Sunday, December 15, 2013

Denver Christmas Lights!!



The city of Denver, like most large cities, comes alive with Christmas lights this time of the year!
(All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them)


The Denver Post had an article that the very first outdoor electric lighted Christmas tree was lit in 1914 by D.D.Sturgeon, one of Denver's pioneer electricians, to cheer his gravely ill grandson. Since then Downtown Denver has been illuminated with "Winter in the City" holiday lights and events to bring Christmas cheer to all! Every year a Parade of Lights begins the holiday season in Denver, with two miles of marching bands and lighted floats. The 16th Street Pedestrian Mall is lit with more than 550,00 energy efficient LED lights as part of the great illumination of the city, The Denver Zoo has an elaborate Zoo Light display, and The Denver Botanical Garden has a Trail of Lights and Blossom Lights displays.




The top of the D and F Clock Tower is beautifully lit and is a focal point in the downtown sky.



The Southwest Rink in Skyline Park also adds to the festivities. I liked the apparatus they had for beginner skaters to use to help balance themselves. The skating is free, as long as you bring your own skates. Rental of skates are available at nominal cost.


The Christkindl Market lights up another section of Skyline Park.  There will be more about this wonderful authentic German market in my next post.


The most spectacularly lit building is the Denver City and County Building.  
It is covered with over 600,000 lights!


On either side of the building's steps are two display boxes.



On the left side is a display of Santa's elves. 


On the right is a beautiful Nativity display.


On the top of the left building, you can see Santa in his sled, pulled by eight tiny reindeer!



A closer look at Santa Claus on the rooftop!



I have to say this is one of the beautifully lit municipal buildings I have ever seen!


Many households around the Denver area also have beautiful light decorations, and the Denver Post web site has a Holiday Lights section that gives locations of the best displays.  I'm seeing more of my neighbors putting up lights this week, now that our cold spell has left us.  Temperatures will be in the high 50's, low 60's this week, which is making decorating much easier to do. It will also be nice weather to drive around to view the displays. 

I finally completed decorating my Christmas tree today!  We also took a trip up to the charming, heritage silver mine town of Georgetown this weekend in the Rockies to take in some of the holiday festivities there. Come back and visit again soon to see these posts and the Christkindl Market in Denver! It's certainly the most wonderful time of the year!



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39 comments:

Grace said...

how beautiful! Thank you for sharing! It is so wonderful to seeso many different decorations. I wish every State would do posts like this! Grace xoox

ellen b. said...

Love all the beautiful lights. How wonderful to have a Christmas market!

Pamela Gordon said...

The lights of Denver are gorgeous! What a beautiful thing to see this time of year. I'm amazed that they have the nativity set on the front of the municipal building too. That is getting to be rarer and rarer here in Canada, sadly. How did you get the lights to twinkle like that? That's really pretty.

Thoughts on Life and Millinery. said...

The city county building all lit up was a favorite Christmas element for me when I was in Denver around Christmas. It is a beautiful city at Christmas and I am glad the weather is getting a tad warmer so folks can enjoy get out and visiting the sights without frost bite.

Snap said...

Beautiful! I love all the lights. One of the reasons I love this time of year -- brings a smile to the face!

Betsy Brock said...

Very festive!

Miss Jean said...

It makes my heart feel good that the city would still put up the Nativity scene!!!!

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Gorgeous photos of Christmas in Denver... But--I bet you 'sorta' miss the big city this time of year... I know that I would...

Love the 'twinkling' gif photos....

Seems like Christmas is coming too quickly this year. The older I get, the faster time flies by...ha

Merry Christmas.
Hugs,
Betsy

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

I can't even imagine that many lights on the big building! And I love all of your twinkly lights. I know you are happy to be there and enjoy these amazing sights! Happy holidays my friend!

Vee said...

Gosh! That is spectacular! I am very impressed with Denver!

The Quintessential Magpie said...

How utterly gorgeous, Pat! Just amazing.

And I am thrilled to see a crèche! Way to go, Denver!

xo

Sheila

Lorrie said...

Beautiful, beautiful lights. So festive and lovely. Thank you for sharing Denver's lights with us.

Cheryl @ TFD said...

