The Denver Hilton, now the Denver Sheraton, downtown on the
16th Street Mall. This was built 1960 as part of the famously-lost
Zeckendorf Plaza designed by the firm of world famous architect,
I.M. Pei. The Sheraton is now all that is left of the plaza.
(The entranceway is a recent addition.)

I was fortunate enough to take the Doors Open Denver Pedestrian
Walking Tour by Denver architect and city hero Alan Gass. He worked
for I.M. Pei’s firm during the period of the construction of the Mile High Center
and the Zeckendorf Plaza.

It rained almost the entire time and I was thoroughly soaked by the end of the two hour tour, but listening to Mr. Gass’ recollections of Denver architectural history was worth every minute.

As everyone from the Front Range knows, it can snow and rain on Friday and Saturday, but come Sunday when I took these photos, it was about 70 degrees.

The Zeckendorf Plaza included a skating rink and the famous hyperbolic paraboloid by Pei. The Hilton overlooked the rink. This would have been your view while skating.

Even without the plaza, the surviving Sheraton is still a great example of mid-century modern architecture.

I.M Pei’s two other surviving buildings in Colorado are the Mile High Center and the outstanding N.C.A.R. in Boulder, which Gass referred to as “the best building in the state”.