When it comes to sustainable horticulture, Denver Botanic Gardens is leading by example. Take green roofs, which ease the urban heat island, provide wildlife habitat and offer other environmental benefits. There are two at the York Street location: a display roof atop the Boettcher Building and…
An underutilized lot on the southern tip of downtown Denver has sprouted one of the country’s most sustainable hotels. It’s also one of the hardest to miss. Opened in October 2024, Populus Hotel is modeled after a many-eyed Colorado icon: The architects at Studio Gang drew inspiration from the…
“The train is the only way to go,” says Rosie Thibodeaux, traveling home after exploring Denver for three days with her sister and her niece. The trio flew into Denver International Airport and are now returning home to Modesto, California, on Amtrak’s California Zephyr. The full train route runs…
It’s a quiet and cloudless summer day in northeast Park Hill. In front of the Dahlia Campus for Health & Well-Being, tidy rows of crops bask in the sunlight on an acre of urban farmland. A nearby greenhouse features one of the city’s largest aquaponics systems supporting the growth of bountiful…
Located in a brightly painted building on Larimer Street in the heart of the River North Art District (RiNo), Raquelitas Tortillas is not your average tortilla manufacturer and retail tortilla store. It has deep roots in Denver and the historically Latino section of Larimer Street, dating back to…
With more than 10,000 seats spread across 10 venues on 12 acres, the Denver Performing Arts Complex is the second-largest facility of its kind in the United States, after Lincoln Center in New York. It’s also near the top of the list when it comes to sustainability. As the Arts Complex’s largest…
Perfectly perched in Denver’s foothills, Red Rocks Park & Amphitheatre is one of the most revered concert venues on Earth. It’s also on the leading edge when it comes to sustainability. First point of order: Concerts tend to generate a lot of trash, and getting everything in the right place requires…
It’s hard to miss the gold-plated dome atop the Colorado State Capitol, but the nearly invisible geothermal system that heats and cools the building is every bit as compelling. Operational since 2013, the system was a first for a state capitol building. “The building is uniquely situated over the…
Whenever the Denver Nuggets or Colorado Avalanche are having great seasons, the excitement builds around Ball Arena as the teams eye deep playoff runs. The Broomfield-based Ball Corporation, the 800-pound gorilla of the aluminum can industry that bought the arena’s naming rights in 2020, is pushing…
Denver has emerged as one of the country’s top cities for craft spirits, with about a dozen distilleries bottling everything from absinthe to whiskey. Turning grain and fruit into liquor is resource-intensive, and it also generates a notable stream of waste. Many operations in The Mile High City…
