Colfax Avenue
Encyclopedia
Colfax Avenue is the main street that runs east–west through the Denver-Aurora metropolitan area
in Colorado
. As U.S. Highway 40, it was one of two principal highways serving Denver
before the Interstate Highway System
was constructed. In the local street system, it lies 15 blocks north of the zero point (Ellsworth Avenue, one block south of 1st Avenue). For that reason it would normally be known as "15th Avenue". However, the street was named for the 19th-century politician Schuyler Colfax
, as was the town of Colfax, California
. On the east it passes through North Aurora
, then East Denver, and on the west, through West Denver, then just below Edgewater
, and through Northeast and North Lakewood
, and finally ends in the southern part of Golden
. Colfax Avenue cuts through Original Aurora, the city's historic core, and skirts the southern edge of downtown Denver. Because of the dense, mixed-use character of the development along Colfax Avenue, the Regional Transportation District
bus route 15 - East Colfax has the highest ridership in the RTD system. In 2006, the first Colorado Colfax Marathon
was held, traversing the length of Colfax Avenue through the three cities.
Playboy
magazine once called Colfax "the longest, wickedest street in America." However, such activities are actually isolated to short stretches of the 26 miles (41.8 km) length of the street. Periodically, Colfax undergoes redevelopment
by the municipalities along its course that bring in new housing, trendy businesses and restaurants. Some say that these new developments detract from the character of Colfax, while others worry that they cause gentrification
and bring increased traffic to the area.
The slow and steady downfall began after the Panic of 1893
. The once lavish and expensive homes along East Colfax and in Capitol Hill were no longer easy to maintain and pay for. Many owners of the single-family mansions were forced to rent out rooms in their homes to temporary workers and those with lesser income. In addition, the housing market no longer supported huge mansions on a large lot. As the economy of Denver slumped after the Silver Crash, construction in Capitol Hill concentrated on apartments. Three buildings still in existence and that are examples of the architecture of this time are The Colonnade, Alta Court, and the Hamilton. This cultural and demographic shift, from single-family mansions toward boarding houses and rental property for the transient middle class, marked the first significant watershed moment in the history of East Colfax.
East Colfax and Capitol Hill, Denver remained a solid middle class neighborhood until the next demographic change occurred. After World War II
, the mentality of many urban dwellers shifted. Mortgage lenders preferred new construction and there was a massive "white flight
" to the suburbs. Families and the established middle class left Capitol Hill in a mass diaspora
, selling off the family home to a developer interested in putting up a high-rise in its place or leaving the home abandoned. The demographics of people left behind were an underclass of transients and renters.
Also, the zoning
along East Colfax has been badly planned for 50 years. In the 1950s East Colfax was rezoned B4, and the planners encouraged separation of uses and dependence on the automobile. Property owners along East Colfax found it much more rewarding to tear down an existing historic building and put up a new building in its place, rather than renovating. Planners and building officials encouraged this, for this was a time when old was considered ugly and new buildings meant progress.
In addition the zoning code from the 1950s, a 2:1 floor-area ratio (FAR) was adopted for East Colfax. These ratios determine the square footage of the building in relation to the lot size. Builders in the 1950s who tore down historic buildings along East Colfax for the purpose of developing a brand new property were required to abide by the car-friendly codes and provide for automobile use.
As the feasibility study, East Colfax Avenue: An Opportunity and a Model for Development Action, claims about the streetscape of East Colfax, "[East Colfax is designed to] encourage development of smaller parcels that lack frontage definition, have unevenly deep setback patterns and leave a large quantity of undeveloped space." This FAR almost single-handedly contributed to the architectural demise of East Colfax.
Phil Goodstein, a Denver historian, analyzes the effect of the FAR in his book, The Ghosts of Denver: Capitol Hill. "Now the businesses were set back from the sidewalk with a parking lot between the store and the street. Every block, it seemed, became a parking lot while customers found it necessary to drive from one store to the next. Pedestrians had to dodge cars in the middle of the block... In light of this unpleasant walking atmosphere and Denver's increasing addiction to the automobile, the number of people on the street declined. With this, the neighborhood became less safe." It was a steady downward spiral with many factors leading to what East Colfax is today, including the lack of interest in historic buildings and the myopic visions of the 1950s planners.
