Photos: Denver Celebrates 16th Street Reopening

Denver celebrated the full reopening of 16th Street on Saturday, October 4, with speeches, live music, free haircuts and, yes, a protest along the 1.2 mile-stretch through downtown that debuted exactly 43 years ago as the 16th Street Mall, then underwent a nearly four-year rejuvenation that replaced the I.M.Pei-designed tiles and also dropped the word “mall.”

“What you see are open restaurants, open stores, open booths and open downtown Denver,” Mayor Mike Johnston said during the celebration. “We all have amazing Denver moments that were on 16th Street. It’s been the heart of the city for forty years. This is about making sure it’s the heart of the city for the next forty years.”

Families, kids, couples and tourists (including a noticeable number wearing Chicago gear) enjoyed performances by Denver bands Flobots and Los Mocochetes, along with aerial dancing, belly dancing, DJs, balloon animals, beer and free pork belly tacos along the stretch of 16th running from Broadway to Union Station. The full width of 16th Street was available, as the FreeRide (formerly the Free MallRide) will continue its detour down 15th and 17th streets until tomorrow, when the buses will move back to 16th.

In 2022, the City of Denver embarked on the $175 million project to replace deteriorating infrastructure along the mall and and improve pedestrian and traffic safety. Johnston gave credit to his predecessor, former Mayor Michael Hancock, for making the “courageous decision to get this done.” Hancock spoke to the crowd, too.

The 16th Street Grand Opening came the same week that the City of Denver announced that the Downtown Development Authority will pay $37 million to buy the Denver Pavilions (and another $8 million on plans and other fixes) in order to further revitalize those two blocks at the city center.

As Johnston noted today, you can now see the full length of 16th Street without obstruction, although Welton Street was blocked when protesters arrived about 1 p.m., to complain about how the Johnston administration is handling homelessness.

But the celebration went on, and the party will continue throughout the day.