John Gunther traveled across the country after World War II, compiling reports that resulted in the classic Inside U.S.A. His dispatch from Denver included this: "I don't know any other American city quite so fascinatingly strange. Not merely because yellow cabs are painted green or because the fourteenth step on the state capitol bears the proud plaque ŒONE MILE ABOVE SEA LEVEL' or even because it has luxuriant shade trees (every single one of which had to be imported) . . . The remarkable thing about Denver is its ineffable closedness; when it moves, or opens up, it is like a Chippendale molting its veneer. This is not to say that Denver is reactionary. No -- because reaction suggests motion, whereas Denver is immobile. We will in the course of this book come on other cities, like Tulsa, that really are reactionary; but Denver is Olympian, impassive, and inert. It is probably the most self-sufficient, self-contained and complacent city in the world."