What an awesome display of lights in Denver! Gorgeous!!

Pondside said...

The city of Denver is beautiful with all its Christmas lights. I love the look of the municipal building with all the pretty little scenes.

Billy Blue Eyes said...

That is a well lit city the last building looked awesome

Old Kitty said...

What a most sparkly shiny and wonderfully festive blog post!! I totally love how the lights are twinkling! So so pretty! Denver city has turned all magical!

Awww and what a poignant origin of this festival too.

Take care
x

eileeninmd said...

Pat, the Christmas lights in Denver are beautiful. I like how you have made your photos sparkle. Lovely post, have a happy week!

Lynn said...

Everything looks very festive Pat! Glad you're finding lots of fun things to do in CO and I'm looking forward to hearing about the market:@)

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

Beautiful post. I love the twinkling lights. I guess that I might have to try out the Google awesome effect for myself.

Anyways, Christmas lights just add a lot to the season.

pam said...

I love the lights of Christmas. That city/county building is crazy, over the top fun. It seems like fewer homes are decorated around here this year. My favorite decoration is a mini table top tree that I got to decorate with white lights and red glitter balls that sits on a table right by our front door. It is just so cute! Hope you enjoy your warm up. We too, are supposed to have a few days in the upper 50's before another deep freeze hits. Hope you have a good week Pat!

Sam Hoffer / My Carolina Kitchen said...

I had no idea Denver went all out for Christmas with their lights. Your photos actually sparkle on the screen Pat. Way cool.
Sam

podso said...

Wonderful photos of Denver all lit up for Christmas. It looks magical! Thanks for sharing and hope you enjoy this advent week!

GardenOfDaisies said...

It's all so pretty! I love the lights and the Christmas displays.

Adventures as a Small Town Mom said...

More than 600,000 lights on the City and County building is crazy - looks absolutely beautiful! We just took our kids ice skating yesterday for the first time. We were only on the ice for two minutes - my daughter said, "It's too swippery!"

camp and cottage living said...

Wow, Denver really goes all out with their decorations!
It all looks beautiful.

SmilingSally said...

Oh Pat,

Your new home is so inviting! I love these lights. And that nativity scene just makes me smile.

Happy Blue Monday!

Joyful said...

I love the lights of Christmas. They cheer me too. Thanks for sharing :-)

AdriBarr said...

WOW!! What a great light show! Merry Christmas to you!

Anonymous said...

Wonderful Holiday and night time photography ~ thanks, carol, xxx

Photo Cache said...

very festive. a great job on photographing christmas lights.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Pat, those are absolutely gorgeous photos! (I kind of want to go delete my Holiday light post now ;>)...but I'd never post anything if I compared my pictures to others.)

Wow, really makes me want to pay a Holiday visit to my Colorado kids one of these years; that is one of the most beautiful light displays I've ever seen. Thanks for sharing.

Fun60 said...

Denver looks like the place to be. I don't think I've ever seen a city building with so many lights on it before.

Anonymous said...

Magnificent how they decorated the city hall! Also love the blue tree on the right in your collage:)

Hannah said...

What beautiful lights on the building and downtown, amazing! The nativity at a public building is wonderful too. I love the way you make the lights sparkle, I don't get out to look at lights much so it is really special. I lived in Denver about 40 years ago, I probably wouldn't recognize it now. I loved going to the big conservatory and looking at the tropical plants in the dead of winter. I don't miss all the snow but I miss the mountains, tubing on the Platte River, and skiing.

Judy said...

Beautiful...Denver all lit up! And how did you get the lights to twinkle in your photos? Love it. So glad they display a nativity scene over there! That's what it is all about!

Anonymous said...

Wow! That's an amazing display of lights. I'm also jealous of those warm temperatures.

The French Hutch said...

Oh my goodness Pat, What a lovely city to be in during the Christmas holidays, simply beautiful! I know you must be enjoying your grands, especially this time of year.

Merry Christmas
~Emily
The French Hutch

Al said...

Very nice - I think I'll try to get up to Denver to see some of these lights.

Bonnie said...

Just amazing lights decorating the buildings! It has to be spectacular in person! It is awesome in your post. Thanks for sharing this beauty with us.