April’s Welcome Wagon was a great success! The turnout was a perfect mix of Denver natives, seasoned transplants, and newcomers. This time around, we decided to take advantage of the Doors Open Denver and explore some of the rich history and architecture of downtown Denver. We met at Denver’s historic Union Station which was also DoD’s headquarters and one of over 50 spaces open to the public as part of the event. If you haven’t been inside the terminal building, you should certainly stop in sometime to check it out. There are several restaurants, shops, a hotel, and of course trains and historic archeteture and detailing.

After grabbing some coffee and making a plan of attack, we wandered downtown Denver exploring some of the other historic buildings and architecture. At the Oxford Hotel we wandered through the Cruise Room, a bar modeled after the cocktail lounge of the HRS Queen Mary (see header image above). Then we snuck into the men’s room to see its original fixtures

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Moving on, we stopped to ride the old elevator at the Sugar Building and learned about back-alley Chinatown at the Rockmount Ranchwear store. We made our way up to the Paramount Theater and explored the nooks and crannies including the projection booth, green room, and balcony. The art and decor were quite amazing to see.

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After that we went a bit rouge and ducked into the Brown Palace where one of our group told us about errors in construction which we successfully found – an iron panel in the railings that had been installed upside-down.

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Finally, we finished the day off with lunch and drinks at Tom’s Urban. Thanks to everyone for coming out, we all had a really great time!

Are you new to Denver and itching to get out and meet other creatives? Stay tuned for details on our next Welcome Wagon event.