Another monumental watershed moment in the history of East Colfax Avenue was the completion of Interstate 70. No longer did incoming tourists drive down the thoroughfare on their way into downtown. The tourist dollar was effectively wiped out as a revenue source for East Colfax after this decade. So began another downward spiral. With no tourists to spend money along East Colfax the businesses suffered, as did the demand to go to Capitol Hill.
A factor in the increase in urban poor along Colfax has been linked to Denver Urban Renewal Authority's plans for urban renewal
in Downtown Denver. In the now-discredited belief that tearing down historic buildings and replacing them with modern architecture
and high-rises would benefit cities, DURA bulldozed the bulk of Larimer Street in downtown. The urban poor that had been housed in Larimer Street's single room occupancy
buildings were now displaced to Colfax.
Since grand Victorian
mansions could be purchased for next to nothing, the state bought them up to house the recently freed mentally ill. The 1960s were a time of great social upheaval and civil rights activism. The functional, yet mentally ill, who were once forced to remain locked up were now de-institutionalized and living in the rundown mansions on Capitol Hill. The mentally ill wandered East Colfax in droves, creating an atmosphere and a reality that only solidified the public's perception and known fact that East Colfax is a dangerous place.
, being a well-traveled direct route to the gold fields in the mountains. Historic media and other sources confirm its existence at least as far back as the spring of 1859, and it immediately became a major thoroughfare of goods, people and transportation service to and from the Colorado
mountains. Soon it took on its original name, South Golden Road, as the southern road from Denver to Golden
.
Originally West Colfax was configured with two major differences than how it exists today. It did not proceed past today's intersection with Wide Acres Road, as originally Wide Acres and today's South Golden (or Old Golden) roads were the continuation of the thoroughfare into Golden. Also, the road's original route took it through the bed of present-day Sloan's Lake
, then a convenient swale for road travel. Stagecoach driver Bill Turner, who drove the route for the Central Overland California and Pike's Peak Express, told the Colorado Transcript
in 1909 how and when this changed:
The road for many years traveled over open prairie with various farms along the way. With the arrival of a tramway line running along West 13th Avenue, landowner William A.H. Loveland and others laid out the new city of Lakewood
between Golden and Denver. The road, which soon became known as Colfax, became Lakewood's main thoroughfare. Schuyler Colfax
himself had actually once traveled this portion of the road named after him, when he was traveling by stagecoach with presidential candidate Ulysses S. Grant
during a campaign getaway in 1868. In the meantime of the late 19th Century, the eastern end of West Colfax became home to numerous Jewish people of the Denver area. In 1898, Dr. Charles David Spivak, a noted Russian immigrant, physician and genealogist, established the Jewish Consumptives Relief Society to treat tuberculosis
victims on a 105 acre (0.4249203 km²) campus in today's 6400 block of the road. This sanitorium treated victims of the White Plague who were too poor to pay or whose cases were too desperate to cure. The Golden Hill Cemetery was established at the western end of the road, divided into mainstream and the hill sections, the hill being the final resting place of victims who could not be cured. The hill section, as well as the JCRS campus, are now listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
Around 1914 West Colfax was paved with cement and designated a state highway, and it continued evolving into a major commercial thoroughfare of the region. During Prohibition
it began showing signs of more colorful notoriety when scofflaw roadhouses such as Twilight Gardens operated along the thoroughfare. In 1937 the Works Progress Administration
completely paved and modernized the highway, and built a new western route which took it over the hill and across ranch land to the entrance of Mt. Vernon Canyon, its present route. Around this time Colfax was designated U.S. Highway 40. From there on, commercial development boomed, including numerous motels, automobile dealerships, restaurants and more. After World War II
it was a classic neon-lined highway for natives and travelers of its era; among its landmarks was Davies Chuck Wagon Diner, brought there in 1957 by restaurateur rancher Lyman Davies. The diner is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places
. In 1956, two shopping malls, Westland and the JCRS Center, were built along Colfax, introducing major department stores and groceries to the area. At its far west end, at the base of the mountains, the Magic Mountain theme park was built, among the first of its kind in the world. The theme park, like many of its era, collapsed, but was resurrected in the 1970s as Heritage Square
, which still exists .
