The Daniels and Fisher Tower - Denver's Architectural Landmark Since 1911

Denver's 16th Street Mall Keystone to History - the D&F Tower

For citizens of Denver, especially those of us that are native to Denver and Colorado, the D&F Tower, as it is called, is full of history.

As the most famous part of the Daniels and Fisher Department store the tower has been an important Denver Landmark since 1911. At the time the tower was built it was, amazingly the third tallest building in America. I know that because my grandmother proudly pointed that out to me every time she took me downtown. The tower took almost one year to build and was modeled after a famous bell tower at St Marks Basilica in Venice, Italy. The bell in the tower, which used to ring out half hour and hour times during day light hours, weighs more than two tons.

At one point in it's history it was almost torn down. This was after the May Company bought the Daniels and Fisher Company in the late 1950's. The department store and tower sat unused for several years Shortly there after some people in Denver wanted to tear down all old buildings to make Denver more modern. A "so called" urban renewal authority was set up. The fact that the D&F tower was almost destroyed by urban renewal is viewed by some as the start of the saving so much of Denver's historic architectural past. Public outcry resulted in the tower being saved, even though the rest of the Daniels and Fisher building was razed to the ground. At that time a privately supported foundation was set to save the tower but it remained called the May D&F tower for years. The tower became so much a part of Denver that even the Urban Renewal authority put a likeness of the tower into it's own logo. This was something that upset quite a few persons in Denver for many years as it was, at first, that same organization that tried so hard to tear down the building.

The May D&F Tower sat empty for many years as the foundation collected ideas and funds to keep it safe. When the 16ht Street Mall project was funded the Tower was brought back to life. It was again refurbished in 2004. Over all various groups, public and private have spent over one million dollars on preservation of the tower.