View of 16th (Sixteenth) Street at Stout Street in downtown Denver, Colorado. Pedestrians, automobiles, and a horse-drawn carriage are in the street. Buildings include the Barth Building. Signs read: “Kendrick Bellamy” “The Ross” “Pool” Pickwick Cafe” and “The 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse Broadway T
The Barth Hotel in Denver will apparently not be turning back into a hotel.
Instead, a plan to convert the vacant building into affordable housing for seniors is set for a $6 million boost.
It’s the latest project to receive a low-interest loan from the Denver Downtown Development Authority — and the apparent end to a disagreement between two developers vying to decide its fate.
The Barth, built in 1882, is two blocks from Union Station at 17th and Blake streets. It served for decades as an assisted living facility but closed in 2024 amid elevator problems.
One of Denver’s most prominent developers, Walter Isenberg, hoped to buy the building and restore it as a hotel. But another well-known builder, Susan Powers, wanted to buy it for a senior housing project. There were threats of a lawsuit by Isenberg.
“I think it’s a good story about partnership and commitment to downtown and people’s compromises when they get into these situations,” said Powers, president of Urban Ventures, in an interview Wednesday.
Developer Sue Powers stands outside of the Alliance Center downtown, where her office is located, on Sept. 24, 2025.Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
What was the fight all about?
Isenberg has held the legal right to buy the building for decades. But his plan could only happen if city officials removed affordability requirements from the building.
His company, Sage Hospitality, threatened to sue the city, arguing that officials interfered with his company’s interest in the property when they struck a deal to put an affordable housing covenant on the building.
Now, the Powers plan looks like it’s moving ahead. The development authority board approved the low-interest loan Tuesday.
“Walter and I, on behalf of Eaton, have come to an agreement in principle on how we’re going to proceed with this,” Powers said. “We’re finalizing that tomorrow.”
She said she couldn’t share the details of the deal with Isenberg just yet. Isenberg wasn’t immediately available for comment.
Sage Hospitality CEO Walter Isenberg in his downtown office. Oct. 1, 2025.Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
A $22 million project
It’s the 15th project to receive funding from the authority, a tax-supported body that is distributing nearly $600 million in grants and loans for downtown projects. It has already approved more than $170 million in support for various projects.
Powers and the nonprofit Eaton Senior Communities applied for the money in April 2025. They estimated the project could cost $22 million in all. The developers will also apply for 9-percent tax credits from the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, as well as state and federal tax credits, for historic preservation.
The project will convert the old design — small rooms and shared bathrooms — to larger studio layouts with private bathrooms and kitchens.
The renovated building will include 50 residential units. They’ll be rented to older people making between 30-50 percent of the area median income. That’s currently a maximum of $56,000 of income for a family of two.
The building’s sale hasn’t yet been completed, according to property records. The current owners asked $2.5 million for it.
The Barth Hotel at 1514 17th Street downtown. Sept. 24, 2025.Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
Jade Kelly, president of Communications Workers of America Local 7799, speaks as Denver Public Library workers meet at the City and County Building to celebrate the next step in their effort to unionize. Jan. 2, 2025.
Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
Workers at the Denver Public Library took a big step toward forming a union, potentially making them the first city employees to take advantage of new labor organizing rights.
An organizing group, Denver Public Library Workers United, filed a formal request on Jan. 2 to become a city-recognized union. The group hopes to collectively bargain on behalf of library workers.
Eyklipse Baca speaks as she and her Denver Public Library colleagues meet at the City and County Building to celebrate the next step in their effort to unionize. Jan. 2, 2025.Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
The action came just a day after a new law took effect, allowing thousands of city employees to join unions and engage in collective bargaining.
“Now more than ever we need to, as workers, whether you’re a public-sector worker, private-sector worker, now is the time to unionize,” said Juan Manuel Ramirez Anzures, administrative assistant for the children’s library. “Now is the time for solidarity and all power to the workers.”
Juan Manuel Ramirez Anzures, an administrative assistant at Denver Public Library Central Children’s Library, stands beneath the City and County Building as he and his colleagues celebrate the next step in their effort to unionize. Jan. 2, 2025.Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
They say they are seeking formal recognition now because of the change in the law, as well as recent city layoffs and budget cuts. In 2024, Denver voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure to grant the new labor rights, which took effect Jan. 1.
