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LoDo (Lower Downtown) is an unofficial neighborhood in
Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
, and is one of the oldest places of settlement in the city. It is a mixed-use historic district, known for its nightlife, and serves as an example of success in urban reinvestment and revitalization. The current population is approximately 21,145.


History

Prior to European exploration of the area, Native Americans, particularly the
Arapaho The Arapaho (; french: Arapahos, ) are a Native American people historically living on the plains of Colorado and Wyoming. They were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe and loosely aligned with the Lakota and Dakota. By the 1850s, Arapaho band ...
tribe, established encampments along the
South Platte River The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River. Flowing through the U.S. states of Colorado and Nebraska, it is itself a major river of the American Midwestern United States, Midwest and the American Sout ...
near or in what is now LoDo. In 1858, after the discovery of
gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
in the river, General
William Larimer William Larimer Jr. (October 24, 1809 – May 16, 1875) was a Kansas state senator, American settler, and land developer who is best known as the founder of Denver, Colorado, in 1858. Larimer often went by "General Larimer", having acquired the ...
founded Denver by putting down cottonwood logs in the center of a square mile plot that would eventually be the current LoDo neighborhood, making LoDo both the original city of Denver, as well as its oldest neighborhood. Then, like now, LoDo was a bustling and sometimes wild area known for its saloons and brothels. During the Sand Creek Massacre, it was LoDo where the heads of the slaughtered
Arapaho The Arapaho (; french: Arapahos, ) are a Native American people historically living on the plains of Colorado and Wyoming. They were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe and loosely aligned with the Lakota and Dakota. By the 1850s, Arapaho band ...
tribe were paraded in victory. As Denver grew, city leaders realized a
railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
was needed to keep Denver a strong city, especially when the
transcontinental railroad A transcontinental railroad or transcontinental railway is contiguous railroad trackage, that crosses a continental land mass and has terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks can be via the tracks of either a single ...
bypassed Denver for
Cheyenne, Wyoming Cheyenne ( or ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming, as well as the county seat of Laramie County, with 65,132 residents, per the 2020 US Census. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne metropolitan statistical ...
. In 1870, after much cajoling from town leaders, residents passed bonds that brought a rail spur from Cheyenne. This and later train lines ended up in the Central Platte Valley, adjacent to LoDo.
Union Station A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...
became the place most people traveled into the city and LoDo would be the first part of the city they would see. This section eventually became Denver's Chinatown from the 1870s to the 1880s, only to be torn down by race riots. By the mid-twentieth century, what was once a thriving business area had become a
skid row A skid row or skid road is an impoverished area, typically urban, in English-speaking North America whose inhabitants are mostly poor people " on the skids". This specifically refers to poor or homeless, considered disreputable, downtrodden or fo ...
. As highways and airports diminished the dominance of passenger railroad transportation, the importance of Union Station, LoDo's most prominent building, waned. The Lower Downtown Historic District, known as LoDo, was created by the enactment of a zoning ordinance by
Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
City Council in March 1988. The resolution's intent was to encourage historic preservation and to promote economic and social vitality in Denver's founding neighborhood at a time when it still held significant historic and architectural value. The status granted by this special designation provided protection to the community's archivable resources and to the 127 contributing historic structures that remained after roughly 20% of Lower Downtown's buildings had been demolished throug
DURA
policies in the 1960s and 1970s. LoDo's historic district ordinance includes zoning that restricts building height and encourages
mixed-use development Mixed-use is a kind of urban development, urban design, urban planning and/or a zoning type that blends multiple uses, such as residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, or entertainment, into one space, where those functions are to some ...
. It stipulates strict design guidelines for rehabilitation and new construction. These guidelines have been challenged by out-of-state developers but are vigorously defended by residents. During this time, the neighborhood began its renaissance and new businesses opened. Gradually LoDo became a destination neighborhood. By the time
Coors Field Coors Field is a baseball stadium in downtown Denver, Colorado. It is the home field of Major League Baseball's Colorado Rockies. Opened in 1995, the park is located in Denver's Lower Downtown neighborhood, two blocks from Union Station. The ...
opened on the edge of the LoDo Historic District in 1995, the area had revitalized itself, becoming a new, hip neighborhood filled with clubs, restaurants, art galleries, boutiques, bars, and other businesses.
Pepsi Center Ball Arena (formerly known as Pepsi Center) is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Denver, Colorado. It is situated at Speer Boulevard, a main thoroughfare in downtown Denver, and is served by two nearby exits off Interstate 25. A light r ...
, located on the other edge of the neighborhood, opened in 1999 and further established the neighborhood as a sport fan's paradise. New residential development came to LoDo, transforming old warehouses into pricey new lofts.


Geography

The B-7 zoned historic district is roughly bordered by: * Cherry Creek/Speer Boulevard *Wewatta Street (excluding Union Station) *20th Street *The alley between Market and Larimer Streets When referring to the greater LoDo area, people often include adjacent neighborhoods that are not a part of the official historic district, but encompass LoDo's sphere of influence. This unofficial greater area include
Larimer Square
th

Campus

th

Union Station North Union Station North, formerly known as Prospect, is a neighborhood within the city limits of Denver, Colorado. Previously dominated by industrial buildings, waste, railroad tracks and considered an area of the city to be avoided, today it has been ...

