What Do You Love About the 303?

We're still high on the Mile High City

February 25, 2020

Patricia Calhoun

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March 3 –– also known as 303 Day –– is just a week away, and we're getting ready to celebrate! 303 was the original area code for metro Denver before growth dictated the overlay of a second area code, 720, in June 1998.

If we thought Denver was booming back then, it's exploding today, and many people worry that the Mile High City has changed beyond recognition. "The Denver some of us know and love no longer exists except in our hearts and minds," one reader wrote after reading about yet another longtime institution joining the endangered list.

But we still see plenty to celebrate in this city. The sunrises, for example; almost every morning, I catch a beauty from my kitchen window overlooking downtown (and, yes, Interstate 25, though this early, it's almost serene).

What do you love about the 303? Share it with us in a comment or email [email protected]; we'll roll out some of our favorite answers on Tuesday, March 3.

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Patricia Calhoun is editor-in-chief of Westword, the alt-weekly she co-founded in September 1977. She’s been inducted into the Colorado Press Association Hall of Fame, the Association of Alternative Newsmedia Hall of Fame and the Colorado Restaurant Association Hall of Fame. She’s also received dozens of local, state and national awards for writing, including first place for feature writing and first place for column writing with the Society of Professional Journalists. Patricia is a weekly commentator on Colorado Inside Out, PBS 12's public affairs roundtable, which has won two Emmys.

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