History of the Ballpark Collective
The neighborhood developed in the late 1800s fueled by a silver and gold mining boom that funded the growth of Denver. The city rapidly grew from the 1860s to the 1890s. In 1893, the boom ended when the United States Federal Government demonetized silver and went solely to the gold standard. This caused the Silver Crash of 1893 and a regional depression from the flood of out-of-work miners and residents that quickly turned the area into skid row. Buildings transitioned into brothels, speakeasys, and pawn shops as the area became the wild west rampant with rats, prostitution, con games, drinking, gambling, robbery, and murder.
The area continued to be skid row for decades littered with derelict buildings and dominated by illicit establishments, pawn shops, and cheap bars. The decline culminated in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s when many historic buildings were destroyed by the Skyline Urban Renewal Project and “accidental” fires to literally pave the way for parking spaces for the downtown high rise office buildings fueled by an oil and gas boom in the 1980s.
Some of the original industrial buildings remain. During its peak, the area revolved around Denver’s rail line with warehouses, factories, entertainment, and lodging catering to train-related activities. As this part of Downtown grew alongside the railroad tracks that carried goods and raw materials into Denver’s industrial market, waves of diverse ethnicities including African American, Italian, Irish, Japanese, Chinese, and Mexican left their own unique stamp on the area.
In 2002, the Ballpark Neighborhood Historic District was established to preserve historic buildings on Larimer, Market, and Blake Streets. These properties are slowly being converted to modern uses and parking lots rebuilt with modern retail, entertainment, restaurant, lodging, and residential spaces.
There was a resurgence of development and investment in local infrastructure (new decorative lighting, trees, and public trash cans) with the 1995 opening of the Colorado Rockies Coors Field baseball stadium. The Rockies continue to invest in the community with the addition of The Rooftop in the upper right-field deck of Coors Field in 2014, McGregor Square in 2021, and the conversion of a parking lot at 21st and Blake Streets into a community space in 2023-24.
The area continues to slowly emerge as a lively entertainment district with an edgy charm. Eccentric owners operate a variety of small businesses, including breweries/distilleries/wineries, spas, salons, music venues, bars, boutiques, restaurants, and a cigar and second-hand tool shop. A mix of generations reside in the urban lofts and modern residences that rise above the skyline. A renewal is ongoing and challenged by remnants of its past while trying to become a vibrant community for the future. Many small buildings, protected by preservation efforts, sit empty or struggle to be economically viable, the area has the highest density of social service providers in the state, and parking lots dominate the landscape.
Currently, the area is not collectively represented by a special district to collaborate with city agencies, social service providers, and other stakeholders to consistently manage and invest in local issues such as management and maintenance of public infrastructure and amenities, trash/litter management, safety, and security. There is not a clear identity, placemaking, branding, and marketing.
In 2016, Ballpark Collective 501c6 was formed to promote community events and participated in a study to create a business improvement district (BID) for the area. The BID effort was deemed not viable since it would only have levied the nearly 200 business properties to fund the significant initiatives.
From 2017 to 2022 the 501c6 supported events at a pop-up park on 21st Street to test converting a public street into a public park in support of a proposed 5-mile cultural trail around the city to connect neighborhoods - 5280 Trail and hosted other events such as Silent Disco Street Parties, Irishfest Denver, and Stars and Stripes Streetfest during MLB All Star festivities in 2021.
In 2019, a general improvement district (GID) effort was launched. It was gaining momentum and would have engaged both business and residential properties, but the effort was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
From 2020-22, local businesses and residents endured significant crime, chaos, and the area was transitioning back to its illicit past. To combat this looming urban decay, in January 2023, Ballpark Collective began the process to register as a 501c3, restart the special district creation study, and expanded its board to include representation from local businesses, residents, social services, media, and the Rockies, and established a diverse advisory board.