I love old photos of cities, towns, and especially hamlets. Today's photos are from 1970, which definitely qualifies as "old" at this point. Both of today's photos are from Colorado. Denver, that is! I've been to Colorado, and they commemorated the occasion on one of those quarters a few years back.
SO... here's the first photo. Looks kind of cute and small-towny. That's because it is east of the juiciest part of the city, by a couple of miles. We're on E. Colfax Street (at the corner of Xenia), looking east. This one was easy to find because the Lazy-C Lodge is still there, 53 years later! From the looks of things, they expected plenty of visitors to pass through, but it's the Lazy-C for me. Give me the Presidential Suite, and three extra towels! We can go across the street to the Apple Tree Shanty for dinner - I'm already hungry. I have to say, this looks like a very appealing place to live.
Google Maps "street view" shows us how things look today. It seems to be missing some of the prosperous look of 1970, but that's not unusual when comparing vintage photos to modern views. Maybe it's just the remnants of snow.
Next is this view of a mighty clock tower in Denver. The Daniels and Fisher Clock Tower, which puts on on Arapahoe Street, perhaps near the intersection of 16th street, or thereabouts. It's funny, I'll bet long-time residents of Colorado thought that things used to be better, but as in the first photo, this part of the city looks clean, prosperous, and very pleasant.
Here's a "today" view. I wanted to know more about that tower! Built as part of the Daniels & Fisher department store in 1910, it was the tallest building between the Mississippi River and the state of California at the time of construction, at a height of 325 feet (99 m). The building was designed by the architect Frederick Sterner and modeled after The Campanile (St. Mark's Bell Tower) at the Piazza San Marco in Venice, Italy. The 20-floor clock tower has clock faces on all four sides. May Company purchased Daniels & Fisher in 1958, and the store vacated the tower. When the store was demolished (ca. 1971), the tower was saved and renovated into residential and office space in 1981. A 2½ ton bell occupies the top two floors of the building, above the observation deck.
I hope you have enjoyed your visit to Denver, Colorado.
Major-
ReplyDeleteThere's quite a bit of info on the Apple Tree Shanty on the 'ol internet. It's worth Goggling.
Thanks, Major.
Just behind the Lazy-C is a sign (under the AAA sign) that reads [something] Salon. It looks like "Beast Salon", but that's silly. On the other side of the street, there's a sign the says, "Brandin' Iron"; half a block down from the Apple Tree Shanty. I would suppose that the Brandin' Iron is a BBQ place, or maybe a steakhouse. Or maybe ranchers bring their cattle there to get branded. Yeah, I bet that's it.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the clock tower it's 8:40 in the morning (looks too bright to be evening).
"the tower was saved and renovated into residential and office space." I'd hate to live in the apartment just below the 2½ ton bell. "The bells! The bells!"
An excellent Saturday travelogue, Major.
Wow, we can clearly see the bell up there in the top of the tower, in that vintage pic. What a shame that the adjoining building was torn down. I guess we should be thankful that at least the tower was saved. But they should have saved and renovated the entire complex. Oh, well! I just hope that visitors to the observation deck can pay extra, for the opportunity to swing from the bell and scream, "SANCTUARY!"
ReplyDeleteBy the way, since we have to tie everything either to Disney.....or a certain TV show, Arapahoe was the name of the tent/cabin which housed Sharon McKendrick while she was away at summer camp, meeting the identical twin sister that she didn't know she had. Well, it was.
I've got to say I like "Anything Goes Saturday" as much, if not sometimes more, than the usual Disneyland posts. Again, thanks for taking so much time to share these with us.
ReplyDeleteThe water tower at Jones Beach State Park here on Long Island is also modeled after The Campanile of Venice.
ReplyDeleteDennis, Levittown, NY
I love the Apple Tree Shanty sign and it looks like it’s still there in street view.
ReplyDeleteInstead of trash cans it looks like photo 1 has newspaper vending machines, I think. They are bright yellow anyway and regularly spaced.
I went to Denver once for about a day. Seemed like a nice city, but I don’t recall that tower.
Thanks Major.
JG
Major...if 1970 is old, then I am older than dirt now. A depressing start to the weekend. Now...just kidding...except the "dirt" part! LOL KS
ReplyDeleteAnd one more comment. That building in the last photo to the left is where one of our regional offices was in the 80s-90s. Occupied by ATT and US West. Spent many a day in meetings in that building. Good memories of downtown in those days during my visits. KS
ReplyDeleteI love pictures of hamlets, too. This one is probably my favorite.
ReplyDeleteWow - both Master Charge and Bank Americard! It’s a shame neither brand survived the ‘70s.
I used to live about 40 miles from US 287 and I currently live 10 miles from US 40. That just goes to show that, no matter where you live in this country, you’re always near something.
I also came within 7 blocks of the Daniels and Fisher Clock Tower in 1973 when the San Francisco Zephyr stopped at Union Station. I couldn’t see it, but it smelled so close I could almost hear it.
Here’s an aerial photo of what the area looked like in 1976, after the demolition of the Daniels & Fisher department store (https://wp-denverite.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2017/05/16th-dewolf-1024x685.jpg).
JG, great. Now Chuck is gonna give us 5 dollar words for newspaper vending machines, and people who count them. ;-)
ReplyDeleteChuck, looking at the aerial photo, I'm struck by the paucity of trees/greenery in the city center. And wow, look at all those parking lots!
Nanook, I’m assuming a certain redhead ate there?!?
ReplyDeleteJB, beasts should be able to look their best, and a salon visit does wonders. It’ll feel like a new beast! The Brandin’ Iron sold delicate little figurines. Nobody would expect it. I am jealous of your ability to tell time, I just have to ask people! Yeah, imagine knowing that the huge bell was just over your head. Then again, any high rise could have many tons of other floors above your head!
TokyoMagic!, I’m glad they tore down that building, it was haunted and full off mean ghosts. Go find somewhere else to be spooky, you bad ghosts! Saving and renovating old buildings is not the way many developers want to go, even though I’m sure most communities would prefer that. L.A. has been undergoing so much razing of old neighborhoods so that luxury condos can be built. Thank goodness rich people finally have places to live! Good grief, who else would remember the name of the tent/cabin from “The Parent Trap”??
Scott Lane, thank YOU!
Dennis, that Venetian campanile has been duplicated many times, including at EPCOT (I believe). Or am I thinking of the one in Florence?
JG, I’d think that a restaurant with the name “Apple Tree Shanty” would have an apple-themed sign. But they zigged! Or did they zag? Newspaper vending machines, when people read actual newspapers. Crazy.
KS, dirt is pretty old, and I know you are younger than it is!
KS, I’ve never been to Denver, but my mom went to college in Colorado, and she returned some years ago; she was stunned at the amount of development since she’d left. I think she feels like they’ve ruined Colorado!
Chuck, the photo of that guy with the skull is weird. But maybe good for a high school yearbook. Man, you really do live near stuff, I am very jealous. I was going to live near stuff, but then I got nervous. What does a clock tower smell like?? Look at all that parking! See? It’s good that they tore down that building.
JB, good point, who wants stupid trees anyway? Using up all that carbon dioxide. Maybe I want my carbon dioxide!
Major, I’ll venture that the “coffee pot” style sign was a catalog item.
ReplyDeleteJB, I promise not to obsess over any sidewalk furniture but trash cans.
Of course no newspaper racks on Main Street to remind us of the outside world.
JG
JG, I guess that a catalog item makes sense. Personally I would have chosen one of those giant eyeball designs, like you might have found outside of an optometrist's office. I don't know about you, but a giant eyeball will definitely whet my appetite!
ReplyDelete