much of downtown's redevelopment, let's not now have it destroyed just to add more bland and overbearing new buildings.
It is being run by the owner
It is being run by the owner and developer. Very little input by so called "advisory" members
Thank you for your comment
Thank you for your comment and feedback. To your question of how to learn more about the Advisory Committee, Historic Denver has a page on their website devoted to this current issue. Dana Crawford, as well as Annie Levinsky of Historic Denver are on the Advisory Committee.
I'm sorry to hear this. Thank
I'm sorry to hear this. Thank you commenting. It's important to make sure residents know what is going on.
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