Was Denver ever as bad as some long-time locals said it was?

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Originally Posted by himain

Obviously I don't know the history at all of Denver but some people said where Belmar is now it used to be the ghetto. So glad I came in at the right time, lol.

Where Belmar is now used to be Villa Italia Mall. It opened in 1966 and was the largest indoor, air-conditioned shopping mall between Chicago and California. It did quiet well until sales began declining in the late 1990s. Don't know what "ghetto" your friends are talking about.

[davidv]

Originally Posted by himain

Obviously I don't know the history at all of Denver but some people said where Belmar is now it used to be the ghetto. So glad I came in at the right time, lol.

Belmar was the Villa Italia Mall.

Like all malls that have died, it was a shadow of its former self for the last part of its lifespan. Redeveloping the site into Belmar was a definite upgrade from the mall.

[himain]

Originally Posted by Dreaming of Hawaii

Where Belmar is now used to be Villa Italia Mall. It opened in 1966 and was the largest indoor, air-conditioned shopping mall between Chicago and California. It did quiet well until sales began declining in the late 1990s. Don't know what "ghetto" your friends are talking about.

All I was told is that used to be a ghetto area. Maybe once the mall closed??

[blackmet]

Originally Posted by himain

All I was told is that used to be a ghetto area. Maybe once the mall closed??

Nope. The mall closed in 2000, I believe, and it was pretty much immediately turned into Belmar. The city of Lakewood didn't leave the area vacant or abandoned for very long. The area was OK enough back then, though nothing special. Belmar and the very immediate few block vicinity have improved, everything else is still basically OK enough, but nothing special.

Granted, it WAS have been the "ghetto" mall for the west side in the late 90's, as in it was kind of outdated and didn't have great stores. I was a teenager transporting myself on the RTD at the time, and lived in Arvada. I'd go there if I needed really basic stuff like new pants, because it was only one bus down Wadsworth rather than either one bus and a 25 minute walk or two buses to the (at the time FAR superior, now completely demolished) Westminster Mall, but when I needed something more stylish or wanted to actually have fun and hang out, Westminster was the place to go.