Now everybody calls the neighborhood LoDo, and agrees it's the coolest place without a ski lift. Packs of folks in their twenties roam the streets looking for their next good meal or pitcher of beer. Art galleries are scattered among the restaurants, breweries, clubs and coffeehouses. Many of those once-vacant warehouses are loft apartments and condos. In perhaps the most obvious sign that this is a neighborhood that's arrived, Denver's renowned Tattered Cover bookstore opened a large LoDo store last year.
Many tourists pass quickly through the city on their way to skiing or hiking.
But spending even a night or two in the city gives you time to acclimate yourself to the altitude. It's also enough time to sample the urban treats of LoDo before heading to the great outdoors. Immediately after a game, baseball fans crowd the bars on Blake Street. One called Splinters From the Pine boasts that it's the Bar Where Baseball Fans Drink Beer, although it seems to have plenty of competition. To enjoy LoDo, get rid of your car.