San Francisco may be the city most identified with trolley cars, but once upon a time in Denver, this early form of mass transit crisscrossed throughout the fledgling city and right into the heart of what is now the Denver Center for the Performing Arts (DCPA).

16th Street Mall in 1938

As the redevelopment of the 16^th Street Mall progresses, clues about the City’s early development continue to be unearthed.

According to the 16^th Street Mall Project organizers, “Beginning in the late 19^th century, Denver residents, commuters, and tourists could rely on a network of streetcar, or trolley lines, throughout downtown and across the metro area. Streetcar systems were powered by horses, steam, and ultimately electricity and were common on Denver’s urban landscape until they were replaced by buses in 1950. Rather than remove the streetcar tracks laid within the pavement of Denver’s roads, most tracks were simply paved over.

“While the streetcar line along 16^th Street appears to have been removed during construction of the 16^th Street Mall, which initially opened in 1982, the project team has discovered streetcar tracks at several intersections….”

Tramway lines unearthed beneath the 16th Street Mall pavement

Interestingly, all of those lines that have been covered by decades of road paving lead to the DCPA’s administrative and artistic headquarters at 1101 13^th Street.

Denver’s “tramway” system began in 1886. Over the years, it utilized three types of streetcars:

1. Conduit Current: A system by which a current of electricity was delivered via a conduit (or small underground tunnel), which delivered power to the streetcar motor. This was used until 1888.
2. Cable Cars: A mass transit method that shuttled rail cars via a continuously moving cable. Cable Cars were used in Denver between 1898 and 1900.
3. Trolley Cars: A predecessor to today’s RTD Light Rail lines, the Trolley Cars used an overhead electric line to power the motor. Trolley Cars were used in Denver from 1901 to 1950 when Denver’s tramway system was ended.

Construction on 16th Street Mall, 2023

At its height, Denver’s Tramway Corporation owned more than 160 miles of track and operated over 250 streetcars, all of which were managed from a red-brick building spanning 13^th to 14^th streets along Arapahoe. Known as the Denver Tramway Building, an eight-story office building graced one end at 14^th & Curtis and served as the administrative headquarters for the streetcar system. After renovation in 1999, the building reopened as Hotel Teatro, welcoming visitors to downtown Denver.

At the Western end at 13^th & Arapahoe, is a three-story “car barn” in what is now the administrative and artistic headquarters of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. All of Denver’s streetcars funneled through the building for standard maintenance and repairs. The second and third floors feature unusually high ceilings — perfect for automative maintenance and, today, set building and even trapeze work. The building is bustling with actors, designers, craftsmen, students and studios that provide the canvas for local productions by DCPA Theatre Company, Off-Center, Theatre for Young Audiences and Cabaret. Remnants of the old rail lines can be seen beneath the building while stall numbers above the old turntable that sent tram cars on their way can be found in the set construction department on the second floor.

Explore this piece of Denver’s history with a backstage tour and watch for the ongoing block-by-block reopening ceremonies along Denver’s 16^th Street Mall.