The old Mile High, where Elway led the Broncos to back-to-back Super Bowl victories, came in at No. 4 on sports website Cover32's list of the NFL's all-time sacred venues. Sports Authority (formerly Invesco) Field at Mile High, which replaced it in 2001, has been compared to a giant, er, prophylactic. 'Nuff said.
2. Tom Waits' Fave Watering Hole
Neil Cassady and Jack Kerouac evidently drank there too, way back in the day, but the Terminal Bar owes its lasting legacy to Tom Waits. The bard of bourbon-soaked binges immortalized it in two of his songs: “Drunk On the Moon” and “Nighthawk Postcards (From Easy Street)”. Sadly, the LoDo “revitalization” of the mid-’90s did, indeed, prove to be terminal for this legendary dive.
3. And Bill Murray's, Too
The Hill-Top Tavern, which always seemed to make the list of Westword's best Denver dive bars, finally dropped off that list when it closed down a year or so ago.
It was known for its wall-to-wall bar, David Bowie on the jukebox, and frequent sightings of the one and only Bill Murray? Too bad he'll now have to find another place for his boozin' and schmoozin' when he’s in the area.
4. And Also One Of Mine
OK, I'm not remotely famous, but I'm still bummed that one of my old hangouts closed down. Club 404 was the diviest of Broadway dive bars, but they did a decent, low-priced steak and the beer was cheap and cold. And they had a cool neon sign. And...well, they'd been there for over 60 years! Who knew they were going to go away so soon?
5. Gospel Sundays At M&D's
M&D's Cafe had been serving up some of Denver's best soul food since the ‘70s: spicy catfish, saucy ribs, fried green tomatoes, and oh, that sweet potato pie. Standard fare for the Deep South, perhaps, but not so easy to come by in the Rocky Mountain West. Even harder now, since they had to close down due to tax issues.
Seems no matter how much you make, the government always wants to collect 110% of it. Yeah, they had soul—and the best (and most likely only) Sunday gospel brunch in town, but when it came to dealing with the taxman, they didn't have a prayer.
6. A Sad Clown
Pagliacci's was the place where I would always go with my dad when he came to visit me – it was one of the last of the classic red-sauce Italian restaurants, complete with stucco arches, murals of happy Italian peasants and (my favorite) squishy plastic grapes like grandma used to have.
The marinara sauce, the minestrone, even the cannoli thrilled the pickiest of Italian food lovers. But saddest of all, I'm really going to miss that big neon crying clown.
7. A Not-So-Sad Clown
Blinky was the beloved host of a children's TV show for over 40 years, first in the Springs and then in Denver. His “Good morning, glad to see you!” song was a daily ritual for generations of Denver kiddies, and it was practically the thrill of a lifetime if you were one of the chosen few to be wished a “happy birfday!” to up on stage.
After his show went off the air in 2008, he continued to run his shop, Blinky's Antiques and Collectibles, on South Broadway. He was visited there by celeb shoppers including Michael Jackson and Liberace, as well as a would-be robber who was deterred from his evil intent by the realization that the store's proprietor was that same friendly clown on whose lap he'd sat as a tiny tot.
Blinky spent his last few peaceful years at the Bear Creek Nursing Center before passing away in 2012 at the age of 91.
8. The Rockfather
Barry Fey was Denver's answer to Bill Graham—a rock concert promoter who brought absolutely everybody who was anybody to D-Town. He promoted Led Zeppelin's first North American show, and also the Jimmy Hendrix Experience's last. Oh yeah, he also helped to save the Denver Symphony, bring baseball back to Denver and produce the concert film “U2 Live at Red Rocks: Under a Blood Red Sky.”
He may be gone now, but he hasn't gone far...after he died last year, he had his ashes scattered at his beloved Red Rocks Amphitheatre.
9. Grandma Goth
Suelynn Gustafson was an inspiration to all of us who've ever feared that growing older means surrendering one's last vestiges of cool. Never happened for Grandma Goth, who dyed her grey hair purple and danced on the countertop of her supercool South Broadway emporium Flossy McGrew's.
Unfortunately, eternal youth doesn't mean eternal life, and she left us last year at age 71. The store survived her passing for a few months more, but now it, too, has gone to Goth Heaven (where all the angels have bat wings).
