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It's hard to be a saint in the city, and even harder to hang in the 'burbs. So Highlands Ranch teens decided to go underground -- literally. But now that county workers have exposed local storm drains sporting graffiti, beer cans, candles and other evidence of adolescent occupation, the hip factor of these hideouts has gone into the sewer. Where next? The missile silos on the plains were uncovered years ago...
National media outlets long ago shifted their attention to more catastrophe-ridden states (after all, the networks couldn't show that clip of JonBenét forever), but Colorado still sets the pace for the rest of the country. That's because the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the hundred-year-old independent agency that started out as the National Bureau of Standards, has a laboratory in Boulder that maintains the nation's atomic clocks. Got the time? You will if you check time.gov, as fifty million others do every day.

National media outlets long ago shifted their attention to more catastrophe-ridden states (after all, the networks couldn't show that clip of JonBenét forever), but Colorado still sets the pace for the rest of the country. That's because the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the hundred-year-old independent agency that started out as the National Bureau of Standards, has a laboratory in Boulder that maintains the nation's atomic clocks. Got the time? You will if you check time.gov, as fifty million others do every day.

Sitting dramatically on a rise above West 120th Avenue -- and just across from Chili's -- is the stunning Avaya Communications building. The work of world-famous Connecticut architects Kevin Roche and John Dinkeloo, the Avaya is clad in no less than a dozen kinds and colors of glass. Its most distinctive feature, though, is a 300-foot ocular atrium set on a diagonal (which yokels have mistaken for a satellite dish). The building is a real coup for Westminster, perhaps the last place you'd expect to find Colorado's first great architectural work of the 21st century.
Sitting dramatically on a rise above West 120th Avenue -- and just across from Chili's -- is the stunning Avaya Communications building. The work of world-famous Connecticut architects Kevin Roche and John Dinkeloo, the Avaya is clad in no less than a dozen kinds and colors of glass. Its most distinctive feature, though, is a 300-foot ocular atrium set on a diagonal (which yokels have mistaken for a satellite dish). The building is a real coup for Westminster, perhaps the last place you'd expect to find Colorado's first great architectural work of the 21st century.
Marty Coniglio is a reliable presence on Channel 7's underappreciated evening newscast, and a generally accurate one. Better yet, he seems more interested in offering information about the latest weather conditions than in showing off every technical gizmo in his arsenal.
Marty Coniglio is a reliable presence on Channel 7's underappreciated evening newscast, and a generally accurate one. Better yet, he seems more interested in offering information about the latest weather conditions than in showing off every technical gizmo in his arsenal.
Most of the new buildings in LoDo are little more than three-dimensional wallpaper that blends into the background. But every once in a while, an inspired designer comes up with an idea that is compatible with Lower Downtown Historic District requirements and also stands on its own as architecture. Such is the case with the Millennium Building, which was built with remarkable speed in a former parking lot. This postmodern edifice, by Denver architects Parkhill-Ivins, shows a real eye to detail; for example, it's faced in brick that has been laid in fancy patterns -- clearly a response to its historic neighbors. Sure, LoDo needs parking -- but it needs good-looking buildings such as this one even more.

Most of the new buildings in LoDo are little more than three-dimensional wallpaper that blends into the background. But every once in a while, an inspired designer comes up with an idea that is compatible with Lower Downtown Historic District requirements and also stands on its own as architecture. Such is the case with the Millennium Building, which was built with remarkable speed in a former parking lot. This postmodern edifice, by Denver architects Parkhill-Ivins, shows a real eye to detail; for example, it's faced in brick that has been laid in fancy patterns -- clearly a response to its historic neighbors. Sure, LoDo needs parking -- but it needs good-looking buildings such as this one even more.

If you've got it, flaunt it.

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