[ad_1]
(NEXSTAR) — Colorado may be known for its 14ers, but you can’t overlook the Denver skyline, especially one specific building.
If you’re one of the roughly 265,000 people who moved to the Centennial State last year, you may not be entirely versed in Denver’s skyline.
Have you ever noticed that throughout most of the Mile High City, you can still see the Rockies? That’s intentional.
Denver doesn’t restrict building height, but it does have rules against blocking the view of the mountains in some places. The plane ordinances in the city ultimately protect east and west views.
“View plane ordinances specify a reference point and formulas that calculate allowable building height for buildings in a specific area adjacent to the reference point,” Amanda Weston, marketing and communications specialist for Denver’s Community Planning and Development, explained to KDVR earlier this year.
So while you’re looking at Denver’s skyline, you’ll not only get a decent view of the mountains, but you may notice one especially tall building — the silver building seen center-right in this photo.
That building is better known as the Republic Plaza, the tallest building in the Mile High City. Standing at 714 feet tall, with 56 floors, the Republic Plaza was built in 1984.
Located at 330 17th St., the Republic Plaza is considered only the 171st tallest in the U.S. According to its developers, Brookfield Properties, the building includes a tenant-only fitness center as well as multiple on-site retailers. It’s also next to the 16th Street Mall, a popular tourist stop for those visiting Denver.
Its height made it the perfect space for the American Lung Association to hold its “Fight for Air Climb,” which sent participants climbing all 1,098 steps to the top of Republic Plaza (due to COVID-19, the climb was moved to Coors Field, where it will be held again next year).
Republic Plaza holds a tight lead as Denver’s tallest building, just beating out 1801 California Street, the 54-story building completed in 1983.
That doesn’t mean there haven’t been attempts to dethrone Republic Plaza.
In 2018, developers submitted a site concept that would have built an 81-story mixed-use skyscraper in downtown Denver. Ultimately, the deal fell apart and the lot, located on the southeast corner of 17th and California Streets, was sold to a Boston-based company in 2019. The lot went up for sale again in 2021, only to be purchased by a South Carolina-based company. Last year, the company submitted plans to build a 47-story mixed-use building. That plan has since been nixed.
Today, the site remains a parking lot and Republic Plaza still stands as Denver’s tallest building.
Maddie Rhodes contributed to this report.
[ad_2]
