Daniels and Fisher Tower

Succumbing to the national tower-building craze, Denver erected this 372-foot Renaissance Revival tower modeled on the campanile of St. Mark's in Venice, which was undergoing reconstruction at the time. This allowed The Denver Times to gloat that Denver's tower, thanks to the flagpole, was six feet taller than the prototype, in an article headlined, “Venetians Erecting a Column Almost Exact Replica of D&F's Tower in Denver.”

The 32-foot-square tower, once the corner beacon for the five-story emporium, stands alone today, having escaped urban renewal demolition that erased the rest of what was the city's finest department store. Blond brick and creamy terracotta cover a steel skeleton set on a 24-foot-deep concrete foundation. The lower stories have been refaced to cover the former building juncture. Protruding cornices set off a twentieth-floor arcaded observation deck topped by Seth Thomas clocks with 6-foot hands. A two-and-one-half-ton bell occupies the two uppermost stories. Stairwells and elevator access diminish the tower's sixteen usable floors, which have been converted to offices. During the restoration, workers found an urn containing the ashes of William C. Daniels, the dilettante and dreamer who conceived this tower.