After the construction of nearby West 6th Avenue
and Interstate 70
, West Colfax Avenue through Denver's West Colfax Neighborhood
, Northeast Lakewood, and Edgewater slowly declined and gained the seedy crime reputation and reality of its eastern counterpart. Since the 1970s, West Colfax Avenue through west Denver, Northeast Lakewood, Edgewater has had a high reputation and population of Mexican Americans as well as other Latino
immigrants. During the 1990s, Lakewood began what has become a series of urban renewal and beautification efforts along the thoroughfare, from streetscaping to encouraging new proliferation of neon lighting to capitalize on its colorful past. Westland was rebuilt, and the JCRS Center also modified, but not so far as to eliminate the highly popular Casa Bonita
restaurant which joined it in 1974. On the west end, the Stevinson family, who had originally built automobile dealerships there in the 1960s, built the new Denver West Village shopping center in 1997. In 2002 the Colorado Mills
shopping center was built and opened across Colfax from there, the largest commercial development yet built on Colfax.
In the late 1990s the entirety of Colfax Avenue was designated a Colorado Heritage Corridor by the state government.
These places along Colfax Avenue have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places
:
In attempts at clean up, Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods (CHUN) asked the property owners along East Colfax between Pearl and Sherman if they could apply for a local Historic District status for the connected blocks. The Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception
, is on the corner of Colfax and Logan Street and is one of the buildings that would be involved in this designation. According to spokespeople at CHUN, local property owners, perhaps fearing the restrictions that Local Historic District designation might place on them, chose not to pursue Historic District status.
All of these factors created a climate for depressed real estate values, and weak infrastructure
. The downfall of East Colfax was a slow and steady downward spiral of neglect, perception and poor governmental choices. More recently, preservationists and developers have renovated sections of East Colfax between Downing Street and Park Avenue.
Blueprint Denver has been a driving force toward the clean up of East Colfax. Blueprint Denver is the growth plan for the 21st century and addresses zoning changes along East Colfax for more mixed-use, high density, pedestrian friendly development and renovation, while at the same addressing transportation issues for the Avenue. The planning and zoning issues that have plagued East Colfax for decades will be addressed and rewritten in an attempt to streamline the process for better urban design in the Capitol Hill business district. Denver has made serious levels of commitment to the improvement of East Colfax.
's Beat Generation
novel On the Road
, some of which takes place in Denver, contains several references to Colfax. The protagonist, Sal Paradise
, at one point keeps an apartment there and drinks in its bars. When the characters Dean Moriarty, Marylou and Ed Dunkel leave Denver, Kerouac writes that they "roared east along Colfax and out to the Kansas
plains" — this was before the construction of Interstate 70.
In the "Erection Day
" episode of South Park
, Jimmy tries to buy a hooker at Colfax Point, a reference to sections of the avenue noted for prostitution. The "Casa Bonita
" episode of South Park features a visit to Casa Bonita
, a Mexican-themed restaurant and entertainment complex located on west Colfax in Northeast Lakewood
. In the South Park episode "My Future Self n' Me
", a secretive business is shown to be located at 3451 Colfax Avenue; although this address seems to be featured prominently in the episode, in reality, nothing unusual appears to be at that address on either West or East Colfax. In the ninth season episode "Bloody Mary
," one of Randy Marsh's Alcoholics Anonymous
classmates exclaims "No more blowing guys on Colfax Avenue for a pint of vodka for this cowboy!"
