2001-05-26 - 20:55 MDT

THE WONDERING JEW

Bummer

After reading two days editions of, for lack of a better word ? news ? in the Denver papers and taking the antidote by reading the comics, which were insufficient to say the least. Jeepers

Milosevic in the news again - nothing new there, same old stuff. Israel, hah, if they can't get killed off quick enough the Jerusalem wedding building collapses and kills some peaceful, fun loving citizens engaged in celebrating a wedding.

Hit and runs, smash and grabs, muggings, unjust use or the Right Of Eminent Domain being abused by officials trying to take property from rightful owners in able to allow a more profitable commercial enterprise to move in - not a city entity, but a private outfit.

To make it peachy keen last night gave me another nightmare of the auto accident we had in Wyoming in 1997. Each nightmare is different but they all end up with Heather dead or dying while I sit latched in and unable to help her, screaming for someone to help. My mind refuses to accept the fact that she was severly bruised and that is all. It is true that more time elapses between each episode, but they all are too vivid without diminishing in that respect.

So, today I comb the sheets for decent, elevating news to no avail. The neatest item was by Tom Noel -- Denver's Phd historian, about old Market Street and banking there in the old days. One thing mentioned in some detail was a tale about a man obtaining a bank loan, on a poker hand. Being turned down by the bank personnel, on his way out the gambler complained to the bank president who was returning from his all night card game. The banker interested enough to listen to the man, was shown the contents of an envelope which held an unbeatable poker hand. The man had two men with him who were in the game and had followed to make sure there was no card-pankying going on. The banker gave his employee hell and said that hand was worth most anything and he went to the vault brought sufficient money to advance it to the card player. The president gave his man holy heck and told them that the hand was worth the entire assets of the bank.

Mr. Noels next words are, "Facts as well as Folk tales underline the the speculative nature of pioneer banking in Colorado," he goes on to talk about the whole growth of the city was built around the gold rush in our mountains.

Until recent years some of our big companies were built on enterprises supplying the mines in the mountains. A food and provision supplier grew to be a giant in our state. A company which supplied mining equipment to the mines, such things as rock drills, mining cars and the rails to run them on. A huge building near the train station which supplied the general run of hardware and things like carbide lamps for miners hats.

Our city grew on gold rush speculation from the little burg it was.

Market Street in those days was referred to as Bankers Row. Names of some of the present day banks that were there and some of the banking institutions which underwent name changes are well known in our town. I will mention only one that just might ring a bell, Clark Gruber and Company, now known as the U.S. Mint in Denver.

During and after the Silver Crash of the 1890's the banks began disappearing from Market Steet making their move further uptown. And the street known for its banks also had the largest and most notorious red-light district in the area until the arrival the the Reformers in 1912. The area became probably the first skid row then. Later after the shine wore off, Larimer became the land of the pawn shops, slop shops and other skid row things such as the flop houses. Old Market Street went further down scale and had the cheapest dingiest places to flop.

Until the development of Lo-Do (Lower Downtown) and the Rockie's Coors Ball Field many of the original buildings were still standing, little changed, just more disreputable. The development of Larmier Square was a miracle of development. Most of the old buildings were preserved, with minor changes, the building my first bicycle came from is still there, the store windows have been moved back and the facade gussied up. I will bet that the original flooring is beneath the fancy flooring that is on top today.

It seems to me that downtown Denver in its entirety almost became a skid row, when the Department stores moved to the fancy new outlying malls, which had the one thing that was lacking in downtown Denver and gave it an almost mortal blow -- PARKING. Looks to me that is why city after city followed suit in flight to the malls. My golly, even during the biggest Christmas / Easter crush there are still spaces to park at the malls. Downtown wouldn't provide enough parking areas and the parking lots were getting overloaded so it looks to me that the flight to the malls was almost suicide to Downtown Denver. But now there are businesses not selling merchandise as occupants, 16th Street mall is a walkway. Entertainment Row -- up 14th Street uses a great amount of space and hotels by the score everywhere.

Now it seems to me that skid row has spread to East Colfax Ave. moving on clear out to Aurora.

To this old dude the days when most everything was downtown are the halcyon days living yet in my memories. Oh, well, today was sort of a Bummer . . . . .

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