16th Street Through the Years
- Downtown Denver Partnership
- Oct 2
- 4 min read
The Downtown Denver Leadership Program’s Class of 2025 sought to activate an alleyway on 16th Street that told the story of 16th Street as part of their class project. Using images from the Denver Public Library Historical Archives and the Downtown Denver Partnership, the project team curated this temporary mural celebrates 16th Street's evolution through Denver's history.
Please read below more information about each image in the mural. (In the order of the images from Left to Right)
Upper 16th Street (1881-1884): Trolley cars on tracks, horse-drawn carriages, and pedestrians are along 16th Street in Denver, Colorado. This image shows an unpaved, tree-lined street. Denver’s business district is in the distance.
Photographer: Unknown
Union Depot and Street Car Cables (1884): A view of Union Station (with clocktower), 16th street, and the Denver City Cable Railway Company street car stables in Denver. The picture also shows horse cars and a coach.
Photographer: Unknown
Bird’s Eye View of NW 16th Street (1909-1910): The Kittridge Building, Equitable Building, the steel frame for a building under construction, and numerous booming businesses, including Carter Brothers Hardware (James S. & Oscar E., 301-303 16th), B.R. Hall (1546 Glenarm Place, undertaker & embalmer), Thomas W. Cook & Company (1623 Tremont, tile contractors, mantels, & fireplaces), William D. Nash (1625 Tremont, undertaker, embalmer & funeral director); billboards or signs painted on buildings including "Coca-Cola", "Henry George cigars", "Brooks Awning & Tent company". Electric street railway cars, horse-drawn carriages, and early automobiles are also shown.
Photographer: Louis Charles McClure
Fireman’s Parade on 16th Street (year unknown): The Denver Police and Firemen’s Parade on 16th Street and Champa in Downtown Denver. Men march with a banner and ride on a horse-drawn flat decorated with U.S. flags and bunting. Spectators, some with bicycles, stand nearby. The Daniels & Fisher Tower is in the distance. Signs on the buildings read: “American Theatre See America First” and “The May Co.”.
Photographer: Unknown
16th Street & Stout (1920-1930): Pedestrians walk along a bustling 16th Street around noon at the intersection of Stout Street. Christmas wreaths hang from the lightposts. Cars and bicycles are parked along the street. Landmarks include the Daniels and Fisher Tower (as a Denver icon, the 21-story Renaissance Revival style tower still stands today, originally built as part of the five story Daniels and Fisher Dry Goods Company in 1911, modeled after the Campanile of St. Mark’s in Venice, the tower features an arcaded observation deck, a 16-foot diameter Seth-Thomas clock, and a bell weighing more than two tons).
Photographer: Unknown
16th Street Pre-Mall (1940-1950): A view of 16th Street and Tremont Place. The picture shows cars, pedestrian traffic, offices building, and signs featuring: "Dundee Clothes," "Diamonds Goalstone Jewelers," "Denver Meroff Band Stage Show Cowboy From Brooklyn”, and “the Paramount”.
Photographer: Otto Roach
F.W. Woolworth Co. (year unknown): Automobile and pedestrian traffic along 16th Street, along with U.S. flags and businesses like F.W. Woolworth Co.
Photographer: Unknown
16th Street at Sunrise (year unknown): Office buildings and a silhouette of the Colorado State Capitol Building in the Skyline at dawn.
Photographer: Bill Peery
16th Street & Tremont Place Pre-Mall (1975): The view showcases the Kittredge Building (when completed in 1891 the building was seven stories tall and one of Denver’s first major office buildings), the Paramount Theater (built in 1930 by Temple Buell, the theater held 1,895 people, far surpassing any other theater in Denver; at the Grand Opening on August 29, 1930, nearly 20,000 people gathered in the street to celebrate), World Savings Building (constructed in 1910 and originally named the World Savings and Loan Association, the company served as a financial institution until the late 20th century), and the Daniels and Fisher Clocktower. Pedestrians and traffic are in the street.
16th Street & Court Place (1979): On the North corner of the intersection of 16th Street and Court business are shown, including Russell Stover Candies, Newton Optical Co Inc., the Sixteenth Street and Colorado Souvenir Co., and Gart Bros. Sporting Goods (one of Colorado’s first outdoor and sporting goods stores, first opening in 1928).
Photographer: Nathaniel Lieberman, I.M. Pei & Partners
16th Street & Market Street (1979): Looking Southwest in the intersection the Dave Cook (also an original Denver Sporting Goods store, Dave Cook opened their first location in 1936) and Mint Block Buildings are shown.
Photographer: Nathaniel Lieberman, I.M. Pei & Partners
16th Street From Above (1990): Pedestrians make their way down the 16th Street Mall in Denver on Wednesday Feb. 4, 2009.
Photographer: Darin McGregor; Rocky Mountain News
BuskerFest (2002): BuskerFest was a street performance festival celebrating local and national talent. The event featured a variety of performers, including musicians, magicians, and dancers and aimed to promote the arts and enhance community engagement in downtown Denver. The festival included competitions, allowing performers to showcase their skills for prizes.
Photographer: Unknown
16th Street Carriage Ride (2007): Carriage driver, Vania Rogers (cq) parks Stiger, a 5 yr old Belgian stallion, on the 16th Street mall on Tuesday, September 18, 2007, Carriage rides along 16th Street remain very popular, especially during the holiday season.
Special Thank You to our project partners for making this possible:
Juan Fuentes, Mural Installation Artist
Larimer Condominiums, Mural Location.
Gensler, Project Sponsor
(Enclusive Real Estate), Project Sponsor
Denver Public Library Historical Archives, Images and their history
Downtown Denver Partnership, Images and their history