Hundreds of library staff members have been working together under the guidance of the Communications Workers of America Local 7799, according to DPLWU.
“We are all uniquely screwed by Colorado labor law. For the past 90 years, the Colorado Labor Peace Act has forced us as the public-sector workers to sit in silence as our health, as our civil rights, as our workplace protections are dismissed in boardrooms without us,” said Jade Kelly, president of CWA Local 7799.
Jen Lowe, an on-call circulation worker with the Denver Public Library, speaks as her colleagues gather at the City and County Building to celebrate the next step in their effort to unionize. Jan. 2, 2025.Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
Eyklipse Baca speaks as she and her Denver Public Library colleagues meet at the City and County Building to celebrate the next step in their effort to unionize. Jan. 2, 2025.Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
DPLWU says it filed a supermajority of worker authorization cards, with 65 percent of eligible employees signing. A worker authorization card is a document signed by an employee to officially designate a union as their representative for collective bargaining.
Management at the Denver Public Library could voluntarily recognize the union
If they don’t, then a union election would be held with the library staff.
“We support our staff’s right to unionize and we respect the city’s process,” wrote a spokesperson for the Denver Public Library in an email.
The affected staff includes shelvers, clerks, facilities, security, librarians, library assistants, custodians, delivery drivers and other positions.
City Council member Sarah Parady speaks as Denver Public Library workers meet at the City and County Building to celebrate the next step in their effort to unionize. Jan. 2, 2025.Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
“I’m feeling hopeful. I’m feeling supported by the public, by my coworkers, and by all these wonderful CWA organizers who have been there holding our hand every step of the way,” Manuel Ramirez Anzures said. “Once we get to that final contract, that will be a really great day.”
DPLWU says it wants to work with library management to increase transparency around library decisions, address staff concerns about safety and ensure fair wages.
Denver Public Library workers meet at the City and County Building to celebrate the next step in their effort to unionize. Jan. 2, 2025.Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
Ice skating on City Park Lake, Denver, Colorado; view east to Museum of Natural History building under construction in 1901; shows edge of City Park bandstand far left and groups seated on park bench on sandy shore. Circa 1901. (Louis Charles McClure/Denver Public Library/Western History Collection/
Now that the weather has finally taken a chilly turn, it’s time for classic winter activities. While there isn’t snow (yet), several skating rinks have already opened around the metro.
The city of Denver won’t open its usual rink at Skyline Park in downtown due to construction. But there are plenty of other options to celebrate the cold this holiday season. Here’s where to skate in and around Denver.
The only option to skate downtown this year is at the McGregor Square plaza, near Coors Field. It will host an ice rink starting Black Friday. A tree-lighting ceremony is scheduled that day, Nov. 28, at 6:30 p.m. Admission is $15 for adults and $9 for children, including skate rentals.
This is an indoor rink at the University of Denver. Sessions cost $15 per person, or free to students. Reservations are required and can be made online. Public skate sessions last for an hour and vary throughout the day. Times can be found on their website. The rink is open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. but is only open for public skating during the public skate sessions.
The Rink at Belmar is in Lakewood’s shopping district. Admission is $12 for adults and $10 for kids, including skate rentals. There also are winter wagon rides around Belmar, which depart from the plaza where the rink is located. “Drinks Around the Rink” will offer beverages for sale from Great Divide Brewery & Roadhouse, Little India, Tstreet and Wasabi Sushi Bar. The rink opens at 4 p.m. on weekdays and noon on Saturday and Sunday. Closing times vary and can be found on their website.
Olde Town Square at 57th and Olde Wadsworth Blvd., Arvada
Nov. 26 to Jan. 29
The skating rink in Olde Town Arvada opened this week. It’s open seven days a week and you can skate under the lights of the Olde Town Tree.
The rink opens at 4 p.m. Mon-Fri and 11 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The closing times vary, as well as the holiday hours, and can be found on the website. Admission plus skate rentals costs $10 for adults and $7 for kids 11 and under. Olde Town is having a tree lighting ceremony on Saturday.
The ice rink inside Arvada’s Apex recreational center has a public skating schedule that can be found here.
