A proposal is being aired in Denver that could lead to the construction of a most prominent structure.
The structure would be an observation tower measuring some 673 feet, or equal to around 30 stories, in a busy downtown neighborhood at 1546 California Street.
As proposed by the company Shames Makovsky Realty, the project is slated for a parking lot just to the south of the Denver Pavilions shopping mall.
In papers submitted to the City of Denver, the tower includes a first-floor glass atrium and supporting structure, with the rest of the cylindrical building shooting straight up into the air.
The structure has already been compared to a “giant, old-fashioned barber’s pole,” by the publication Westwood, with the site Axios seeing it as a “sculptural, lattice-wrapped spire with an orb at the top.”
If the project is approved and becomes reality, it would be the fourth tallest structure in Denver, behind only the Republic Plaza building at 370 17th Street, which measures 714 feet; the office building 1801 California Street at 709 feet; and the Wells Fargo Center at 1700 Lincoln Street, coming in at 698 feet.
Besides going through the regular city review process, the tower would also be required to secure the approval of the Denver Landmark Preservation Commission owing to its location in the city’s Downtown Historic District.
The site for the proposed tower has been an empty lot for well over 20 years but was decades ago the home of the Gallup Floral Company and, later, a popular cigar store.
June 27, 2025
By Garry Boulard
Photo courtesy of Pixabay
