Denver City and County Building is the curving neoclassical city hall at the west end of Civic Center. Every winter it becomes Denver’s most famous holiday light show. For 2026 the lights switch on Friday, November 20, and free light and music shows run nightly except Mondays into January.

Denver’s City and County Building opened in 1932 at 1437 Bannock Street, facing the gold-domed Colorado State Capitol across Civic Center. A coalition of 39 local architects designed the Beaux-Arts neoclassical building, with a sweeping colonnade and a clock tower. It houses the mayor’s office, City Council chambers and county and district courtrooms, and it is part of the Denver Civic Center National Historic Landmark district.

The holiday lights are even older than the building. The Denver Public Library traces the display to 1922, when city electrician Johnny Malpiede persuaded Mayor Dewey Bailey to let him decorate City Hall, on the condition that he kept the cost under $100. The display grew bigger and brighter over the decades, and it survived critics who called it garish along with an out-of-town consultant whose modern redesign flopped. Today the colonnade glows in waves of color during a choreographed light and music show. Make a night of it with dinner at Larimer Square, or stay at The Brown Palace.

Insider tip: Civic Center Park is closed for renovations this season, so watch the show from the Bannock Street side of the building. Arrive a few minutes before 5:45 or 6:45 p.m. to catch a full show, then stay for the static lights, which glow until 10:45 p.m. Mondays are static-only because of City Council meetings. During the day the building is open from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, with security screening at the Bannock Street and 14th Avenue entrances.

Denver’s Light the Lights ceremony is Friday, November 20, 2026 at 5 p.m., when Mayor Mike Johnston will switch on the building’s lights. Light and music shows by Colorado Holiday Experiences run November 20, 2026 through January 24, 2027, Tuesday through Sunday at 5:45 and 6:45 p.m. The building stays dark December 5 (9NEWS Parade of Lights) and December 21 (Homeless Persons’ Memorial Vigil). Nearby, the Denver Christkindlmarket runs November 20 to December 23 at Tivoli Quad on the Auraria Campus. Details at denvergov.org.