10. Blake Street's Last Bomber
Dante Bichette isn't dead, but he's left Denver for good this time. He was one of the original Rockies, and he hit the team's first-ever home run back at the old Mile High before there was a Coors Field.
His stint as a Rockies' player ended around the turn of the millennium, but he returned to the team as a hitting coach in 2012. That only lasted for one season, however, as he decided to leave the Mile High city once more and return to his home in Florida.
Well, at least he lasted longer than his restaurant did—anyone remember Dante Bichette's Sports Grill and Roadhouse? Not sure when that closed down, but it's a Hamburger Mary's now.
11. Haute Cuisine À La Colfax
First the Normandy closed in 2001, and then Tante Louise in 2005. Sure, Denver's still got Le Central, which is totally awesome (omg, the moules à l'Italienne...), but it was such a kick having a fine dining experience on a slightly seedy stretch of East Colfax.
Well, never mind, Tante Louise was actually a bit too snooty (and very pricey), although I do miss the Normandy's soupe à l'oignon. But they've been gone for ages now, leaving Le Central as Denver's undisputed roi de restaurants français, a crown they absolutely deserve to wear. You should go there now, before they decide to close, too. Saisir le jour!
12. An Airport That Was Easy To Get To
Stapleton Airport was pretty close to downtown. DIA...Not so much. In fact, not at all. You have to drive through the entirety of Aurora, seems like, before you get to what is inexplicably again somehow Denver. And then there's this demonic horse thing standing guard before you can pass through the portal to catch your plane… but I digress.
Stapleton's gone now, it ceased all operations in 1995 and has since been covered over with suburban sprawl.
13. An Air Force Base Without A Runway
Lowry AFB opened in 1938, back in the Army Air Corps days, and took its name from the only Colorado pilot to be killed in action during WWI. It did all the basic air base stuff up until 1966, at which point its last runway closed, and it was scheduled to be closed down, too.
Instead, Lowry was converted to non-flight uses like air intelligence and aerospace sciences training, which kept it up and running for a few more decades. The base finally closed in 1994 and was promptly converted to...you guessed it, still more suburban sprawl.
14. Rocky Flats Is Gone, But The Radiation Remains
The former Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant, on the other hand, was a wee bit too contaminated to be put to use as a housing development (at least, not until everyone in Denver has either forgotten all about what happened there and/or been replaced by an incoming crop of Californians). So instead, this radioactive wasteland has been converted into a...wildlife refuge? Yep, it's now a home, home on the strange where zombie deer and undead antelope play.
15. An Iconic Pachyderm
Roger the Elephant has been lost to Edgewater twice. The original Roger (aka Rajah) was the star attraction at Manhattan Beach, an amusement park that opened in 1881 on the site now occupied by Sloan's Lake. Roger's main job was giving rides to hordes of overexcited kiddies, but one day it all got to be too much for him and he retaliated by stepping on one of his pint-sized passengers. Neither the child nor Roger survived the incident.
Not sure what happened to the former, but Roger was reportedly buried in a nearby swamp. (Denver swamps must have been deeper back in those days). The park itself only lasted 'til 1914, so this is all ancient history. Cut to Roger 2.0:
In 1997, a local artist painted an 80-foot mural depicting scenes from Manhattan Beach, including Roger in a happier (i.e. non-homicidal) moment, on the side of a building that at the time housed a pawnshop. The building has since been bought, and razed, by the Joyride Brewing Company, which is set to open this summer. The brewery owners aren't entirely heartless, though: a tricycle-riding Roger will adorn their new logo.
16. Another Shot At The Olympics
Denver was chosen to host the 1976 Winter Olympics, but voters at the time decided they didn't want to be stuck footing the bill. The city had to say thanks, but no thanks to the International Olympic Committee, which was pretty unprecedented at the time. In fact, it still is—no other city has ever turned down the chance to host an Olympic Games.
Since the IOC's got a longer memory than Roger (were he to have survived the whole swamp-sinking thing, that is), any subsequent bids Denver may make for the next century or so aren't likely to meet with much favor. They might stand a shot if they join forces with Colorado Springs, though, since the Springs already has the United States Olympic Training Center. Maybe they could have it halfway between the two, like in Castle Rock. Except for the luge...I'm thinking this silliest of winter events totally belongs in Highlands Ranch.
