Dana H. Crawford

Dana Crawford, a lover of history, had visited other cities which had restored their older buildings. In 1964, Dana had the idea of reviving Larimer Street, between 14th and 15th Streets. Almost every bank refused to loan her money. Dana persisted, and finally found financing. Dana, her husband, and an investor group purchased the old buildings on Larimer Street and hired people to repair them. The newly renovated buildings were rented to restaurants, shops, and art galleries. Larimer Square was born and became one of Denver’s most visited tourist spots. Dana encouraged people to live in lower downtown (LoDo) by renovating buildings for lofts and apartments, creating designer showrooms and bringing the Oxford Hotel back to its former beauty. In 1970, she helped found Historic Denver Inc. to save the Molly Brown House. She also became active with The National Trust for Historic Preservation. Dana Crawford has shown that a good way to help cities to combine preservation and business.

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