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1960s Denver Freeways: The Columbine and Skyline Freeways

Started by dwillsey, August 17, 2012, 08:58:25 PM

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dwillsey

I am currently an intern with the City of Denver, and I was sent over to the library today to retrieve some documents from the Western History Collection.  While there I got curious and decided to search the catalogue for "freeway planning."  Two very interesting documents came up.... really gorgeous master plans for the Skyline and Columbine Freeways that never happened, obviously.

In any case I quickly Photoshopped all the images I took trying to correct for page distortions and such and cropping them.  I have attached them below.  As much of a proponent as I am for auto-based transportation.... the Skyline proposal still managed to shock me, even from the perspective of the 1960s.  Though a Quebec Freeway and Columbine Freeway would have been very nice to have today, I think it's safe to say we can all be glad the Skyline never happened.

Enjoy:

















Zmapper

Very nice! I think most can agree that it was a good thing that Downtown Denver was not sliced in half by a freeway.

mgk920

What was the area where the Skyline Freeway was planned to go like back in the 1950s and 1960s?  Wasn't that a mostly railroad and industrial wasteland then?  I don't sense that it started turning into what it is now until at least the 1980s.

Fascinating!

:nod:

Mike

Milepost61

Quote from: mgk920 on August 17, 2012, 09:53:34 PM
What was the area where the Skyline Freeway was planned to go like back in the 1950s and 1960s?  Wasn't that a mostly railroad and industrial wasteland then?  I don't sense that it started turning into what it is now until at least the 1980s.

Yes, basically true. LoDo was a very seedy place in the '60s and '70s I've heard. The turnaround started in the '90s, especially kicked off with Coors Field. My view on the Skyline is it looks like Denver's convenient excuse to bulldoze blight. The phrase "Urban Renewal Plaza" particularly sticks out to me.

ShawnP

Great find

Henry

Always interesting to see pics and maps of freeways that were never built. And I like that downtown Denver was left intact.
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bugo

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The High Plains Traveler

Any relation to the current Auraria interchange?
"Tongue-tied and twisted; just an earth-bound misfit, I."

Milepost61

Quote from: The High Plains Traveler on October 26, 2012, 09:30:10 PM
Any relation to the current Auraria interchange?

I don't think so. Auraria Parkway and its interchange date to the late '80s when Colfax east of I-25 was reconfigured to get rid of the one-way pair with Colfax eastbound and the Larimer viaduct westbound. A couple of the renderings/sketches above show the Larimer/Lawrence viaducts staying in place.

The High Plains Traveler

I wanted to add, props to the OP for this very interesting info. Since I'm traveling i've only been able to view the maps on a Kindle but look forward to seeing them on a larger more stable display. I had no idea Denver had ever planned freeways like that.
"Tongue-tied and twisted; just an earth-bound misfit, I."



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