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        <title>Denver Real Estate Blog</title>
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        <description>Denver real estate topics including local metro Denver community news and events.</description>
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            <author>bruce@bruceswedal.com (Bruce Swedal)</author>
            <title>Step into the Old West in Colorado's Historic Tiny Town</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
If you ever owned a dolls house, or were lucky enough to visit an attraction like Tiny Town when you were a child, then you will understand the attraction that any miniature item can have for a small child, let alone an entire town, complete with working steam engine.

Built on a one sixth-size scale, Tiny Town is a miniature replica of a Western town at the beginning of the 20th century. There are over a hundred individual buildings, each lovingly crafted to add to the realism of the town. Some of the houses are complete with furniture and people, who can be glimpsed through the windows, while others are just the right size for a small child to crawl inside. Unlike many such attractions, which have a strict hands off policy, visitors to tiny town are actually encouraged to enter these buildings, as long as they can fit. This is one of the best features of Tiny Town for anyone young enough to take advantage of it. A house that is just the right size for a child, but too small for any grown ups will delight most young visitors. One of the most popular features of Tiny Town for visitors of all sizes is the railway, which is complete with a tiny railway station and a working steam locomotive, upon which visitors can take a ride around the town.

Tiny Town is the oldest miniature town and railway in the US. It was created in 1915 near the scenic Denver Leadville stagecoach stop by George Turner. Turner initially began the town for the entertainment of his own daughter, and named the town Turnerville, but in 1920, it was made open to the public. It quickly became one of the most popular attractions in the Colorado area, with approximately 20,000 people making the trip out from Denver to visit it each year.

The original town contained all of the features of a real Western town, including a grocery store, barber, hotel, pool room, school and church. There was also an Indian pueblo. The railway was one of the later additions, but construction of this popular feature was completed by 1939.

The town is now under the protection of the Tiny Town Foundation, a charitable, volunteer run organization that was established in 1990 in order to protect the town against the threats of demolition and destruction, but fire and flood, which had all combined to bring the attraction close to extinction at numerous points in its history. By 1988, the town was in serious need of attention and repairs. Under the guidance of the Institute of Real Estate Management, the town was resurrected by volunteers who came from all across the state of Colorado to offer their time and skills in order to save Tiny Town. Many of the original buildings were refurbished, new structures were added, and the railroad was brought back to life. The foundation was set up two years later in order to ensure that this historic Colorado attraction would never come so close to being lost again.

Tiny Town is open daily during the summer, and at weekends during the months of May and September. Admission is cheap, with a small additional charge for riding the train, and a proportion of the proceeds are donated to charity.
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            <pubDate>Sat, 03 Jul 2010 09:50:43 -0600</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.denversrealestate.com/blog/visiting-denvers-landmarks-and-historic-sites.html</guid>
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            <author>bruce@bruceswedal.com (Bruce Swedal)</author>
            <title>Visiting Denver's Landmarks And Historic Sites</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
Once in the city of Denver, a traveler or new resident is confronted with an astounding amount of things to do.&nbsp; These activities and attractions play a large role in why people choose Denver year after year as their&nbsp;destination of choice.&nbsp; One of the more interesting things to do&nbsp;in the city is to seek out and visit a number of the community's landmarks and historic sites.&nbsp; Many of these display and exhibit a good amount of detail relating to the early days of Denver.&nbsp; There are also plenty of modern day landmarks in the city too which are also worth visiting.

Here is a look at some of the landmarks and historic sites worth visiting in Denver.

Brown Palace HotelThe Brown Palace Hotel is a triangular shaped hotel that was built in 1892.&nbsp; This is the second oldest hotel in all of Denver, having been built just one year later than the Oxford Hotel.&nbsp; The Brown Palace Hotel has seen a great number of famous guests including the members of the musical group The Beatles, Elvis Presley, and a number of visiting royalty from foreign lands.&nbsp; The hotel has also hosted five United States Presidents; Theodore Roosevelt, William Taft, Warren Harding, Harry Truman, and Dwight Eisenhower.

Confluence ParkConfluence Park sits on the confluence of Cherry Creek and the South Platte River.&nbsp; This park is one of the many focal points of Denver's Lower Downtown area, referred to by locals as LoDo, and is also the original site where gold was discovered in 1858.&nbsp; This gold strike led to the city of Denver being founded and was a main event in attracting more Americans westward.

Red RocksHome of the world famous Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Red Rocks is a Denver-owned park that actually sits just over fifteen miles outside of the city limits.&nbsp; The natural rock formations found here would be amazing in their own right, but when viewed with some of the world's best musicians playing as part of a concert there, they are even more incredible.&nbsp; This natural amphitheater has hosted concerts since the early 1900s, and has offered a regular concert series since the 1940s.

Daniels &amp; Fisher TowerStanding at 325 feet tall, the Daniess &amp; Fisher Tower, known locally as the D&amp;F Tower, was the tallest structure built west of the Mississippi River when it was constructed in 1910.&nbsp; The store that surrounded the tower was later demolished, but the tower remains as a local landmark and currently is home to a number of downtown businesses.

Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate ConceptionOne of the few cathedrals in the United States that has hosted a mass held by the reigning Pope, the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Denver is a much revered religious site and also an incredibly interesting historical building.&nbsp; Construction began on the cathedral in 1902 and it remains to this day one of the most beautiful religious buildings in the American West.

Denver MintThis is a popular tourist attraction and interesting place to visit.&nbsp; Much about the history of coinage in the United States can be learned here.&nbsp; There is a great display of actual coins and currency, as well as a decent amount of antique money making equipment too.&nbsp; The Denver Mint is the largest producer of coins in the entire world.

Colorado State CapitolThe Colorado State Capitol Building was constructed in the 1890s and has served continuously as the home of the offices of the Colorado Governor and the Colorado legislature.&nbsp; The building is made of white granite that was found and quarried locally, but the most distinctive feature is the gold dome that sits atop the building.&nbsp; Tours are available of both the dome and the legislative area are available and are a worthwhile activity for anyone interested in history to take part in.

Richthofen CastleRichthofen Castle was completed in 1887 and carries a famous last name that is recognized by many military history enthusiasts.&nbsp; Baron Walter von Richthofen built this 35 room castle modeled after the original Richthofen Castle located in Germany.&nbsp; The Baron has a more famous relative, and his nephew Baron Manfred von Richthofen would achieve worldwide fame in the early days of flight as the actual Red Baron.

Wells Fargo CenterThe third tallest building in Denver has perhaps one of the most unique and personal architectural designs, especially when applied towards the company that the building is named after.&nbsp; The building rises to fifty-two stories tall, but near the top both sides start to arch inward and form a distinctive old time cash register shape., very fitting for a building tied to a financial institution like Wells Fargo.&nbsp; There is a skybridge that crosses the street and connects the building to a neighboring facility that offers both eating establishments as well as a small museum dedicated to the history of the Wells Fargo company.

Denver is a fascinating city to call home or visit, and some of that fascination can be experienced through visiting or seeking out some of the many landmarks the city has to offer.&nbsp; The landmarks listed here, as well as others that are also famous both locally and nationwide, all play a large part in making Denver what it is today, one of the United States' most interesting and fun cities to visit or live in.
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            <pubDate>Wed, 27 May 2009 20:32:04 -0600</pubDate>
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