Ranker's Unusual List of the 10 Most Famous Denver Buildings

We enjoy checking out the lists on the Ranker website, in part because of their eccentricity.

Note that its roster of the most famous people from Denver includes a porn star.

Ranker's choices for the ten most famous buildings and structures in Denver is similarly idiosyncratic.

Did the Brown Palace make the cut? Nope — it finished in 16th place. How about the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception? It comes in at number 19. The State Capitol? Number 24. The Denver Art Museum? 27, one space behind the Daniels & Fisher Tower.

So what's in the top ten? The list is dominated by Denver's tallest buildings, with many of them clustered along 17th Street.

Count down Ranker's ten favorites below, complete with photos and excerpts (with links) from their respective Wikipedia pages.

Number 10: 633 17th Street

633 17th Street, formerly known as the First Interstate Tower North, is a high-rise building in Denver, Colorado. The building was completed in 1974, and rises 32 floors and 434 feet (132 m) in height. The building stands as the twelfth-tallest building in Denver and Colorado. It also stood as the tallest building in the city at the time of its 1974 completion, and held that distinction for four years until it was surpassed by the 709-foot (216 m) 555 17th Street in 1978.

Number 9: 621 17th Street
621 17th Street, formerly known as the First Interstate Tower South, is a high-rise building in Denver, Colorado, United States. The building was completed in 1957, and rises 28 floors and 385 feet (117 m) in height. The building stands as the 20th-tallest building in Denver and Colorado. It also stood as the tallest building in the city at the time of its 1957 completion, and held that distinction for eleven years until it was surpassed by the 420-foot (128 m) Brooks Towers in 1968. 621 17th Street is considered to be one of the earliest modern skyscrapers in Denver.

Number 8: 555 17th Street

555 17th Street, formerly known as the Anaconda Tower and the Qwest Tower, is a skyscraper in Denver, Colorado. The building was completed in 1978, and rises 40 floors and 507 feet (155 m) in height. The building stands as the seventh-tallest building in Denver and Colorado. It also stood as the tallest building in the city at the time of its 1978 completion, and held that distinction for three years until it was surpassed by the 522-foot (159 m) 707 17th Street in 1981.

Number 7: 1999 Broadway

1999 Broadway is a 548ft (166m) tall skyscraper in Denver, Colorado. It was completed in 1985 and has 46 floors. The building was designed by Curtis W. Fentress, FAIA, RIBA of Fentress Architects and is the 5th tallest in Denver. 1999 Broadway has a unique shape, it is shaped like a triangle with a scoop in the side. This is caused by the desire to retain the historical Holy Ghost Catholic Church at the base.

Number 6: 1801 California Street

1801 California Street, also known as CenturyLink Tower, is a skyscraper in Denver, Colorado. The building was completed in 1983, and rises 53 floors and 709 feet (216 m) in height. The building stands as the second-tallest building in Denver and Colorado, and as the 111th-tallest building in the United States.

1801 California Street was previously occupied by offices for US West, and then served as the world headquarters of Qwest Communications.[3] In summer 2011 following CenturyLink's acquisition of Qwest, the Qwest sign was removed from the top and replaced with the CenturyLink sign. Upon its completion in 1983, the building stood as the tallest building in the city.[2] However, it held that distinction for less than a year, being surpassed by Republic Plaza in 1984


Number 5: 17th Street Plaza

17th Street Plaza is a 438 ft (134 m) tall skyscraper in Denver, Colorado. It was completed in 1982 and has 32 floors, with a total area of 666,653-square-feet. It was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and Wendel Duchsherer Architects. It is currently (2012) the 11th tallest building in Denver.

In 2009 the building was bought from J.P. Morgan for an estimated $135 million by HRPT Properties Trust. The building was reported to be 93 percent leased, with occupants including Molson Coors and Marsh & McLennan

Number 4: 1670 Broadway

1670 Broadway, formerly Amoco Tower, is a 448 feet (137 m) tall skyscraper in Denver, Colorado. It was completed in 1980 and has 36 floors. Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates PC designed the building and it is the 10th tallest skyscraper in Denver.

The 1670 Broadway building features, along with the tenants, a Starbucks coffee shop, Gateway Newsstand and a UMB Bank. In 2006, TIAA-CREF became one of the building's biggest tenants, and the company's symbol now adorns the top of the structure.

Number 3: 1600 Glenarm Place

1600 Glenarm Place is a 384 ft (117m) tall skyscraper in Denver, Colorado. Completed in 1967 as the Security Life Building, it has 32 floors. It was converted from office to residential use in 2006, and has 330 units. It is the 21st tallest building in Denver. It is currently owned by P3 Development NA, Inc.

Number 2: 1600 Broadway

1600 Broadway (also known as the Colorado State Bank Building) is a high-rise in Denver, Colorado in the United States. The tower stands at a height of 352 feet (107 m), with 26 floors. It was completed in 1972. Upon completion, 1600 Broadway stood as the seventh-tallest building in Denver. Today, it stands as the 30th-tallest building in Denver. 1600 Broadway is the headquarters for the Colorado State Bank.

Number 1: 1125 17th Street

1125 17th Street is a 363 ft (111 m) tall skyscraper in Denver, Colorado. It was completed in 1980 and has 25 floors. It is the 27th tallest building in Denver.

The building was formerly known as the Bank One Tower, and in even earlier times, the Amoco Building, since Standard Oil once leased a significant part of the building. When JPMorgan Chase and Bank One merged, the building's name changed to the Chase Tower. Now, according to the building's web site,[3] the building's name is simply 1125 17th Street.