Then and Now

In December 2007 I was at the Millennium Bridge along 16th Street in Denver to capture the skyline at sunset. Almost 12 years later I went to the same spot on the bridge and it is quite a different view.

Along 16th Street there are two buildings which are visible in both images, the Barclay Towers (White high rise condo building) and Larimer Place Condos (Red high rise condo building to the right of the Barclay). The majority of the buildings which now make up the view were built in the past five years and are a mix of office space, hotels and apartments. The building closest on the left is 16 Chestnut which opened in 2018 and is sometimes referred to as Davita Tower II. Davita does have a fair amount of space on this building and also their logo on the building, but their are other tenants. Lastly in the original image you can see the light rail tracks heading along 16th Street and then the station near Union Station. This was relocated to its current location a couple years after this image was taken as one of the first components of the Union Station redevelopment project.

Denver Skyline at Sunrise: November 2011

Arriving at one of the more popular locations for sunset photographs of Denver, the sky was clear and the wind brisk. Soon the colors of the sky started to change as civil twilight passed. I noticed a few small clouds a little north of my location and thought it would be nice if those moved south to be in the image. It then came to mind this was the start of the system moving into the city over the next twenty-four hours which was fto bring snow to the city. After about ten minutes more clouds started moving in and I was wondering if enough clouds would develop in the right location for sunrise. As sunrise approached at 7:29 MDT, more and more clouds started to move into the frame and then shortly after sunrise the image was captured.

 

November 2018 Sunrise in Denver: November 2018

There is something about a November sunrise in Denver. I have photographed during this month many times and always find great color in the sky. This year was no different as I silhouetted the downtown skyline to capture the color of the sky and the lines of downtown. These lines continue to change as Denver the growth of the city remains.

 

Then and Now: You have to look carefully at both of the images to see the difference over seven years to the skyline when the buildings are silhouettes. During the seven years between the timeframe of the photographs much has happened during the current building boom in Denver, however this image shows the central business district of Denver where there has been limited growth which shows on the skyline. The most noticeable change in these images is to the right of the “cash register” building and the left of the Four Seasons with the 1144 15th Street building. This glass building has made a change to the skyline of Denver and also in this image as it overlaps Republic Plaza.