Public skating hours are subject to change and visitors should call 303-403-2598 to confirm. For ages 6 to 61, admission is either $8 with a reservation or $11 without one. For children ages 2 to 5, admission is either $2.50 or $3, depending on reservation status.
Skate rentals cost $4 with a reservation or $5.50 without one.
Evergreen Parks and Recreation is offering ice skating and other winter activities at Evergreen Lake. It costs $15 per person, or $20 with skate rental. Children 4 and under are free, or rent the whole rink for $150 per hour. Annual passes cost $200. The rinks may close due to weather.
The Ice Centre at the Promenade has public skating sessions throughout the week with varying times. The public skate schedule can be found here. There are also intermittent “cheap skate” times. Regular admission is $10 for adults and $2 for kids 3 and under with a paying adult. Skate rentals are $4 and skate aids, helmets and lockers are also available to rent. People who have city of Westminster or Hyland Hills discount cards can get a discounted rate.
Located next to Parker’s library on Mainstreet, this ice trail is one of the only in the country, according to its website. The rink opens at 11 a.m. on Saturday and Sundays and 5 p.m. on weekdays. It closes at 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 7 p.m. on Sundays. The trail is meant to imitate a frozen river or canal. People can buy day passes for $10 or season passes for $165, with skate rentals included.
The rink at the South Suburban Recreation center has public skate sessions and the full calendar can be found here. Admissions and skate rentals cost $7 Monday through Friday, and $7.50 on Friday nights for residents. For non-residents, it’s $9 through the week and $9.50 Friday nights.
On Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, admission and rentals are $7.50 for residents and $9.50 for non residents.
This rink is in Aurora’s Town Square shopping center and is open seven days a week. The rink is open Monday through Friday from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. It opens at 11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday and closes at 10 p.m. Saturday and 7 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $15.50 online and $14 in person, including skate rentals. The rink is surrounded by the outdoor mall’s shops and restaurants.
Inside the Denver Public Library’s Central Library on Broadway. Oct. 29, 2024.
Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
Updated Sept. 26, 2025 at 9:15 a.m.
Several dozen library workers from all corners of Denver converged for an after-work drink on Wednesday — with a side of unionization.
Organizers were hoping to make a show of support for unionization to the entirety of Denver Public Library’s workforce. Just hours earlier, all 800 employees of the library system had met for an all-day conference.
“Management was looking to see how many people wanted the union today, and we showed them a whole hell of a lot,” Jen Lowe, an on-call circulation worker, said at the after-hours union event at Schoolyard Beer Garden.
Denver’s library workers have been organizing since 2020, but that mission has gotten a lot more urgent recently. Starting Jan. 1, they will gain the right to collectively bargain — a key union power. The city government’s layoffs and budget cuts have also increased pressure.
Supporters of the library’s union, known as Denver Public Library Workers United, are planning to hold a union election in the coming months. They’ll eventually need to win support from a majority of affected workers voting in a special election.
One organizer told the crowd gathered that on Wednesday morning that the union was already confident it had the support it needed to force the local government into collective bargaining.
Wednesday’s event saw the launch of the union’s bargaining platform.
Nearly 300 workers have filled out a survey passed around by union organizers. Respondents identified three top issues — compensation, transparency and staffing.
Those will be priorities for the union if it wins the election and begins contract negotiations. They will also ask for a clearer, more equitable disciplinary process.
Many library workers on Wednesday said library staffers are burning out from huge workloads, including caring for homeless or immigrant patrons.
“A lot of people know that a lot of library staff are not fairly compensated,” said Jeremey Bongers, an activities coordinator at the library. “There’s a lot of the work that people are doing in the vein of social work that is not recognized.”
The library faces a cut of 15 percent, or about $9.2 million, in the proposed budget, in addition to a 7.5 percent reduction that was already made for 2025. DPL has avoided layoffs so far, but it has closed 99 open positions. It also has closed four library branches for months in order to save money, and it will cut some $3.7 million in services and supplies.
The cuts have some library employees nervous.
“If the city’s not going to have our backs, if they’re going to give raises to the safety department and forget about the other city and county departments and agencies that do valuable work that’s serve the community, if they’re not going to watch out for them, then the union will do that for DPL staff,” said Juan Manuel Ramirez Anzures, an administrative assistant at the Central Children’s Library.
