City Transformed: LoDo Walking Tour
July 12, 2025
About the tour: This two-hour walking tour explores Denver’s historic Lower Downtown District from an urban planning and development perspective. Learn about LoDo as the city’s birthplace near the confluence of the Platte River and Cherry Creek and the development of its streets, blocks and buildings; the area’s transformation into a warehouse district with the addition of Denver Union Station in 1881; the district’s decline in the post-WWII era into the city’s skid-row; LoDo’s remarkable revitalization through historic preservation and adaptive reuse into the thriving mixed-use district of today; and what the future holds as new developments replace surface parking lots.
About the guide: Ken Schroeppel is the Urban Design Program Director at CU Denver’s College of Architecture and Planning. His areas of interest and expertise include land use and transportation, data visualization and graphic design, urban design, infill development, and Denver’s urban planning and development history. Ken is possibly best known as the Founder and Chief Editor of the popular DenverInfill and DenverUrbanism blogs, which offer news, ideas and commentary on infill development and other aspects of sustainable urbanism in the Mile High City.
Accessibility: The tour is approximately a two-hour walk through lower downtown Denver. Our tour will begin at the corner of 14th & Larimer in the plaza next to the CU Denver Building. Please wear comfortable shoes, bring water and dress for the weather.
Refund policy: The Denver Architecture Foundation is a nonprofit educational organization. Ticket sales support the Foundation in continuing to provide quality events to the public. We are unable to provide refunds or credits for any reason less than 48 hours prior to the event.
Please note that DAF tours take place rain, snow or shine. If your tour includes an outdoor portion, please dress for the weather. DAF staff will contact all attendees directly should a tour be cancelled for any reason.
Photo Credit: Photo by Mineia Martins