Mayor John Hickenlooper, the Denver Office of Cultural Affairs and the Denver Architectural Foundation invite the public to celebrate “Designing Denver” with Doors Open Denver 2009.
Doors Open Denver is a FREE two-day event celebrating architecture and design. 2009 marks the fifth year of bringing awareness to Denver’s built environment. This year's program is being held Saturday, April 18 & Sunday, April 19, 10:00 am - 4:00 pm.
Specifically, 2009 will celebrate Denver’s Architects and Designers. The event is intended to create access, awareness and excitement about good design by welcoming a diverse audience into distinctive examples of architecture, engineering and design, both historic and modern. At the same time, it is an opportunity to invite Denver residents, as well as people from around the region, to come see what Denver has to offer and celebrate the city.
Approximately 80 sites are participating during the event weekend, April 18-19. There are several ways to enjoy Doors Open Denver:
Self-Guided Tours: You may begin your self-guided tour at any participating Doors Open Denver location. Stop by Event Headquarters (Union Station, 1701 Wynkoop) to speak with event staff for recommendations. The free program guide, distributed on April 10 through The Denver Post, contains descriptions of participating sites and a map to help you plan your visits. You may visit sites on your own, in any order, throughout the event weekend. By going to
Denver Maps Feature you can sort sites by location, architect or year!
Expert Tours: Expert Tours are walking tours led by volunteer tour guides. No admission fee is required, however participants must pre-register at Event Headquarters (Union Station, 1701 Wynkoop) on the tour day to reserve a place. Tours have limited capacity but many tours are offered more than once. Registration is available on a first-come, first-served basis. You must pre-register for tours on the actual tour date. NOTE: Only four tickets per person, and two tours per day/per person are permitted.
Urban Adventures: Having a hard time trying to decide which buildings to visit? Take an Urban Adventure, with suggested self-guided tours inside the guide.
Event Headquarters: Located inside Union Station (1701 Wynkoop), Event Headquarters will be open from 8:30 am - 4 pm both Saturday and Sunday, April 18 and 19. At Headquarters, you may:
- Register for Expert Tours
- Find out more information about participating sites, including schedule changes and updates
- Visit information tables for area architecture-related organizations
Event guides were distributed to over 195,000 households through the April 10 edition of The Denver Post. Guides will also be available at Doors Open Denver headquarters in Union Station on event weekend, at each participating site, kiosks along the 16th St. Mall and tourist information centers.
Doors Open Denver 2009 is presented by the Denver Office of Cultural Affairs and the Denver Architectural Foundation. The event is sponsored by AIA Denver, Colorado Architecture Month, Humphries Poli Architects, Mortenson Construction, Xcel Energy, Davis Partnership Architects, Downtown Denver Partnership and Downtown Denver Business Improvement District. Media sponsors include The Denver Post, KBCO and Colorado Real Estate Journal.
Special "Denver History Minutes" Presented by Denver8 TV @ Event Headquarters (Union Station)
In recognition of Denver’s 150th anniversary, Denver8 TV has produced a new series of "Denver History Minutes." Each program is a brief glimpse at pivotal people and markers in Denver’s development. Denver8 TV will be showing these short videos free to all visitors at Doors Open Denver headquarters located inside Union Station on the weekend of the event.