Officially, the Fontius Building–the historic structure in embarrasing disrepair at the corner of 16th and Welton in the heart of Downtown Denver–is called the Steel Building, named for Steel’s Department Store, the original occupant of the 1923 structure. But since Steel’s Department Store is long gone and the sign that now clings to the building’s facade reads “Fontius,” most people these days know the building as the Fontius Building.

I’m not sure when Fontius Shoes first moved into the space at 600 16th Street on Block 162, but I can tell you when they left. In one of my initial blogs about the Fontius, I asked if anyone out there knew when the shoe store closed. How long, exactly, has the retail space at the epicenter of Downtown Denver been vacant? I received several emails from folks who claimed they knew when the Downtown Fontius went dark but, unfortunately, they all cited different years. So, in an effort to settle the matter once and for all, I headed down to the remarkable Western History and Genealogy department at the Downtown Denver Public Library. If you’ve never been to the Central Library’s fifth floor, get down there ASAP! Anyway, a quick search of the business pages in the Denver phone books from the 1980s revealed that the Fontius store Downtown was listed in the 1988 edition but not in the 1989 edition. So, I think it’s reasonable to assume that sometime in 1988 the Fontius store in Downtown Denver closed, which means that the retail space at the corner of 16th and Welton has been vacant for roughly twenty years.

But before dwelling on the building’s two-decade-long decline, let’s look back at the Fontius Building when it represented a positive contribution to Downtown Denver’s environment. Before 1923, a small nondescript building occupied the corner of 16th and Welton. Then in 1923, a new 4-story structure with muted art deco elements was built for Steel’s Department Store. Here’s a photo, courtesy of the Western History department’s online photo archives, of the Steel Building on opening day:

There aren’t many photos of the Steel Building in the DPL archives, unlike more prominent buildings like the Brown Palace, the D&F Tower, the Equitable Building, or the Masonic Building. But here are a few… all courtesy of the Western History department’s photo archives.

A view of 16th and California with the Steel Building at the photo left edge. Note the large “Cafeteria” sign mounted on the side of the building. In the background, the fifth and sixth floors are being added to the Denver Dry Goods Building (1924):



In addition to Steel’s Department Store, the building also hosted the Hoff-Schroeder Cafeteria facing the Welton Street side. Here’s a 1927 photograph of the interior:



Also along Welton between 16th and 15th was the Orpheum Theater, one of the city’s grandest Vaudevillian theaters. The site has been an ugly surface parking lot for decades. Here’s a late 1920s photo of the corner of 15th and Welton (15th on the left, Welton on the right) and the Orpheum Theater along Welton. The Steel Building is at the photo right edge:



Finally, here’s a mid-century photo of the 621 17th Street tower at 17th and Welton (formerly First Interstate, now Wells Fargo) under construction in 1957, with the Steel Building and Orpheum Theater in the foreground left. The buildings on the right are where the Denver Pavilions now stands:



So there’s a little photo history of the Fontius, the building that’s been mostly vacant for twenty years. TWENTY YEARS. The last time the Fontius Shoes retail space was occupied…

– Ronald Reagan was President

– Denver International Airport was only a glimmer in Federico Peña’s eye

– Currigan Hall was Denver’s premier–and only–Downtown convention center

– Lower Downtown wasn’t called “LoDo” and its predominant scene was vagrants, graffiti, boarded-up windows, broken glass, and litter

– The 16th Street Mall was only six years old

– The Cherry Creek Mall (as it stands today) wasn’t built yet

The current owner of the Fontius Building, according to the Denver Assessor’s office, is TDG Cook Company, LTD and Robert E. Cook. The registered agent and general partner of the partnership, according to the Colorado Secretary of State, is Gary R. Cook.

Clearly displayed in the front window of the vacant Fontius Shoes store is this sign:



The Cooks would have you believe that the Fontius is for lease. But, despite its fantastic heart-of-Downtown location, for some reason, the Cooks have never been able to lease the space! Strange, huh? The phone number on the sign, you’ll notice, has no area code. That’s because that sign has been hanging in the window since before Denver got its second area code, 720, in 1995.

Wouldn’t you think that someone would have wanted to lease a highly visible space like the former Fontius Shoes store in the past twenty years? Has no one wanted to lease this prominent retail space at the crossroads of Downtown in two decades? It’s really quite strange that the Cooks have never found a suitable renter for their property in the core of a vibrant urban environment like Downtown Denver. Very odd indeed.

What about selling the property instead? Funny, in twenty years, the Cooks have apparently never received an offer for their property that they have found suitable. They’ve refused to sell to everyone who has approached them. Downtown real estate booms have come and gone, but the Cooks perpetually hold out for the next big boom. But, of course, when that next boom does come, it’s still not good enough for the Cook family. They’re perfectly content to let a handsome historic building in the heart of Downtown sit vacant and deteriorate, for decades, to the chagrin of Denver citizens.

Next time, we’ll take an up-close look at the Cook’s property at 16th and Welton in “Fontius Building: Part 2, The Neglect.”