Denver Public Library Workers United’s election would be the first new union election in decades. No other organizing effort is apparent at other city departments. Denver’s police, fire, sheriff’s department and Denver Public School teachers are already represented by unions.
Editor’s note: Due to an editor’s error (Andy’s), this article contained an inaccurate figure about the library’s budget, which was corrected in an update.
If you’ve dropped by a public library in Denver recently and, like more than a thousand other people, were offered an orange and yellow paperback book for free, it wasn’t a fluke.
It’s part of a reading program led by the Denver Public Library that has been reinstated this year after taking a hiatus. The program is called One Book One Denver, and it’s intended to get people out of post-COVID isolation and reading the same book – one that could spark connection and community-building.
Most recently, it was a program for young people, but this year, it’s returned with an adult title: “Stay True,” a page-turner of a memoir set in the 1990s by Hua Hsu, who is the son of Taiwanese immigrants and works as a college professor in New York. Now in his late 40s, he spent 20 years working on the book, which was published in 2022 to great acclaim. It won a Pulitzer Prize and was a best-seller.
“Stay True” author Hua Hsu.Courtesy of Denver Public Library
The cover of “Stay True” by author Hua Hsu.Courtesy of Denver Public Library
It takes a microscope to a friendship between Hsu and another Asian student named Ken while they attend college together in Northern California. Hsu is more of an introvert who writes a ‘zine, listens to hip-hop and shops in thrift stores, while Ken is more outgoing, taking dance classes in public and finding ways to befriend a wide swath of people.
The two bond despite outward differences because they both enjoy some of the same things, including underground film Berry Gordy’s “The Last Dragon” and smoking cigarettes on balconies. About two-thirds of the way through, the plot twists when an unexpected act of violence takes Ken away from their friend group.
The library gave out 1,500 copies of that book — 100 of them in Spanish, to the surprise and delight of the author, who declined interviews but provided the library with a statement: “It’s so great that this city-wide reading program is back, and I feel honored to be a part of its return. I wrote Stay True for quite personal reasons, not imagining the reception it’s gotten over the past few years. Witnessing how it has resonated with strangers has been such an amazing surprise. I hope it’s a book that brings people together in discussion and friendship.”
The title was selected with deliberate care, according to Jessie de la Cruz, who coordinated the project as Program Manager for Civic and Literary Initiatives.
When asked what made DPL select “Stay True,” she said: “We were going off of some surveys from adults and looking at circulation trends, and we saw that a lot of our adult readers gravitate towards non-fiction.”
Another reason, she said, is that the book touches on things everyone experiences: friendship, loss, grief and coming-of-age.
One Book One Denver visitors hold up posters they’ve made.Courtesy of Denver Public Library
“I think when I read this book and I came across it, I felt that it had a lot of universal themes that would be applicable to all backgrounds, to all genders, to all identities,” she said. “I think we can all relate to that version of ourselves … that was awkward and clumsy, and trying to figure out who we are, those new friendships that you develop in college on top of trying to understand and grapple with your identity and your independence.”
The program originally began in 2004, with the focus being children’s books for part of the time, and interest seemingly fizzling out, leading to the program’s end a dozen years ago.
Then came a request:
“Last year, the Mayor’s Office approached Denver Public Library about reviving One Book One Denver,” said library spokesperson Alvaro Sauceda Nuñez in an email. “Denver Public Library programs, such as the Silent Pages Society, showed us that adults in Denver are hungry for meaningful, low-pressure ways to engage with books and with each other. OBOD is a response to that need.”
He also noted that research has shown that adult reading for pleasure is in steady decline, especially among younger adults and their internal program showed patrons were hungry for meaningful ways to engage with books and each other without pressure. “In relaunching OBOD, we intend to spark curiosity and engagement—not just among our regular customers, but also among adults who may not see themselves as ‘readers’ right now.”
Community activities
Besides making 20 copies of the book available for free to rent and unlimited copies available to download, the library also came up with suggested conversation questions for use in group discussion sessions. But de la Cruz saw a bigger opportunity to bring the book and the project into a larger context.
