Downtown can make a comeback — again

Re: “Not a desirable destination,” March 3 letter to the editor

Having spent the last 51 years in downtown or its surrounding neighborhoods, I’d like to reassure people like the letter writer that “this too shall pass.”

When I first moved to Denver,

16th Street had a vibrant shopping district. A lady could stroll from Curtis to Tremont and find at least nine major stores that catered to fashionistas. Then came the oil boom and bust. I can remember driving through downtown on a Sunday afternoon and it was dead. The only person we saw was a man in a refrigerator box on which he had written, “I’m lonely.”

Cherry Creek Shopping Center almost killed the central business district for good, but the whole trend toward converting old buildings to lofts saved it.

In the late ’ 90s, Downtown Denver was a blooming playground. We went to a new restaurant opening almost every week, and on Wednesday evenings, the art galleries on Wazee had plenty of wine and cheese, and we strolled back and forth across the street visiting each. A photographer from the New York Times took a picture from our window reporting on the revitalizing of downtowns.

Downtown isn’t what it used to be. Change is inevitable. The pandemic was like the oil bust. It set us back on our heels, but the city of Denver and involved residents recognize that this is yet another part of the inevitable ups and downs that affect cities everywhere. Already there are more new restaurants to try. We had the St. Pat’s Parade. We’ll have Opening Day.

It may take a while, but we got this.

Lynn Buschhoff, Denver