How long was that line at Invesco?

View image. The line to get into Invesco Field at Mile High for Barack Obama’s acceptance speech last night seemed to go on forever – but just how long was it? Using Westword’s advanced mapping tools (Google, a ruler and a calculator), we traced and measured the line’s route at...

By Patricia Calhoun

August 29, 2008

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View image. The line to get into Invesco Field at Mile High for Barack Obama’s acceptance speech last night seemed to go on forever – but just how long was it?

Using Westword’s advanced mapping tools (Google, a ruler and a calculator), we traced and measured the line’s route at about 5:30 p.m. yesterday. As you can see above, the event’s organizers chose a, um, circuitous route through Invesco’s parking lots.Unfortunately, Google’s technology didn’t allow us to zoom in enough to highlight the trash-strewn alleyways, slippery hillsides and former meth labs that greeted the wary, sun-baked attendees along the way.

So how long was this queue, exactly? According to our supremely questionable math, at this point in time the line was just over two miles long. In other words, stretched end to end the line would have reached to Coors Field. Of course, then those in line wouldn’t have been able to enjoy all that nifty parking-lot scenery. – Joel Warner and Jared Jacang Maher

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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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