Best Place to Park Downtown

World-class, our ass: We're just looking for a place to park it. And here at the corner of 14th and Champa streets, like a struggling, spindly daisy peeking out from the surrounding weeds

of greed that charge up to $2 per twenty minutes, we're feelin' Allright, uh-huh. Bordered on one side by a light-rail station and only steps from the performing-arts complex and the convention center, this centrally located oasis of sanity is the cheapest lot within a six-block radius, charging $1 per half-hour, with a $4 maximum on weekdays; on nights and weekends, the rate goes up and down depending on what events are taking place nearby. On theater nights, this best-kept secret means you'll miss the crawl to get out of DCPA's parking garage. And as an added touch, there's a four-story mural of a flower -- courtesy of the Denver Botanic Gardens -- painted on the side of the Davis & Shaw building next door, which gives off a warm, welcoming vibe that says Denver isn't a city that has to steal from its citizens to feel like it's come up in the world. That means a lot.