History Colorado and Denver Art Museum
Last year, a friend and I had a quick 3 night visit to Denver in September. We managed to visit the super popular Meow Wolf Convergence Station along with two different museums: History Colorado and Denver Art Museum. Both of these places are just a block from each other, making it easy to do right after each other.
Getting There
“On The Wind” sculpture in front of History Colorado Center
We were staying at TownePlace Suites by Marriott which was about a 20 minute walk/stroll to History Colorado Center. Arriving there, we saw the famous huge buffalo “On The Wind” sculpture in front of the building. The accessible wheelchair ramp is on the side of the building.
wheelchair accessible ramp is to the side of the building
History Colorado Center
History Colorado Center looked very new and modern as it just opened in 2012. It is dedicated to the history of the state of Colorado. Regular adult admission was $15 and we were given a free caregiver/companion admission.
teepee
There are 4 floors with 200,000 square feet of space and features 6 exhibits: Living West, Colorado Stories, Denver A-Z, Destination Colorado, Time Machine, and Denver Diorama. Since this museum is recently new, the accessibility was great. There were lots of room to wheel around, elevators, and accessible bathrooms.
really easy to wheel around
We started on the main floor checking out the teepee, exhibits, and reading some of the history of Colorado. There are some interactive displays and games that make this museum very family friendly. There was a cool video room that wraps around 3 rooms with a short history video.
wrap around video room
I really liked the interactive recreation of a plains town in 1918, complete with a general store and a barn. There was a slide and even a model cow where you can milk it. There was a classic car where a person can sit in and watch a video to simulate driving in the old days. The museum was not busy when we went and we stayed for almost 3 hours.
classic car you can actually sit in to watch a short video
Denver Art Museum
It was just a 5 minute walk/stroll from History Colorado Center to Denver Art Museum (DAM). Instead of paying the regular $22 admission, we paid a discounted $15 plus got a free caregiver ticket. It is one of the largest museums in Western USA with over 70,000 diverse works from across the world throughout hundreds of years.
Indigenous art
Denver Art Museum was founded in 1893 and has added an extra building as it was expanding. Its most recent was in 2021 and now features 12 permanent collections: Architecture and Design, Arts of Africa, Arts of Asia, Arts of Oceania, Arts of the Ancient Americas, European and American Art Before 1900, Indigenous Arts of North America, Latin American Art, Modern and Contemporary Art, Photography, Textile Arts and Fashion, and lastly Western American Art.
very spacious museum
It was not busy when we went and we had almost 2 hrs to visit the museum as it closes at 5 PM. The Martin Building has 7 floors while the Hamilton Building has 4 floors. They are both connected by a sky bridge. We did view everything at a fast pace so we could see everything.
view from outside the windows on the sky bridge
It was also great looking out from the big windows to get great views of the parks and the city outside. All the art, sculptures, paintings and displays were a bit overwhelming since the museum was so massive. I recommend having 4 to 5 hours to really enjoy the DAM. I will have to return.
large mother and baby sculpture
Final Thoughts
Visiting both Colorado History Center and Denver Art Museum is doable and worth visiting back to back since they are right next to each other. The former did not need as much time to see everything as the latter, so I do recommend starting earlier in the day as they both close at 5 PM. They are both really accessible and offered free companion tickets.
