This insightful 90-minute walking tour of the late I.M. Pei’s architectural works in downtown Denver will be led by one of the city’s most knowledgeable direct sources of Denver’s mid-century modern architectural history, retired architect Alan Gass (FAIA, AGGA Architecture & Urban Design).
About the Tour
During the course of his career, Gass worked on projects with I.M. Pei’s firm and had an opportunity to get the know the great architect first-hand. Gass will discuss the design merits of Pei’s remaining works in downtown Denver, how they have been altered by insensitive alterations to the original designs, and the story behind the lost fight to save Pei’s distinctive paraboloid structure that was part of the May D&F department store in Zeckendorf Plaza.
Good to Know
- Tour will be 90 minutes.
- Tour will begin in the atrium at 1700 Broadway (formerly the Mile High Center) at 17th & Broadway downtown.
- Wear comfortable and appropriate clothing and walking shoes. Consider bringing an umbrella, sunglasses, water and snacks.
- Tour start and end locations will be listed on the ticket and announced by e-mail prior to the event.
About I.M. Pei in Denver
Early in I.M. Pei’s architecture career, he came to work in-house for New York developer William Zeckendorf and his company Webb & Knapp, who in the mid-1950s were developing major projects across the country, including downtown Denver. The Mile High Center at 1700 Broadway, completed in 1955, was the first highrise commission of I.M Pei’s career. Soon after, Webb & Knapp developed the Hilton Hotel at 16th & Tremont (now the Sheraton), and Zeckendorf Plaza, which included a May D&F department store across the street from the hotel; all designed by Pei. Years later, the firm Pei, Cobb, Freed designed the original segment of the 16th Street Mall, running from Broadway to Market Street.
Outside Denver, Pei designed Boulder’s Mesa Laboratory at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, which in contrast to his work in Denver, is one of the best-preserved examples of I.M. Pei’s architectural legacy.