A fire at DIY space Ghost Ship in Oakland, California, that killed 36 people has thrust similar artistic communities around the country into the spotlight. On Thursday, December 8, the Denver Fire Department inspected longtime DIY space Rhinoceropolis, at 3553 Brighton Boulevard, in the heart of what's now hot-hot RiNo, and found a variety of code violations. Five artists who had been living there were evicted, since the building is not zoned for residential. Says Wesley:
I find it funny that the space had been inspected on numerous occasions with no issue, but when the city wants to use a tragedy in another state to facilitate clearing the area of unwanted "artists" so they can gentrify (aka demolish the culture), all of a sudden it is a huge problem and lives are in danger.Have you been to any events at Rhinoceropolis? What do you think about what's happening in RiNo?
But hey, when they knock down the building and replace it with cookie-cutter condos designed by someone from another state that look the way people on the East Coast think the "West" should look like, I guess we can all rejoice that Denver is little less unique.
