Denver — Uncover the Dragon's Shadow

Your investigation begins at the Colorado State Capitol Building, erected between 1886 and 1908 by architect Elijah E. Myers. This 90-meter copper dome, inspired by the Washington Capitol, was inaugurated on July 4, 1894 with marble extracted from Marble, Colorado. At 1588 meters altitude, marked by a 1909 plaque, you overlook Denver from the city's highest point. Hancock finds there the railroad plans that made Colorado's fortune: each railway line drawn on these period maps reveals the ambition of a region shipping its silver eastward.

Civic Center Park, created in 1919 according to Edward Bennett's plan, immerses you in post-war urbanism. On these 5 hectares surrounded by neoclassical buildings, the Greek sailboat 'Colfax', installed in 1976, evokes the pioneers' dreams of escape. The central pavilion from 1919 and its commemorative fountains recall that Denver hosted the vicinity of the 1908 Democratic Convention. Here, Hancock understands how the city organized its political center to rival Eastern capitals.

The Brown Palace Hotel, opened on August 29, 1892 by Henry C. Brown according to Frank E. Edbrooke's plans, embodies the luxury of the American West. This first 'atrium' hotel west of the Mississippi, with its initial 222 rooms spread over 7 floors, received Theodore Roosevelt in 1905 and Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1955. The Tea Room, historically serving over 35,000 teas per year, testifies to the elegance that Horace Tabor and silver magnates wanted to import into their mountains. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

The United States Mint in Denver, built in 1904 and operational since 1906, reveals Colorado's economic power. This 22-meter neoclassical building with Corinthian columns has produced over 25 billion dollars in coins since opening. Public tours, launched in 1906 with over 500,000 annual visitors in the 1920s, prove local pride for this federal institution. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1965, it materializes the American dream of transforming mountain gold into national currency.

Your mission ends between Denver Union Station, opened on October 11, 1914 by architects Gove & Walsh, and the historic district of Larimer Square, founded in 1858 by William Larimer. The Beaux-Arts station, with its 38-meter high hall in Colorado marble, welcomed 1000 trains daily in 1920 before its 54 million dollar renovation in 2014. Larimer Square, saved from demolition by Dana Crawford in 1965, preserves Denver's 22 oldest buildings, witnesses to the first paved street in 1870. You take away the image of a city that preserved its pioneer soul while becoming a modern metropolis.