<table><tr><td colspan="2">MILE HIGH CENTER AND COURTHOUSE SQUARE, DENVER</td></tr><tr><td>Developer</td><td>Webb and Knapp, Inc.</td></tr><tr><td>Designer</td><td>I., M. Pei and Associates, Architects and Planners</td></tr><tr><td>Date</td><td>Mile High Center completed 1955; Courthouse Square (Zeckendorf Plaza) completed 1959</td></tr></table>

Denver is an administrative center with thirty Federal agencies (it is called a second Washington) and a financial and distribution center for an area rich in mineral resources. The two examples illustrated are an attempt to capitalize on the growth of the city and to revitalize the central area. The two sites are only one block apart and might be considered as a single scheme although attention here is focused upon the first. One of the developer's main instructions to the architect was that the design of the buildings should resemble New York. In the 1950's this meant that they must be tall, steel and glass skyscrapers, raised above the street level and set off by a plaza. The two developments, especially Mile High, are prestige projects, built to attract prestige business tenants and to have a maximum beneficial effect on surrounding properties.

Mile High Center (the name has recently been changed to the U. S. Denver National Bank Center) covers two acres and has 457,000 square feet of office space, 118,000 square feet of renovated bank building, and 49,000 square feet of shopping area. Approximately one-quarter of the site is open plaza or walkways with direct access from the surrounding streets. No parking facilities have been provided, nor were they specified by the city planners of Denver.

The building is luxurious by Denver standards. It includes full air conditioning. (Denver has long prided itself that air conditioning is not necessary there. That it is required in Mile High Center seems apparent, and it can be questioned whether the building incorporates more glass than is suitable in such a sunny climate.) The finishes, color and proportioning of the shape and elements of the building are sophisticated. Dark gray anodized aluminum and honey-colored porcelain-ameled steel are used. Rents run at $6.00 to $6.50 a square foot, 50 per cent higher than the Denver average. Six months after the building was completed, it was 58 per cent occupied; the developer calculated that 60 per cent occupancy would cover operating expenses, taxes, and amortization. The building was financed equally by developer and builder, with 15 per cent of the funds from outside sources, and cost well over $11,000,000.

There are six principal design elements in the Mile High Center.

First, the whole development is designed to create an atmosphere of prestige. The clean lines, attractive materials and colors, and the provision of extra building services combine to accentuate a contrast between old and new Denver.

Second, the offices are prominent. Other uses have been subordinated to them.

Third, a striking aspect of the Mile High Center is the banishing of retail space to the basement level. This has enhanced the prestige of the office building, for it is not required to compete with shopfronts for the attention of persons entering and passing by. The shopping concourse has also thrived at the basement level, doubly nourished by persons attracted to the ground-floor plaza and the working daytime population.

Model showing both developments.

Plan of Mile High Center and Courthouse Square
(U.S. Denver National Bank Center and Zeckendorf Plaza).

Key:

1 Bank

2 Transportation Building

3 Office Building

4 Hotel

5 Department Store

6 Shopping Pavilion

7 Skating Rink

Opposite: The Lower Plaza.