Welcome to New and News Stories about Living in Downtown Denver!

Here is a new community "newspaper" about life in LoDo and Downtown Denver. Opinionated? Likely. Entertaining? You'll see. Useful? Sure!

Denver by the Slice will be posting regularly. And, after each posting, your comments are welcome. Just click on the "Comments" below the post and fire away! Now, entering our 2nd Year (on the calendar, anyway), Denver by the Slice will bring more news and stories each week. Keep checking back!

20 July 2010

Watch Us Move! Slice's New Home!

If you are coming to Denver by the Slice, here, thank you! But, you are just in time for our move to a new improved location. Among other things, the new site takes less time to type in to your browser!

It is still a bit of a work-in-process. The ads are just test spots for now. Some listings don't exist yet. But, all the content is there with a lot more to come. The features, news and coverage will be expanding at approximately the speed of the Purveyor's learning curve. Thank you for your support!

Visit now at http://www.denverbytheslice.com/. More great news and views of living in Downtown Denver. See you there!

16 July 2010

Street Watch: Hot Times in the Old Town

This third weekend in July just doesn't have much going for it. At least, not in the way of street closures. Besides the on-going mess of 15th Street between Little Raven and Boulder Street, there are just a couple of traffic disrupters you may want to know about.

Lawrence between Speer and 17th, then 17th to Broadway, will be closed late Saturday night for the Moonlight Bicycle Classic at the Civic Center. There is a special promotion with BCycle Denver for this event, so if you can't sleep, head over to the rack at Union Station, grab a bike and go for a ride. You may want to check the details first, which you can do here.

And, across the way in Highlands, the annual Mt. Carmel Church Bazaar closes Navajo evenings between 35th and 36th Avenues. A healthy walk over to food and games, and on the way back, your pockets will be much lighter...unless you win a ham.

Next Wednesday, the 21st, Larimer Street through the Square will be closed for a large dinner gala. Warm al fresco.

We survived the James Taylor/Carole King and Paul McCartney concerts this week. (Footnote: Paul McCartney was actually declared an Historic District before LoDo.) And, the Rockies are not back in town until July 27. So visit the galleries! Or watch the Tour de France. Stay cool this weekend...and be careful crossing the streets!

15 July 2010

Street Gang Caught on Television Tampering with Fence!

Here is a video link where you can see a street gang putting their special touches on the construction fence on 16th Street near Union Station. See it here.

Then go see for yourself how much fun this is! Yarn Bombing!

14 July 2010

Vive la France! Bon la Fete Nationale!

At the very least, have a glass of French Wine today. It's Bastille Day, one of the world's great celebrations of freedom!

Le quatorze juillet has, in one way or another, been celebrated since the first anniversary of the 1789 storming of the Bastille, key to the formation of the First Republic. It is known to us as a symbol of the French Revolution which would eventually result in the democratic republic of France today.

Denver by the Slice was lucky enough to be in Paris one year on Bastille Day. The streets rumbled with the military parade down the Champs from the Arc to Place Concorde. By now the French use "helper armies" to fill the ranks, but the spectacle remains.

And, at the end of the day, fireworks over the city. It is a glorious time to be in Paris, one of any. But, even though our visit was several years ago, we have never  since seen a fireworks display to match. So big, so long, so musical, so Paris. And, then, with no hope of getting a taxi back to the hotel, a long walk through the Paris night...with about a million of our closest friends!

And, since (probably if you are reading this) you are not in Paris, you can still take a vicarious French tour by watching the outstanding photography in the television coverage of the Tour de France bicycle race, for the rest of July. Tune in and take off. It is a beautiful country!

09 July 2010

Art Worth Getting Up and Going to See Tonight!

This is "1.26", Janet Echelman's monumental temporary sculpture commemorating the inaugural Biennial of the Americas, July 7-31. Quoting from the release from the Denver Office of Cultural Affairs:

"1.26 engages with issues of temporality and interconnectedness surrounding the 1.26-microsecond shortening of the day that resulted from the February 2010 Chile earthquake's redistribution of the earth's mass. A large netted aerial sculpture - inspired by a NOAA simulation of the ensuing tsunami - will float above the traffic, suspended over 14th Street between the Civic Center's Greek Theatre and the Denver Art Museum."

Drive or bike or walk there. Park. Get out and walk around and look at this from different angles. It is stunning. And, its only there...in the air...until the end of the month!

Fireworks Fizzle on New Xcel Building

We had great hopes for how the Coors Field Fireworks would reflect off the new Xcel office buidling at 18th and Larimer last weekend. Watching the fireworks from a rooftop deck just a few blocks from the field, the reflections off the towers of Downtown just add to the show.

But, this new buidling with its blue hue in the daytime turned into a black hole. No light. No reflections. All that for a rate increase!

Later, Denver by the Slice had to walk the local dog. A woman came wobbling down Wynkoop, wearing an American Flag. She said, "I'm a mess. Do you have your cellphone with you?" Unsure just who she was asking, the dog and I looked at each other. Neither one of us had gone out that night with our phone. Lesson noted. Woman wobbled away on down Wynkoop.

Street Watch: LoDo Streets Open, Huston Street Closing!

The only real Street news this weekend should be Rockies closer Huston Street. How about those Rocks!?

Actually, one short segment of 21st between Broadway and California will be closed for a World Cup Final event suspiciously close to the British Bulldog. That's on Sunday.

And, Biennial events consume both the Skate Park and City of Cuernavaca Park, north of Commons Park, for the weekend. You'll have a chance to visit the All Nations Skate Jam or the Indigenous Village. Check the Biennial website here for more information on this month long celebration of the Americas.

But, after perusing our lists and sources over and over for street closures, or assorted wierd events, Denver by the Slice will just relish one of the best weekends of the year for sports.

World Cup Final, Netherlands versus Spain. All European. All Spain.

And, the Tour de France enters the Alps this weekend. Over two full weeks of racing to go in what is arguably the most difficult sporting event in the world. Anything can happen. And, the scenery is beautiful. Watch it on VS, Comcast Channel 73. (And, please, do not take that as an outright endorsement of Comcast. Just telling you where it is.)

And, the Rockies. Heading to the All Star break with three games against the Padres. Coincidentally, the friars have a 3-game lead on the Rockies, so these are very, very big games. Expect big crowds and bad driving. Huston Street closing!