Former Stapleton flight control tower opening to the public for the first time (but you’ll have to use the stairs)

Looming over the Central Park neighborhood in its bland shade of government gray, Stapleton International Airport’s former control tower has been a mystery to most since it went out of use in 1995 when Denver International Airport opened further east.

It sat vacant for two decades, and even after the building was sold, built onto and incorporated into the Punch Bowl Social restaurant in 2017, the 164-foot tower itself remained off-limits.

But on Nov. 15, the current tenant, FlyteCo Brewing, will open the tower to public tours for the first time, according to its owners, allowing people access to the kind of 360-degree views that haven’t been seen since Federal Aviation Administration employees left 28 years ago.

To visit, you’ll have to make reservations on FlyteCo’s website (tours are $10), be older than 10, and be capable of climbing the equivalent of 11 stories. The aviation-themed brewery, which opened its second location in the building, at 3120 Uinta St., in August 2022, will have guides who will “provide fascinating insights into the role of air traffic control in the world of aviation.”

Only 25 people will be allowed up at a time, and for 15 minutes at the top. Back at the bottom, guests will be awarded with a beer shot.

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