As we think about the future of Denver – especially in terms of the new mega-projects worth billions of dollars – I had to consider the importance of more down-to-earth issues. Like our source of water to support new buildings, environmental challenges, the need for more coherently planned and funded affordable housing, strategies to keep …
Continue reading "Cities really like bright and shiny things"
For the past few months, I have been following the long and miserable demise of a building in the Golden Triangle. The photos show a 1982 building at 990 Bannock Street, and one showing an excavator gnawing away at the building. Let’s call it the jaws. The building seems to be spilling its guts as …
Continue reading "When a building is demolished, our memory of the architect begins to fade"
Larimer Square has been in the news again, and that is good. The announcement by the Square’s owner -- Jeff Hermanson and his development partners with the Denver firm Urban Villages – said they would not demolish any of the historic buildings. Instead, buildings judged non-historic could be altered or replaced by new buildings. There …
Continue reading "When you consider purchasing an historic property, know what you’re buying."
Last night, I attended my first 2019 mayoral forum. It was held in Manual High School’s auditorium, which gave two of the candidates – Stephan “Seku” Evans and current Mayor Michael Hancock – an opportunity to recall being alums of that school’s Thunderbolts. The event was sponsored by the City Park West Neighborhood Association and …
Continue reading "Who will be mayor of Denver? The race heats up"
That’s “tiny” in terms of changing its name. When I started thinking of beginning a blog last fall, I had spent quite a bit of time driving around and trying to figure out why there were so many ugly buildings all over Denver. Crummy materials. The repetition of five-story limits, perfect to fit into the …
Continue reading "This blog is going through a tiny transformation, and that starts today."
Mary Voelz Chandler has written about architecture, preservation, and visual arts, including the position of architecture and art writer at the Rocky Mountain News in Denver. During that time, she completed the Guide to Denver Architecture published in 2001 in conjunction with the AIA National conference in Denver, then updated the Guide in 2013. She also was a co-author on the …
Left: the Denver Art Museum’s Frederic C. Hamilton Building, Courtesy of the Denver Art Museum; center, from top: the Dora Moore School, Equitable Building detail, and a North Capitol Hill balcony, by Mary Voelz Chandler; right: Clyfford Still Museum detail, by Jeremy Bitterman, Courtesy of the Clyfford Still Museum. Chandler photograph by Cyrus McCrimmon.
Click on these links for more information about the cover photos, the author and the transformation of the blog. Photo Credits http://chandlerindenver.com/2019/03/19/photo-credits-2 How This blog Came To Be http://chandlerindenver.com/2019/03/19/this-blog-is-going-through-a-tiny-transformation-and-that-starts-today Mary Voelz Chandler http://chandlerindenver.com/2019/03/19/mary-voelz-chandler-3
Chandler in Denver 