Recap: City Transformed Tour – Denver’s Central Platte Valley and Union Station District

About the tour: This two-hour walking tour on Sunday, August 19, 2018, explored Denver’s booming Union Station District from an urban planning and development perspective. We learned about the introduction of the railroad to the Central Platte Valley in the early 1870s; the creation of the historic Union Station building in the 1880s and its expansion in the early 1900s as the city’s bustling gateway to the world; the decline of railroads and the Valley’s crumbling infrastructure and underutilization in the post-WWII era; the decades-long planning effort that led to the area’s remarkable transformation; and the recent transit investments and building boom that have propelled the Union Station area into one of the country’s hottest urban districts.

About the guide: Ken Schroeppel is an Assistant Professor CTT in the Master of Urban and Regional Planning program at CU Denver where he lectures on the historical growth and development of Denver among other topics. Ken is very active in Denver’s planning and development communities. He is a member of the Denver Architectural Foundation board of directors, where he helps organize the popular Doors Open Denver and Box City programs, and is involved with other professional and advocacy organizations such as the Downtown Denver Partnership, Urban Land Institute, American Planning Association, Union Station Advocates, and YIMBY Denver. 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.

Photo courtesy of Ryan Dravitz Photography.