May 9, 2007

US & Canada | US | Denver

The Lowdown on LoDo

By Kris Wilton

Denver has Manhattan aspirations — and a swelling cache of culture to boot.

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There you are, with your coterie of hipsters at the latest VIP bottle service lounge — where the bubbly costs $600 a pop (and the waitress takes home more in nightly tips). No, you’re not in New York, L.A. or Miami. You’re in Denver. More specifically, you’re in LoDo — the lower downtown historic district that is now emerging among the most happening hoods in the west. At the vanguard of the district’s rebirth are a clutch of exclusive boîtes — such as Rise, Vinyl and the Church — not to mention a burgeoning art scene. This fall, the new David Adjaye-designed site for the Museum of Contemporary Art opens. And even beyond downtown, the Mile High City is re-inventing itself at every turn: witness Daniel Libeskind’s spiky new addition to the Denver Art Museum, plus a new Ritz Carlton, which when it opens in the fall will be the city’s first five-star property. The 19-story hotel also promises to deliver Denver’s largest guest rooms (550 square feet) and most luxurious ballroom. That should keep Four Seasons on its toes: in 2009 it aims to redefine the Denver skyline with a spanking new 45-story tower.