Welcome back to my conversation with Chandler Romeo and Reed Weimer. In addition to their recent project with the Wonder Tower in Genoa, Colorado, they have been longtime participants and supporters of Denver's local art scene beginning back when there kind of wasn't one yet, in the 1980s.

We discuss their meet cute as students at Colorado State University and the fact that Reed's photography and Chandler's ceramics both evoke themes of place. After college, they helped to secure the location for the legendary Pirate Art Gallery by purchasing some of the old buildings on a stretch of Navajo Street in North Denver, establishing that spot as the Navajo Arts District, and for a time the center of Denver local arts scene.

Back then, the exchange of real estate was a bit more affordable, as well as organic. This couple forged relationships in North Denver, which transformed into positive collaborations. Listen, as we reflect on the history of those buildings from a time when local neighborhood businesses thrived and the line between commercial and residential real estate were a bit more blurred.

We talk about the how those gritty art co-ops on Navajo became a formidable influence on contemporary local art in Denver. Its presence filtered out into other parts of the city, helping the local arts scene to grow and thrive. Then the eventual and unbelievable exodus of the arts district out to Lakewood when the city of Denver chose not to support it.

We reminisce a bit about a smaller Denver, but that it can often be recaptured through art and through interacting with those who care about Denver's history and that our lives themselves can often become works of art.

Please enjoy getting to know this unique couple.