Art Lover's Walking Tour Of Denver
Santa Fe Drive between Alameda Ave and 12th Ave
Denver, CO 80204
www.artdistrictonsantafe.com
The best place to start your walking tour of the Denver art scene is to set out along Santa Fe Drive between Alameda and 12th Avenues. You'll find more than 60 different art galleries here, most are free to browse, and many showcase work from local talents as well as artists from all over the country. If you visit on the first Friday of any month you'll also be able to take the free shuttle between the different art districts, and you'll be joining the more than 5,000 people that flock to this area each month in search of new art, food and other fantastic entertainment. There are so many different galleries here that you'll find a little something for every artistic taste and style, so plan to spend some time here and just keep heading north for the next stop on your walking tour.
950 13th St.
Denver, CO 80202
(303) 893-4100
www.denvercenter.org
Once you pass 12th Avenue along Santa Fe, the galleries start tapering off and you're less than a mile from the Denver Center Performing Arts Complex. This huge complex is anchored by two giant sculptures titled "Dancers" by Jonathan Borofsky. They tower more than 60 feet in the air and look to be in a state of perpetual movement, representing the charm and beauty of performance art. "Dancers" is an icon in Denver, and you'll hear many locals refer to the statues as the "dancing aliens on Speer," but any art lover can appreciate the skill and beauty found within these famous sculptures. You'll also want to spend a little time just walking through the Denver Center Performing Arts Complex, with several more fascinating sculptures and lots of beautiful architecture to enjoy.
Related: Top Art Walks In Denver
700 14th St.
Denver, CO 80202
(303) 228-8000
www.denverconvention.com
Once you're done perusing all the sculptures at the Denver Center Performing Arts Complex, walk southeast on 13th to Champa Street, make a left and take the next right onto 14th and you'll be in front of the Colorado Convention Center, where Colorado's most famous public art piece gazes wistfully into the windows of the convention center. The sculpture, titled "I See What You Mean" is the giant blue bear by artist Lawrence Argent. It soars 40 feet above the Convention Center entrance and has quickly become one of the biggest landmarks in Denver. There are lots of fun photo opportunities here plus it's nearly impossible not to fall in love with the charm and whimsy of the famous big blue bear.
100 W. 14th Ave. Parkway
Denver, CO 80204
(720) 913-0130
www.denverartmuseum.org
If you're ready for the next leg of the tour, head southeast on 14th Street towards California Street, make a right onto Bannock and then a left onto 14th Avenue and you'll arrive at Denver's biggest and best visual art destination, the Denver Art Museum. You could easily spend several days here, perusing the several floors of art in nearly every style and every era. The Denver Art Museum is also totally free for children, so if you've got young ones in tow with you, make sure to head in to check out all the amazing work. Or, if you're just looking for free places to catch art, it's worth visiting the Denver Art Museum just to check out the incredible architecture of this building, designed by Daniel Libeskind. There are also several sculptures found outside the building, including Big Sweep, which is a huge broom sweeping scraps of paper into a dustpan by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen.
Related: Top Western Art Galleries In Denver
10 W. 14th Ave. Parkway
Denver, CO 80204
(720) 865-1111
www.denverlibrary.org
For the last leg of your walking tour of Denver Art, take the short walk east on 14th Avenue to Broadway and visit the Denver Public Library. The iconic building, by architect Michael Graves, is certainly worth some time. Walk around the building to enjoy the various sculptures, like "The Yearling" by Donald Lipski, which is a 21-foot-tall sculpture of a horse on a huge red chair, designed to recall the perspective of a child. You can also check out "Lao Tzu" by Mark di Suvero, which is a huge red abstract work of art ready for your own interpretation. Make sure to head into the library to visit one of the best murals in Colorado called "A Rolling Historical Landscape of Colorado and the West" by Edward Ruscha. It's made of 70 painted panels and it spans the entire length of the atrium in 360 degrees. It's a beautiful and fitting tribute to Colorado and a great way to end your walking art tour of Denver.
