About A&V

Mayor Michael B. Hancock, Arts & Venues Denver, and The Denver Architectural Foundation invite the public to celebrate Denver’s unique architectural landscape by taking part in Doors Open Denver 2012.  This year, Doors Open Denver celebrates Denver Landmarks and will feature 80 historic and iconic sites.
The FREE Doors Open Denver 2012 will take place Saturday April 14 and Sunday, April 15, 10am-4pm. Residents and visitors will have the opportunity to experience Denver’s built environment from inside many buildings that are typically not open to the public.  Attendees will have access to 80 of Denver’s prominent architectural treasures and other smaller hidden gems, such as the Denver City Cable Railway Building and Zang Brewmaster’s House.  These include City buildings, mansions, hotels, museums, educational facilities, including marquee sites such as Buffalo Bill’s Museum and Grave, Chamberlin Observatory, Elitch Gardens Theatre, Riverside Cemetery, and Fort Logan Field Officer’s Quarters.  Roughly half of the sites are new to Doors Open Denver. 
Event headquarters will be downtown, inside the historic Ellie Caulkins Opera House in the Denver Performing Arts Complex at 1400 Curtis Street.

Participants can experience Doors Open Denver through:
• Self-guided tours
• Urban Adventures (self-guided tours tailored to a specific interest or theme)
• Expert Tours (led by volunteer guides)

Urban Adventures titles include:
• Family Fun
• Great Outdoors
• Art & Architecture Spaces
• Romancing Denver
• Suggested Walking Tours: Capitol Hill/Uptown
• Suggested Walking Tours: City Park/Park Hill
• Suggested Walking Tours: Downtown
• Suggested Walking Tours: LoDo (Lower Downtown)
• Performance & Event Venues
• Museums
• Mansions
• Centers of Learning
• Places of Worship

More than 100 Expert Tours will be available in 2012.  A sampling includes:

• A Walk Through Lower Highlands, Little Italy 
• Behind-the-Scenes Sneak Peek of the History Colorado Center 
• Photo Walking Tour of Downtown Denver 
• Denver After Dark
• Downtown Denver Landmarks - Lost & Found! with Alan G. Gass, FAIA
• Engine House No. 5
• Mayan Theatre: The Story of an Art Deco Movie Palace with Chris Citron 
• Old Auraria Landmarks
• REI Denver Flagship 
• The Rockmount Building & Wazee Neighborhood                                                                                                           
• Union Station, LoDo & the Red Light District 
• Wall Street of the West: Denver’s 17th Street
 
Event guides will be distributed to 195,000 households through the April 8 edition of The Denver Post.  Guides will also be available at event headquarters on event weekend, at each participating site, kiosks along the 16th Street Mall, and tourist information centers.

Complete information on Doors Open Denver 2012 is available at www.DenverGov.org/DoorsOpenDenver. 

Doors Open Denver is taking place in celebration with Colorado Architecture Month.  Visit www.ColoradoArchitectureMonth.org for more information. 

Arts & Venues Denver’s mission is to enhance Denver’s quality of life and economic vitality through premier public venues, artwork and entertainment opportunities.  The division operates some of the region’s highest-profile facilities including the Colorado Convention Center, Crossroads Theater, Denver Coliseum, Denver Performing Arts Complex and Red Rocks Amphitheatre.  Arts & Venues Denver also oversees Denver’s public art program, economic development programs including Create Denver, literacy programs such as One Book, One Denver, and entertainment and cultural events such as the Five Points Jazz Festival.