Two important Lower Downtown historic buildings are being restored: the Colorado Saddlery Building and the Wazee Exchange Building.

I mentioned the Colorado Saddlery Building the other day. Not only is the building at 15th and Wynkoop getting a thorough exterior restoration, but the inside will be completely renovated and converted to offices with ground-floor retail and a new 3-unit residential penthouse up top. Also, the missing sidewalk and streetscape along Wynkoop will finally be installed! This is a project that was approved in 2006 but is now finally being executed. Excellent!

The picture on the left is the still-dirty 15th Street side, and on the right, the freshly-scrubbed Wynkoop side:

A few blocks away at 19th and Wazee, the Wazee Exchange building’s renovation is nearly complete. Along the Wazee side, paint has been removed from the building’s brick exterior to reveal a formerly hidden but dramatic historic commercial painted sign. On the left is the “before” and on the right is the “after”:

Along 19th Street, the historic storefronts have been restored, including the removal of the green metal panels to reveal the storefront’s beautiful cornice and modillions. Again, left is “before” and right is “after”:

It’s great to see that even in a down economy, investment in Downtown Denver continues.