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Archive of posts filed under the Highland category.

The View

No, not the TV show. It’s the view from Lower Highland and our excellent trio of bridges that creates a 1.75 mile pedestrian spine through the heart of Downtown Denver. From the always-busy Lola at 16th and Boulder to 16th and Broadway and the State Capitol, it’s one heckuva corridor. Here are a few shots from yesterday. Enjoy!



New Highland Project: 3131 Zuni

The Highland district’s 32nd and Zuni historic area is getting a new infill project: 3131 Zuni. The project consists of eight flats ranging from 1,600 to 2,700 SF in size in a four story building, located just one door down from Pasquini’s Highland. Construction is already underway. Here’s a rendering:

The project is being developed by Montano Development, marketed by the Tamburello Team/Distinctive Properties, and designed by David H. O’Brien Architecture. Please visit the project website, www.3131zuni.com, for more information, including floorplans.


New Highland Infill Project: Shoshone Heights

A new 7-unit townhome project, Shoshone Heights, is planned for the southwest corner of Shoshone Street and West 33rd Avenue in Downtown Denver’s historic Highland neighborhood. The project is being developed by Byers Street Properties, with Sprocket Design-Build as the architect. Construction is planned to be complete in Summer 2008. A website for the project is up and running, although content is still a bit lean at this early stage. Here’s a rendering obtained from the website:

We’ll be getting out and taking some site photos soon so we can add this project to the Highland page. Thank you to Scott, a Highland resident and DenverInfill fan, for the heads-up on this new infill project!


Denver’s Highland Bridge Dedication

Saturday was a big day for Downtown Denver as the new Highland Bridge over Interstate 25 had its dedication and grand opening celebration. The 320-foot long span represents the final member in a trio of new pedestrian bridges that connects the historic Highland district with the rest of Downtown. The not-quite-finished-but-close-enough-for-a-party bridge had temporary chain-link fencing along its sides to keep folks from falling onto the highway below (the permanant railing should be installed by the end of the week), but that didn’t dampen the spirits of the hundreds of people who joined in the festivities. Here are a few photos from Saturday:

1. The Bryant-Webster Elementary School Mariachi Band kicked off the celebration with an excellent performance.
2. Mayor Hickenlooper delivering his now-famous “we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it” speech.
3. The release of doves immediately followed the ribbon-cutting.

4. The crowd heading over to the Platte Street side of the bridge.
5. A very large Highland Bridge Dedication cake.
6. The ceremonial groundbreaking for the Highland Bridge Lofts featured several future developers.

7. The view from the Highland Bridge of the other two bridges and Downtown.
8. The glow-stick parade making its way across the new bridge.
9. The celebration concluded with a colorful light show and food, drink, and live music.


Hot DAM… Saturday Morning in Denver

A beautiful Saturday morning it is in the Mile High City, as usual. Perfect for the Denver Art Museum’s grand opening of its Daniel Libeskind-designed expansion, and perfect for a bit of DenverInfill photo-taking too. From left to right:

1. By 8AM, hundreds of people were already in line waiting for the 9AM opening of the box office for this weekend’s 35-hour grand opening extravaganza of the new Denver Art Museum building. The crowd waits in the new Martin Plaza between the Libeskind-designed museum residences (left) and museum (right).

2. A few blocks to the south, the new tower crane for the 16-story 816 Acoma project rises above Downtown’s Golden Triangle neighborhood.

3. Boulder’s Kutandara Center Marimba Ensemble, as seen through the legs of “Spider” an 11-foot tall sculpture by Louise Bourgeois, entertains the early-morning crowd.

4. By 9AM, the queue stretched around the corner, down 12th Avenue, to Broadway. Rising in the background is the post-modern Denver Central Library by Michael Graves and the Denver skyline.


Meanwhile, on the other side of Downtown, progress continues on the new Highland Bridge. Two workers were already on site this morning as the sun peeked above the new Glass House towers across the river. The pedestrian deck was recently installed across the highway. For photos of the installation of the big white arch, check out my blog of August 7.



Highland Bridge Denver: A Milestone Weekend

First there was the Millennium Bridge, and then the Platte River Pedestrian Bridge. The Highland Bridge, the third and final link in connecting Downtown with the historic Highland neighborhood, reached a milestone this weekend as its dramatic white arch spanning the highway below was set in place. As promised, today’s blog looks back at the exciting activities this weekend at 16th and Central. Enjoy.

Friday:

1. 11:08 PM: Cars on I-25 zip past the west bridge anchor as crews prepare for the night’s activities and the arch segment waits on a truck nearby.
2. 11:35 PM: Workers prepare the bridge anchor as Downtown looms in the background.
3. 12:04 AM: With southbound I-25 now closed, the arch segment is lifted off the truck.
4. 12:29 AM: The arch segment rises higher after getting flipped over into its correct position.

5. 12:30 AM: Swinging it around.
6. 12:38 AM: Up and over the support frame.
7. 12:51 AM: Almost there.
8. 12:55 AM: Just a little more to the right…

Several hours later, the west anchor arch was securely in place.

Saturday:

1. 11:00 PM: Both anchor segments are in place as the evening’s work get underway.
2. 11:46 PM: The center arch segment arrives by truck.
3. 12:27 AM: Flipping it over.
4. 12:49 AM: Up it goes.

5. 01:02 AM: Rotating it around as part of the crowd of about 100 look on.
6. 01:04 AM: Getting ready to attach the segments at the west end.
7. 01:20 AM: Taken from the 15th Street bridge, work continues attaching the west end as the east end floats free.
8. 01:31 AM: Downtown shines behind the new icon of Northwest Denver.

Work continued throughout the morning and by Sunday afternoon, I-25 had been reopened with the arch entirely secured. The Highland Bridge is scheduled to open in November, 2006.