Reader: Ballpark Neighborhood Used to Smell Like Desperation...

Twenty years ago, Denver native — and now Westword managing editor — Jonathan Shikes snapped photos of under-construction Coors Field, going up just north of LoDo in an old warehouse area often called NoDough, given the lack of economic activity there. Today the Ballpark neighborhood is not just a go-to...

By Patricia Calhoun

April 13, 2015

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Twenty years ago, Denver native — and now Westword managing editor — Jonathan Shikes snapped photos of under-construction Coors Field, going up just north of LoDo in an old warehouse area often called NoDough, given the lack of economic activity there. Today the Ballpark neighborhood is not just a go-to spot on game day, it's one of the city's hottest dining destinations, with big residential complexes popping up all over. Are the changes over the past twenty years an improvement? Observes Miles:

Used to smell like desperation. Now it smells like pee.

Says Johnny:

That neighborhood definitely got a major facelift, but the roads are narrow, there is never enough parking and oh, by the way, we put everything into these stadiums while homeless people sit without proper shelter and food half the time from just two blocks away.

Concludes Jack:

The past 20 years hasn't helped my looks any.

What do you think of the transformation of this neighborhood? Work & Class, which opened in January 2014, just won our Best New Neighborhood Restaurant award in the Best of Denver 2015; what's your favorite restaurant in the Ballpark neighborhood?

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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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