Welcome to the Archives of The Paul Rudolph Institute for Modern Architecture. The purpose of this online collection is to function as a tool for scholars, students, architects, preservationists, journalists and other interested parties. The archive consists of photographs, slides, articles and publications from Goldfinger’s lifetime; physical drawings and models; personal photos and memorabilia; and contemporary photographs and articles.
Some of the materials are in the public domain, some are offered under Creative Commons, and some are owned by others, including the Goldfinger Estate. Please speak with a representative of The Paul Rudolph Institute for Modern Architecture before using any drawings or photos in the Archives. In all cases, the researcher shall determine how to appropriately publish or otherwise distribute the materials found in this collection, while maintaining appropriate protection of the applicable intellectual property rights.
LOCATION
Address: 1760 Broadway
City: Denver
State: Colorado
Zip Code: 80202
Nation: United States
STATUS
Type: Commercial
Status: Project
TECHNICAL DATA
Date(s): 1974
Site Area:
Floor Area:
Height:
Floors (Above Ground):
Building Cost:
PROFESSIONAL TEAM
Client: Canal-Randolph Corporation
Architect: Myron Goldfinger (1933-2023)
Associate Architect:
Landscape:
Structural:
MEP:
QS/PM:
SUPPLIERS
Contractor:
Subcontractor(s):
Cosmopolitan Hotel
The project scope is to redesign the existing lobby and mezzanine of the Cosmopolitan Hotel and create an enclosed galleria atrium in the existing light court of attached Hotel Metropole.
The Cosmopolitan Hotel was built in Denver at the corner of East 18th Avenue and Broadway in 1926. It is a 460-room building deemed “most complete” hotel in Denver with flowing cold water and baths. On August 31, 1927, the hotel hosted a banquet with Colonel Charles L. Lindbergh.
The Hotel Metropole is a nine-story building with basement and large 7-story light court open to Broadway Street on the west from the second floor up. Its main Broadway Street facade is organized into three divisions vertically (a north residential tower, a center light court, and a south residential tower), and six divisions horizontally (street level, second floor, floors 3 through 6, floor 7, floor 8, and roof cornice). Originally, the north tower was identical to the south, but in 1899, an additional north tower section was constructed. The Hotel Metropole and Broadway Theatre were constructed in 1891 by Mr. William H. Bush, a principal investor for an English syndicate, the Windsor Land and Investment Company. The architect and general contractor was a builder from Chicago named Colonel J.W. Wood.
The Trader Vic's was originally opened in 1954 under the name "The Outrigger" which changed its name to Trader Vic's in 1962.
In 1978 Trader Vic's closes when the corporation decides they want a fresher location and it reopens at the brand-new Denver Hilton three blocks away. A Don the Beachcomber's moves into the vacated spot at the Cosmopolitan.
On May 20, 1984 the Cosmopolitan Hotel is demolished using 408 explosive charges. The site becomes a surface parking lot.
Plans by developers Bramalea Colorado and Cadillac Fairview to build twin office towers on the site in the 1980s are never executed.
In June 2014, Atlanta-based Novare Group, alongside Batson-Cook Development Company and Denver’s Simpson Housing, announces plans to reclaim the parking lot with a 25-story high-rise.
Construction for the new building breaks ground in January 2015.
On November 01, 2016 the SkyHouse Denver is opened. The cast-in-place concrete structure consists of 354 apartments and 6,900 square feet of ground-level retail space. A new standalone parking structure was also built and connected by a skybridge. The cast-in-place concrete parking structure has 5 levels above-grade and two levels below-grade with a total of 484 stalls.
DRAWINGS - Design Drawings / Renderings
DRAWINGS - Construction Drawings
DRAWINGS - Shop Drawings
PHOTOS - Project Model
PHOTOS - During Construction
PHOTOS - Completed Project
PHOTOS - Current Conditions
LINKS FOR MORE INFORMATION
RELATED DOWNLOADS
PROJECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
“Hotel Metropole & Broadway Theater, Denver Colorado.” Historic Structures, https://www.historic-structures.com/co/denver/hotel_metropole1.php.
Steve Raabe. “Luxury Apartments Set for Former Site of Denver’s Cosmopolitan Hotel.” The Denver Post, 16 Feb. 2015.
“Trader Vic’s - at the Hotel Cosmopolitan - Denver.” Mytiki.Life, 23 Apr. 2020, https://mytiki.life/tiki-bars/trader-vics-at-the-hotel-cosmopolitan-denver.