Recently, I visited Flytco Tower, located at 3120 Unita Street, Denver to grab a bite to eat and check out the surroundings.  The tower was the actual structure for the DEN control center the last 30 years that Stapleton International Airport operated.  The Bar and Grill is an aviation-themed restaurant, with plenty of artifacts and history to go around.  After a delicious meal of a cheeseburger and fries, I decided to take a tour of the tower, conducted by Sean Hanson of Tower Tours.

 

Sean is a dedicated historian.  He is painstakingly bringing the Tower back to life through his historical interpretation.  Editor’s note:  The elevator was removed in 1995, when the airport was decommissioned.  The only access is stairs.  While this might be an inconvenience to some, Sean has thoughtfully maneuvered historic platforms along the way, where the tour will take a stop to catch one’s breath, followed by a  history briefing.  The mini breaks last a few minutes, followed by a question and answer session.  A perfect stop to insure safety of all guests while enriching the guests with plenty of history. And plenty of history there is.

 

According to Sean, many people who had a historic connection to Stapleton Airport have generously donated photos, videos and airport artifacts to the tour.  They also shared with Sean unique stories about the airport, not known to the general public.  It is truly a special experience. Sean has a wonderful sense of humor, and spices up the briefing to leave the guests laughing and enriched along the way.

 

Once the tour gets towards the summit of the tower, guests are shown the original break room of the air traffic controllers, then a final spiral-like stairway to the top.  Once there,  the guest will find million dollar views of Denver, The Front Range and the prairie of Colorado.  Sean has located recordings of the final ATC radio transmissions from the tower in 1995, and plays them to all to hear.  The original equipment of the Stapleton ATC was removed in 1995.  Sean is working with Historic Preservations, Inc. in Colorado and an architectural firm in Houston that restored the Apollo 11 era Mission Control to eventually restore the tower to exhibit the experience that a DEN ATC would have worked in 1995.

 

 

 

Once at the top, don’t forget to sign the guest book.  Overall, it is a wonderful 45 minute journey into a different place and time.  It is a perfect destination to bring that aviation buff, or your out-of-town guest to show them something uniquely Denver.

 

The Flight 629 Memorial Dove card was originally given to the families of the United Flight 629 tragedy during the recent 70th Anniversary commemoration, held November 1, 2025 at Flytco Tower.  The Flight 629 Memorial Dove Card was an instant collectable.  Public requests have been so overwhelming, that, for a limited time, the Flight 629 Memorial Dove card will be reissued and given to all patrons taking a Tower Tour.

 

For more information on tour availability, contact Sean at Tower Tours.  This collectable is only available through Tower Tours.at FlyteCo and Main number 

720-708-8833. http://tours@flyteco.com