17. Tabloid News
Once upon a time, Denver was a two-paper town. In fact, this was something that used to be used to differentiate between types of people, in a Coke/Pepsi kind of way: my old boyfriend was a “Rocky Mountain News” reader, but I, who had grown up with broadsheet-format papers, preferred the “Denver Post.” There wasn't all that much difference in content after the papers merged under the same management in 2001, but, well, I just never could get used to that tabloid style. The “Rocky” stopped the presses for good in 2009, ceding the daily field to the broadsheet “Post.”
18. Clear Channel's Attempt At Being Progressive
Clear Channel, the Denver media monolith, has long been accused (with some justification) of having a strong conservative bias.
Well, Reggie Rivers tried to buck the jingoistic tide with his KHOW show back in the post-9/11 days, but Clear Channel quickly put an end to that. They finally woke up and smelled the fair trade coffee, however, realizing that Denver actually tends to vote Democrat so all Rush Limbaugh all the time isn't going to fly.
AM-760 was Clear Channel's attempt at providing a liberal POV, but it seems they've finally pulled the plug on that experiment. All of the progressive radio hosts have been given their walking papers, with Gloria Neal turning off the lights as the last one to leave the building early this May. Luckily Glo's still got her gig as part of the CBS4 6 PM news team.
19. A Cinderella Story Minus The Happily Ever After
Everybody was pretty psyched when Cinderella City Mall first opened in 1968—after all, it was the largest covered shopping center west of the Mississippi!
Business was booming through the ‘70s, but the ‘80s were a cruel stepmother of a decade and by the ‘90s...well, Cinderella's coach turned back into a pumpkin, and Prince Charming decided he'd rather shop at Cherry Creek mall instead.
The fairy tale ended with a wrecking ball in 1998, and all that remains is the former Foley's building which now houses the Englewood Public Library and City Hall.
20. Denver Spoke, No-One Listened
The Denver Spoke used to be the bike shop in town, until, well, it wasn't.
The death of one of the original owners, some poor business decisions, a declining customer base, whatever the reason, they shut down a few years back. Not to worry, Denver bikers, they've been replaced by half-a-dozen more cycle shops, these seem to spring up like weeds around here. As do cyclists themselves—which is cool and all, but would you guys riding around the DU area at night please stop acting so suicidal? I thought all that fresh air and exercise was supposed to give you a new lease on life, not make you bound and determined to throw yourself beneath my wheels.
21. Superman's Wheels
One of the Spoke's original owners (not the one who died) was a man named Clark, and when he wanted to get into the custom frame biz, he just had to go and team up with a guy by the name of Kent.
Clark-Kent may have made some super cycle frames, but I guess they ran out of room trying to put them together in that tiny phone booth. The company, which went into business in 1989, was gone by the mid-’90s.
22. Denver's Premier Porn Palace
If you were completely unembarrassed by your porn habit, Kitty's East was the place to go. You could boldly march right through the front door of this East Colfax establishment, in full view of the passing downtown traffic. Inside you'd be greeted by a huge (massive, mammoth, gargantuan, colossal, prodigious...) selection of adult entertainment: magazines, DVDs, and, umm…assorted paraphernalia.
And then the Internet happened.
23. A Place Where Disco Never Died—Until It Did
Polly Esther's was the antithesis of those clubs where you have to pass some kind of snobby fashion check before they let you in the door. At this ‘70s/‘80s themed club, the tackier you looked, the more love they showed you. They've been gone a few years now, so you'll just have to shove those bell bottoms to the back of your closet again.
24. Truncated Ties
If you're cursed with an ugly tie collection, you'll have to find some other way to get rid of them now that this necktie-snippin', boot-scootin', steak-grillin', beer swillin' saloon's doors have swung shut.
The Texas-based Trail Dust Steakhouse originally had two Denver-area outposts, but the one in Westminster closed in the mid-’00s and the one in Centennial followed suit (minus the tie) a few years later.
25. Sharp(e) As An...Onion?
I don't believe I ever ate Good Times' onion rings, but I sure remember their commercials with Shannon Sharpe dressed like an onion. Actually, the onion looked pretty good on him, better than those boring suits he wore in his later broadcasting career.
