1801 California - Denver, CO
Posted by: 
Outspoken1
N 39° 45.430 W 104° 59.429
13S E 500815 N 4400805
1801 California, now known as the CenturyLink Tower, has had a turbulent history.
Waymark Code: WM8G3H
Location: Colorado, United States
Date Posted: 03/28/2010
Views: 7
This structure was built in 1983 during the telecommunications boom in Denver. At one time, Qwest was spread over three towers in the Denver area. in 2000, Qwest put four HUGE 'Qwest' blue lights on the tower - which were at the time the brightest high-rise lights in the world, visible from over 70 miles (113 km) away. Complaints from Denver residents and energy costs finally resulted in the lights being changed to a darker blue and LED, which is also more energy efficient. While Qwest was dramatically downsizing, the running joke was "Would the last person in the [Qwest] building turn off the lights!?!" (
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In 1983, this building was the tallest in Denver, but it was eclipsed by the Republic Plaza in 1984 (by 5 feet!). The building has an interesting architecture, but became a target for employee and public outcry as opulence while Qwest stock rocketed to the bottom under the leadership of Joe Nacchio (
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Update 2011: Qwest was purchased by CenturyLink, thus the Qwest logo has been removed and the new CenturyLink signage added. However, CenturyLink has not renewed their lease for the space which expires in 2010 - so this signage may also go away!