Originally built in 1910, this beautiful building was the marvel of the era with 13,000 electric light bulbs. It was touted as “the best illuminated building in the world” and most of the city attended the switching on of the lights. It represented new technologies then just as it does now. The Denver Gas & Electric Building eventually housed Public Service Company of Colorado.
The basement had an artesian well that was once used to cool the refrigeration equipment for the building and there were three original coal fired boilers used for the steam heat in the building. A coal train would come up the alley and dump coal down the coal chute to be shoveled into the boilers. Each floor has a mail chute that dropped mail into a central box in the lobby to be picked up by mail carriers.
On November 10, 2010, The Denver Gas & Electric Building celebrated 100 years old.
Under the ownership of Seymour Fortner and William R. Smith, the building was transformed into Denver’s premier carrier neutral facility that hosts all the major, national and local carriers in the telecommunication industry.
Facts:
· DGEB has been a United States Landmark since July 20, 1978.
· DGEB has been a Denver Landmark since October 13, 1983.
· According to a PSC spokesman, when Aviator Charles Lindbergh made his Solo Trans-Atlantic flight, the building glowed on all four sides with the name “Lindy”.