Sam's Bar & Lounge

Many of Denver’s longtime dives have been renovated into shiny shadows of their former selves, often transformed into hangouts for hipsters. We’re betting you won’t find a single hipster at Sam’s Bar & Lounge, a watering hole that opened on Leetsdale Drive 66 years ago. You won’t find any wi-fi, either; as one message on the bar’s chalkboard urges, “Talk to each other and get drunk.” That’s not hard, especially if you sit at the big, four-sided bar — there are a few comfy booths, too — and chat it up with the bartender, who pours stiff, inexpensive drinks. As so much of old Denver dries up, the neon sign of Sam’s shines like a beacon.