Colorado is turning 150 years old next year. To celebrate, Gov. Jared Polis and the state's Sesquisemiquincentennial Commission are thinking of building at least one pedestrian bridge connecting the Colorado State Capitol with Civic Center.
The first would span Lincoln Street, from the statehouse steps to Lincoln Veterans Memorial Park. It would join only a handful of existing raised walkways in town, which means it's an especially unique birthday gift.
The governor's office didn't have any design renderings available when we first reported their plans. That absence became a blank canvas in our newsroom. What could it become?
While we wait for a plan, we thought we'd float some (mostly silly) ideas of our own:
The Streetcar Special
This is more of an old idea brought back for a new application.
Denver once relied on a network of streetcar lines as public transit, which peaked around 1917 and then disappeared when personal cars became all the rage, around World War II.
The system's legacy is still with us, however. Its corridors were precursors to a lot of well-used commercial districts today, like the section of Tennyson Street north of 38th Avenue.
We're also sort of reinventing that network, as the city works to construct a bus-only lane down Colfax Avenue. But we thought maybe an old trolley car would be nice to shuttle people across traffic.
The Bauhaus Bridge
Known colloquially as the "french fry" sculpture, Herbert Bayer's iconic yellow tower is formally titled the "Articulated Wall." You've probably seen it nestled in the Denver Design District, by Broadway's intersection with I-25.
Bayer was an influential part of the Bauhaus design movement. The city installed another of his geometric designs at RTD's Alameda Station, up the street from his wall. He also inspired his granddaughter, Koko Bayer, who you'll know from her heart-shaped wheat pastings around the metro.
The stacked tower was a natural fit for our utilitarian purposes. Easy-to-scale siding? Check. Screaming yellow for safety? Checkmate.
The Cliff-Diver Crossing
Casa Bonita has gotten plenty of press lately. The South Park guys bought it, hired a new chef, got a movie made about the project and reckoned with a unionization push from its cast and crew.
Still, we thought this tribute to the restaurant's cliff divers would be a classy (way to cross the street. (Ed. note: These bridges might be more dangerous than jaywalking.)
The Lakeside Leap
Lakeside, the century-old amusement park across Sheridan Boulevard from Denver's western border, was high on our list of local inspirations. No longer would you rely on darting through traffic for an adrenaline kick — take a miniature version of the Cyclone instead!
The Graceful Gondola
Believe it or not, this idea is actually — possibly — the most realistic idea on this list.
In 2020, the city trotted out its Denver Moves plan, which proposed a bunch of ways to make downtown more traversable. One of the ideas was a gondola that might carry people from Union Station to the Highland neighborhood across the river.
So this one isn't just for the ski bums. We could become a ski-lift city!
The Strong Span
Let's be honest. Any bridge across Lincoln will become a new gateway into the city, and that's going to be prime advertising real estate. With that in mind, we thought attorney Frank Azar, one of Denver's most famous billboard personalities, might like to take his "Strong Arm" persona to the next level.
What else?
Want to make your own? Here's a template for that. Print it out, or load it into Photoshop, and send us your ideas. We may feature your submission here or in our daily newsletter.
