1946<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Some plaid, some embroidered with flowers, Rockmount’s shirts are engineered to be form-fitting – all the better for riding the range. Rockmount has been in the same brick building at 1626 Wazee Street for six decades, dressing cowboys in Stetsons and snap button shirts since Jack A. “Papa Jack” Weil founded the company. Seeing that cowboys, ranchers and farmers had special boots and hats but were wearing conventional boxy work shirts, Jack A. was motivated to design a better fitting shirt that was less likely to get caught or snagged on things while riding the range. Jack A. (1900 – 2008) worked daily in the shop until the age of 107. His shirts are worn all over the world.<\/p>\n
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One of the shop\u2019s latest innovations is the Cannabis Cowboy shirt.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnybody who\u2019s not dead knows that Colorado\u2019s on the vanguard of this movement, and we at Rockmount like to think that\u2019s what we do in the fashion world. So we developed a design that fits in our long tradition of doing floral embroideries,\u201d Rockmount president Steve Weil told The Cannabist, \u201cexcept these flowers can’t be smoked.\u201d<\/p>\n
I got my Rockmount: a smart pink-checked, short-sleeved, summer-weight version that I’ve already worn several times – the spirit of the West lives on.<\/p>\n
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Visit the museum upstairs – price of admission: a pet on the head or belly rub.<\/p>\n
Rockmount Ranch Wear, 1626 Wazee Street (downtown)<\/p>\n
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Buckhorn Exchange<\/strong><\/p>\nEat and drink like Buffalo Bill at his favorite restaurant and Denver’s original steakhouse, Buckhorn Exchange. This authentic saloon, opened by Bill’s friend Henry H. “Shorty Scout” Zietz in 1893<\/strong>, was Bill’s favorite watering hole in Denver, and today serves buffalo, elk, and quail along with exotic appetizers of Rocky Mountain oysters, rattlesnake and alligator. Belly up to the same bar Buffalo Bill did and order his favorite drink – apple juice and whiskey.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Buckhorn Exchange, 1000 Osage Street (Lincoln Park)<\/p>\n
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The Western: Art and Film at the Denver Art Museum<\/strong><\/p>\nThe Denver Art Museum is not historic in terms of age, but its collection of American Indian and Western American art are. And the stunning Daniel Libeskind and Geo Ponti architecture and current special exhibit:The Western: An Epic in Art and Film<\/em>\u00a0are not to be missed.\u00a0<\/em>On view through September 10, 2017, The Western<\/em> is well worth the $18 adult admission to see and understand how the mythology of the West was born, changed with the times, and endures today.<\/p>\n“The Western: An Epic in Art and Film<\/em>\u00a0is the first major exhibition to examine the Western genre and its evolution from the mid-1800s to the present through fine art, film, and popular culture. Featuring 160 works, the exhibition explores gender roles, race relations, and gun violence\u2014offering a visual journey that is about more than cowboys, bandits, and barroom brawls.”<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
From the romanticized large scale paintings of\u00a0Frederic Remington and Albert Bierstadt, to the sweeping cinematography of John Ford’s iconic western movies inspired by nineteenth century painters, to Sergio Leone’s “spaghetti westerns”, and Captain America – the chopper ridden by Dennis Hopper in Easy Rider<\/em>, you’ll be captivated by this exhibit.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Denver Art Museum, 100 W. 14th Avenue Parkway<\/p>\n
Even if you’re in Denver on business or sequestered in the Colorado Convention Center, these interesting historical spots are downtown (or very close, in the case the Buckhorn Exchange) and an easy walk or short ride away. Denver is a very walkable city and the 16th Street Mall shuttle can be used to get you closer to your destination.<\/p>\n
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