Setting
LoDo, short for Lower Downtown, is an unofficial neighborhood in north-central Denver, directly northwest of the downtown central business district. It sits near the meeting point of Cherry Creek and the South Platte River, with an approximate current population of 21,145.
The historic district is roughly framed by Cherry Creek and Speer Boulevard, Wewatta Street excluding Union Station, 20th Street, and the alley between Market and Larimer Streets. In broader local use, LoDo may also refer to nearby areas such as Larimer Square, Auraria Campus, Riverfront Park, the Central Platte Valley, Union Station North, River North, and Ballpark.
Early History
Before European exploration, Native Americans, especially the Arapaho, had encampments along the South Platte River near or within present-day LoDo. After gold was found in the river in 1858, General William Larimer founded Denver by placing cottonwood logs at the center of a square-mile plot that later became the LoDo area.
LoDo is both the original city of Denver and its oldest neighborhood. In its early years, it was a busy area associated with saloons and brothels. During the Sand Creek Massacre, the heads of slaughtered Arapaho people were paraded in LoDo.
Railroads and Change
As Denver grew, city leaders pushed for a railroad connection after the transcontinental railroad passed through Cheyenne rather than Denver. In 1870, residents approved bonds for a rail spur from Cheyenne, and later rail lines reached the Central Platte Valley next to LoDo.
Union Station became the main arrival point for many people entering Denver, making LoDo the first part of the city they encountered. The area later included Denver’s Chinatown from the 1870s to the 1880s, before it was destroyed in race riots. By the mid-twentieth century, declining passenger rail travel and the rise of highways and airports reduced Union Station’s importance, and the neighborhood had become a skid row.
Historic District and Development
Denver City Council created the Lower Downtown Historic District in March 1988 through a zoning ordinance intended to support preservation and economic and social vitality in Denver’s founding neighborhood. The designation protected 127 contributing historic structures that remained after earlier demolition in the 1960s and 1970s.
LoDo is zoned B-7, with building-height limits, mixed-use development, and design rules for rehabilitation and new construction.
Notable Features
LoDo is known for nightlife, with numerous bars and clubs, along with restaurants, art galleries, boutiques, and other businesses.
Notable places associated with LoDo include Denver Union Station, the Denver Millennium Bridge, Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, Children’s Museum of Denver, Elitch Gardens Amusement Park, the 16th Street Mall, and Tattered Cover. The Oxford Hotel, built in 1891, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and its Cruise Room has an art deco interior and operated as an illicit speakeasy.
What it is like
LoDo, or Lower Downtown Denver, is a 23-block area in the Union Station neighborhood, bounded by Cherry Creek/Speer Boulevard, 20th Street, Lawrence Street and the South Platte River.
Sources: LoDo, Denver (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA); history.denverlibrary.org