Top Rated Attracties in Denver

This library, a post-modern structure full of turrets and odd geometrical shapes, is a bastion of knowledge. Internally, the academic atmosphere of each study area is indicative of individual moods. Six of the ten floors of the library are open to the public. Keeping with the tradition set in 1894, the library still has a world-class children's facility. The library is a regional depository for government publications. It offers extensive genealogical resources as well as historical books, photographs, art, and memorabilia chronicling the American West. The library also offers fiction and non-fiction texts, periodicals and computers allowing free Internet access. Tours are available.

Sakura Square in downtown Denver has several statues erected due to the importance of the figures in the Japanese and Denver communities. Minoru Yasui was a Japanese-American lawyer who was one of the few to actively protest the Constitutionality of Japanese interment camps during World War II, as well as curfews for minorities. In 1942, Yasui deliberately broke curfew in Portland, Oregon, in protest of the laws, and was convicted and sent to prison for one year while his case was deliberated by the Supreme Court, which at the time upheld his conviction. In 1944, Yasui moved to Denver where he returned to practicing law and fighting for Japanese rights until his conviction was overturned in 1986. The bust in Sakura Square was erected in thanks for all that his protests did in pushing for minority rights during his life. - Sabrina Zirakzadeh

Sakura Square in downtown Denver might not exist if not for Buddhist Reverend Yoshitaka Tamai. A devout Buddhist, Tamai moved to Denver in 1930 and promptly set up and took over the Buddhist temple at 20th and Lawrence Street. Tamai welcomed all of the Japanese community in Denver to his temple and dedicated the rest of his life to the spiritual, cultural, and social needs of Buddhists and Asian Americans in the Midwest. The apartment complex at Sakura Square, Tamai Tower, was erected in his memory in 1977, and in 1996 this statue, featuring quotes from Tamai himself, was dedicated to him as well.

Denver's RTD system includes a program called Art-n-Transit, where commissioned statues, murals, and art installations are included at over 30 light rail and bus stations in the Denver metro area. The University of Denver light rail station features a piece entitled Reflective Discourse, created by John Goe and dedicated in 2006. Reflective Discourse is a series of blue metal panels that run along the wheelchair ramp up into the Park and Ride parking garage, covered in words chosen to reflect learning and education in conjunction with the station's university location. The panels continue inside the pedestrian tunnel inside of the station as well. Simple, yet inspiring.

Denver's RTD system includes a program called Art-n-Transit, where commissioned statues, murals, and art installations are included at over 30 light rail and bus stations in the Denver metro area. The Southmoor light rail station features a piece entitled Harmonic Pass, created by Christopher Janney and dedicated in 2006. Harmonic Pass consists of a tunnel leading from the park and ride area and bus hub into the light rail station itself; the tunnel, which runs underneath I-25, is lined with brightly colored fluorescent tubes that flash and emit different sounds as you pass them. During slow times, only the tubes closest to you will flash and sound off in order as you pass but during busy times, Harmonic Discourse is alight with color and sound.