She designed some other engagement opportunities at different branches, such as:
An opportunity to explore storytelling through ‘zine creation – one of Hsu’s passions – on Saturday, Sept. 20, at the Bob Raglan Branch;
A creative writing workshop during which participants will use objects to tell stories, on Sunday, Sept. 28, at the Ross-University Hills Branch; and
A chance to make a mix tape, like the ones Hsu and his friend Ken exchanged, on Friday, Sept. 12, at the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library.
“It was really important that this program didn’t just exist within the library, but how do we activate and bring it out into the city?” said de la Cruz. “How does it spill out of the library into the city streets?”
Expressing books visually
Another way she found to connect people with the book’s themes was tolink up with the Colorado Photographic Arts Center, located near the library’s main branch. The center found a way to use photography to express the ideas in the book visually.
Samantha Johnston, curator and executive director of the arts center, put together an exhibit called “What Remains.” It includes photos by three photographers, two from Colorado, whose images “explore complexities of identity, fear, memory, and the solace that can be found through art,” according to the center’s promotional documents.
Work by Emily “Billie” Warnock in the “What Remains” show at the Colorado Photographic Arts Center on Lincoln Street. Sept. 4, 2025.Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
During a recent visit to the center, Johnston led a tour of the exhibit. “All the work is part of the ‘What Remains’ exhibition, but each artist has their area,” she said, pointing out four walls with the work that will be displayed until the end of the month, by photographers Carl Bower, Dana Stirling and Emily (Billie) Warnock.
Among the most arresting is a photo essay on fear by local photographer Bower, featuring stark images of people looking intensely at the camera, alongside a written answer the subject provided about what they fear.
Work by Emily “Billie” Warnock in the “What Remains” show at the Colorado Photographic Arts Center on Lincoln Street. Sept. 4, 2025.Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
“Veronica” by Carl Bower in the “What Remains” show at the Colorado Photographic Arts Center on Lincoln Street. Sept. 4, 2025.Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
She said fear is a common theme in Bower’s photos as it is in Hsu’s words. “It’s where Hua Hsu speaks to that loss of Ken and also that the fear of … forgetting those memories of his friend and who he is, and again, all tying differently, but underlying connections into how I curated the work.”
“Stay True” author Hua Hsu will speak on Friday at Denver Public Library’s Central branch, and on Saturday, Lighthouse Writers Workshop is holding an event at the arts center, during which people will look at the exhibit, then use it and Hsu’s book for inspiration for a creative free-writing session.
“Communities form when we listen to and share with one another,” Hsu said in his statement. “I hope reading about my friends and I inspires others to think about the bonds that run through their lives, the everyday stories worth cherishing, and the visions of community they hope to find in the real world.”
The “What Remains” show at the Colorado Photographic Arts Center on Lincoln Street. Sept. 4, 2025.Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
Ongoing construction in the main hall at Denver Public Library’s Central Library. Sept. 8, 2023.
Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
The Denver Public Library’s construction era is coming to an end — with a final sprint of even more construction.
On Sept. 20, the central branch will be fully closed to visitors for more than a month. The shutdown, which is expected to last into November, will allow workers to finish the main branch’s years-long renovation project.
The closure will end with the library’s grand reopening on Nov. 3, according to a library newsletter.
During the closure, the central branch will still offer curbside pick-up, a holds window and remote services. Otherwise, the nearest branches include the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library and Ross-Broadway Branch Library.
The central branch’s $59 million touchup got rolling in 2017 when voters approved a big chunk of funding with the Elevate Denver bond. Construction started in 2020.
On the outside, the building will remain much the same — looking, to me, a lot like something a kid would build with blocks. But the renovations will touch practically every corner of the 540,000-square-foot campus.
New or improved security, data, power, communication, lighting, HVAC and fire alarm systems
Changes to landscaping, sidewalks and parking
Redesigned and bigger restrooms, including an all-gender restroom on the first floor
Changes to the entrance on Broadway
A rebuilt children’s library
The library at Broadway and 14th Avenue opened in 1956, but a rebuild was completed in 1995 as part of a $92 million bond package for the library system.
Parts of the library have been closed or limited to the public throughout the latest renovation project. There are thousands of new Denver residents who have never seen the central library at its most operational.