River North
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neighborhoods. LoDo is located in north-central Denver, directly northwest of the downtown CBD, near the confluence of Cherry Creek and the
South Platte River The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River. Flowing through the U.S. states of Colorado and Nebraska, it is itself a major river of the American Midwestern United States, Midwest and the American Sout ...
.


Economy

Land in the Lower Downtown Historic District is zoned B-7, which includes building height limitations and encourages mixed-use development and provides strict design guidelines for rehabilitation and new construction. Projects must go through an architectural design review, which allows LoDo to retain its pedestrian scale and historic character as it continues to densify. The average cost of a home i
LoDo in May of 2016 was $701,286.


Oxford Hotel

The Oxford Hotel, built in 1891, is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
. The Cruise Room is a hotel bar with historic art deco interior, that was operated as an illicit
speakeasy A speakeasy, also called a blind pig or blind tiger, is an illicit establishment that sells alcoholic beverages, or a retro style bar that replicates aspects of historical speakeasies. Speakeasy bars came into prominence in the United States d ...
.


Wynkoop Brewing Company

The Wynkoop Brewing Company, a
brewpub Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries. They produce smaller amounts of beer, typically less than large breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as having an emphasis o ...
founded in 1988 by Colorado's 42nd Governor
John Hickenlooper John Wright Hickenlooper Jr. (; born February 7, 1952) is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from Colorado since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 42nd governor of Colorado from 2011 to 20 ...
with partners Russell Schehrer, Mark Schiffler, and Jerry Williams, sponsors the "Beerdrinker of the Year" competition, which is hosted yearly in one of the banquet halls. The Wynkoop has a large
billiards Cue sports are a wide variety of games of skill played with a cue, which is used to strike billiard balls and thereby cause them to move around a cloth-covered table bounded by elastic bumpers known as . There are three major subdivisions of ...
hall on its top floor.


Arts and culture

In the summer of 2006, LoDo hosted the cast members of MTV's popular reality show
The Real World Real World or The Real World may also refer to: * Real life, a phrase to distinguish between the real world and fictional, virtual or idealized worlds Television * ''The Real World'' (TV series), 1992–2017 * "The Real World" (''Stargate Atla ...
, as season 18: '' The Real World: Denver''. Several movies have also been filmed, wholly or in part, in the neighborhood, including the Eddie Murphy film '' Imagine That'' (2009). LoDo's combination of contemporary architecture sprinkled among historic buildings, beautiful mountain views, access to Cherry Creek and nearby parks, plus its proximity to two major sporting venues, make it an attractive location for television and movie filming. The 70+ bars and restaurants in the historic district provide a positive economic impact for the city. However, late night violence, including a fatal shooting, has caused concern.Family Mourns Man Killed In Nightclub Shooting – Denver News Story – KMGH Denver
/ref> The police are increasing foot patrols and asking private security officers to assist with the 2:00 am "let out" period. A security task force, made up of members of the public, Denver Police, neighborhood and business associations, and bar and club owners has convened to examine the issue.


Community

The LoDo District, Inc., a non-profit neighborhood and business association, represents both the residential and commercial communities, and functions as a LoDo-specific chamber of commerce, visitors bureau, registered neighborhood organization, advocacy agent, and marketing entity. The Lower Downtown Neighborhood Association, the residential association, is a non-profit organization committed to seeking quality living conditions amid the mixed uses of the Lower Downtown area. Because of the numerous bars and clubs in the area, LoDo is also a popular location for the nightlife of Denver.


Attractions

*
Coors Field Coors Field is a baseball stadium in downtown Denver, Colorado. It is the home field of Major League Baseball's Colorado Rockies. Opened in 1995, the park is located in Denver's Lower Downtown neighborhood, two blocks from Union Station. The ...
*
Ball Arena Ball Arena (formerly known as Pepsi Center) is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Denver, Colorado. It is situated at Speer Boulevard, a main thoroughfare in downtown Denver, and is served by two nearby exits off Interstate 25. A lig ...
*
Denver Union Station Denver Union Station is the main railway station and central transportation hub in Denver, Colorado. It is located at 17th and Wynkoop Streets in the present-day LoDo district and includes the historic station house, a modern open-air train shed, ...
*
Denver Millennium Bridge The Denver Millennium Bridge is the world's first cable-stayed bridge using post-tensioned structural construction. Its 200-foot (61 m) white tapered steel mast rises above Denver's northwestern skyline, connected to the bridge deck and foundation ...
*
Museum of Contemporary Art Denver The Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA Denver), in Denver, Colorado, was founded in 1996 as the first dedicated home for contemporary art in the city of Denver. For seven years, MCA Denver occupied a renovated fish market in Sakura Square in lower dow ...
* Children's Museum of Denver * Elitch Gardens Amusement Park * 16th Street Mall * Tattered Cover


References


External links


The LoDo District
- The neighborhood and business association for Lower Downtown Denver. The LoDo District, Inc. is a 501(c) 3, membership organization that supports Lower Downtown (LoDo) Denver’s unique historical, cultural, and retail neighborhood through marketing, education, and advocacy.
The Lower Downtown Neighborhood Association
- The residential association for Lower Downtown Denver. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lodo, Denver Neighborhoods in Denver Historic districts in Colorado Warehouse districts of the United States Tourist attractions in Denver