Get ready, urban explorers. You're about to get unfettered access to landmarks around town.
Doors Open Denver, the Denver Architecture Foundation's weekend of wandering, is returning late in September after five years of virtual and hybrid events. They're finally shaking off the pandemic dust from this celebration of interior and exterior design.
Last week, DAF announced the full slate of places you can visit between Sept. 26 and Sept. 29, from churches to courthouses, mansions and offices. The three-day event includes a mix of free and ticketed events.
There are numerous "open sites" that will allow free, walk-in visits throughout the weekend, while certain "insider tours" will require reservations or paid tickets. Special events, including a gala on Saturday, also require tickets. The event guide is your friend. Tickets can be found through the Doors Open Denver website.
Meg Touborg, DAF president and CEO, said it's not just about "snooping" around famous places. Instead, it's a chance to investigate and to educate yourself: What really happens inside the governor's mansion? What's so equitable about the Equitable Building?
"I prefer to think of it as sleuthing," she told our colleague, Ryan Warner, on Colorado Matters. "By being good sleuths, we in turn can become good stewards. And ultimately that is the mission of Doors Open Denver, a multi-day festival encouraging people to sleuth around, to talk to each other, to interact. And ultimately I feel with education will come a sense of responsibility and a sense of stewardship."
The roster is a little bit different this time around.
Doors Open Denver once leaned more heavily on access to places like Capitol Hill's opulent mansions. But, this year, they're leading guests into a new kind of spot, too: architectural offices.
Touborg recently took the helm at the Denver Architecture Foundation, and said she was tasked to find a new direction for the festival.
She thought this tour of buildings could use a little more humanity. In addition to allowing open exploration of landmarks, she wanted to invite Denverites into the places where buildings are born. The idea is to connect curious visitors with the architectural profession that makes these landmarks possible.
"It's really important to the future, for me, that people engage with new ideas and each other and the built environment," she told us, "to humanize Denver's built environment and ... humanize the conversations we're having with each other about it. To me, it's not just the sterile buildings."
On Friday, Sept. 27, a total of 18 of Denver's architecture firms will open the doors of their offices. They're calling that part of the program "On The Boards" and, like the name suggests, there will be renderings and blueprints tacked to boards, ready to spark discussions.
"This is a new experience, and I think will show our enthusiasts the present-day of architecture work in Denver," Touborg told Warner on the radio.
The festival will also include walking tours this year, another new addition. For example, a jaunt down Colfax Avenue will be led by Colfax expert Jonny Barber, who's been salvaging old signs along the corridor.
Meanwhile, places like the historic Equitable Building, Byron White federal courthouse and governor's mansion will be open for exploring on your own. And there's another old manor still on the docket: the Capitol Hill Mansion Bed & Breakfast.