Five Iron Frenzy
, a ska-punk band consisting of Denver natives, has a song called "Where the Zero Meets the Fifteen". The songs lyrics describe how an experience at Colfax and Broadway made the singer feel as though he would be unsuccessful in his continuing attempts to save the world. The title refers to two bus routes that cross at this intersection; in the song, the narrator is waiting at a bus stop.
In the movie About Schmidt
, Jack Nicholson
's character drives his RV along a stretch of East Colfax near Ogden Street. The Royal Host Motel and the Ogden Theater
are visible.
In the movie Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead
, Jimmy "The Saint" Tosnia picks up a prostitute along East Colfax, in front of the Bluebird Theater.
The Denver band Slim Cessna's Auto Club
mentions Colfax in the song "Champagne Like a Lady" while comparing a girl to a Colfax hooker
Denver-Aurora Metropolitan Area
The Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area is a United States Census Bureau defined Metropolitan Statistical Area in the State of Colorado that includes the City and County of Denver and nine suburban counties. The Census Bureau estimates that the population was 2,357,404 on...
in Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. As U.S. Highway 40, it was one of two principal highways serving Denver
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
before the Interstate Highway System
Interstate Highway System
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, , is a network of limited-access roads including freeways, highways, and expressways forming part of the National Highway System of the United States of America...
was constructed. In the local street system, it lies 15 blocks north of the zero point (Ellsworth Avenue, one block south of 1st Avenue). For that reason it would normally be known as "15th Avenue". However, the street was named for the 19th-century politician Schuyler Colfax
Schuyler Colfax
Schuyler Colfax, Jr. was a United States Representative from Indiana , Speaker of the House of Representatives , and the 17th Vice President of the United States . To date, he is one of only two Americans to have served as both House speaker and vice president.President Ulysses S...
, as was the town of Colfax, California
Colfax, California
Colfax is a city in Placer County, California, at the crossroads of Interstate 80 and State Route 174. It is part of the Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,963 at the 2010 census...
. On the east it passes through North Aurora
Aurora, Colorado
City of Aurora is a Home Rule Municipality spanning Arapahoe, Adams, and Douglas counties in Colorado. Aurora is an eastern suburb of the Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area . The city is the third most populous city in the Colorado and the 56th most populous city in the...
, then East Denver, and on the west, through West Denver, then just below Edgewater
Edgewater, Colorado
The City of Edgewater is a Home Rule Municipality located in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. Edgewater is located on the northwest side of Denver, in the Denver-Aurora Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the population is 5,170...
, and through Northeast and North Lakewood
Lakewood, Colorado
Lakewood is a Home Rule Municipality that is the most populous city in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. Lakewood is the fifth most populous city in the State of Colorado and the 172nd most populous city in the United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that in April 1, 2010...
, and finally ends in the southern part of Golden
Golden, Colorado
The City of Golden is a home rule municipality that is the county seat of Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. Golden lies along Clear Creek at the edge of the foothills of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. Founded during the Pike's Peak Gold Rush on 16 June 1859, the mining camp was...
. Colfax Avenue cuts through Original Aurora, the city's historic core, and skirts the southern edge of downtown Denver. Because of the dense, mixed-use character of the development along Colfax Avenue, the Regional Transportation District
Regional Transportation District
The Regional Transportation District, or RTD, was organized in 1969 and is the regional authority operating public transit services in eight of the twelve counties in the Denver-Aurora-Boulder Combined Statistical Area in Colorado. RTD is governed by a 15-member, publicly elected Board of...
bus route 15 - East Colfax has the highest ridership in the RTD system. In 2006, the first Colorado Colfax Marathon
Colorado Colfax Marathon
The Colorado Colfax Marathon is an annual marathon foot-race established in 2006 in Colorado, USA. The course followed Colfax Avenue for , starting in Aurora, heading west through Denver and finishing in Lakewood. About 6,000 people took part in the inaugural event in 2006. The course changed in...
was held, traversing the length of Colfax Avenue through the three cities.
Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
magazine once called Colfax "the longest, wickedest street in America." However, such activities are actually isolated to short stretches of the 26 miles (41.8 km) length of the street. Periodically, Colfax undergoes redevelopment
Redevelopment
Redevelopment is any new construction on a site that has pre-existing uses.-Description:Variations on redevelopment include:* Urban infill on vacant parcels that have no existing activity but were previously developed, especially on Brownfield land, such as the redevelopment of an industrial site...
by the municipalities along its course that bring in new housing, trendy businesses and restaurants. Some say that these new developments detract from the character of Colfax, while others worry that they cause gentrification
Gentrification
Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
and bring increased traffic to the area.
East Colfax
To understand where East Colfax is today, one must look back more than 100 years to the beginnings of Denver and its main thoroughfare. Colfax Avenue became the major route into town from the east, and was the address to have for the wealthy and elite class. East Colfax was lined with trees and wide promenades, a beautiful boulevard on the outskirts of town where the Denverites who had made their fortunes could build grandiose mansions.The slow and steady downfall began after the Panic of 1893
Panic of 1893
The Panic of 1893 was a serious economic depression in the United States that began in 1893. Similar to the Panic of 1873, this panic was marked by the collapse of railroad overbuilding and shaky railroad financing which set off a series of bank failures...
. The once lavish and expensive homes along East Colfax and in Capitol Hill were no longer easy to maintain and pay for. Many owners of the single-family mansions were forced to rent out rooms in their homes to temporary workers and those with lesser income. In addition, the housing market no longer supported huge mansions on a large lot. As the economy of Denver slumped after the Silver Crash, construction in Capitol Hill concentrated on apartments. Three buildings still in existence and that are examples of the architecture of this time are The Colonnade, Alta Court, and the Hamilton. This cultural and demographic shift, from single-family mansions toward boarding houses and rental property for the transient middle class, marked the first significant watershed moment in the history of East Colfax.
East Colfax and Capitol Hill, Denver remained a solid middle class neighborhood until the next demographic change occurred. After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the mentality of many urban dwellers shifted. Mortgage lenders preferred new construction and there was a massive "white flight
White flight
White flight has been a term that originated in the United States, starting in the mid-20th century, and applied to the large-scale migration of whites of various European ancestries from racially mixed urban regions to more racially homogeneous suburban or exurban regions. It was first seen as...
" to the suburbs. Families and the established middle class left Capitol Hill in a mass diaspora
Diaspora
A diaspora is "the movement, migration, or scattering of people away from an established or ancestral homeland" or "people dispersed by whatever cause to more than one location", or "people settled far from their ancestral homelands".The word has come to refer to historical mass-dispersions of...
, selling off the family home to a developer interested in putting up a high-rise in its place or leaving the home abandoned. The demographics of people left behind were an underclass of transients and renters.
Also, the zoning
Zoning
Zoning is a device of land use planning used by local governments in most developed countries. The word is derived from the practice of designating permitted uses of land based on mapped zones which separate one set of land uses from another...
along East Colfax has been badly planned for 50 years. In the 1950s East Colfax was rezoned B4, and the planners encouraged separation of uses and dependence on the automobile. Property owners along East Colfax found it much more rewarding to tear down an existing historic building and put up a new building in its place, rather than renovating. Planners and building officials encouraged this, for this was a time when old was considered ugly and new buildings meant progress.
In addition the zoning code from the 1950s, a 2:1 floor-area ratio (FAR) was adopted for East Colfax. These ratios determine the square footage of the building in relation to the lot size. Builders in the 1950s who tore down historic buildings along East Colfax for the purpose of developing a brand new property were required to abide by the car-friendly codes and provide for automobile use.
As the feasibility study, East Colfax Avenue: An Opportunity and a Model for Development Action, claims about the streetscape of East Colfax, "[East Colfax is designed to] encourage development of smaller parcels that lack frontage definition, have unevenly deep setback patterns and leave a large quantity of undeveloped space." This FAR almost single-handedly contributed to the architectural demise of East Colfax.
Phil Goodstein, a Denver historian, analyzes the effect of the FAR in his book, The Ghosts of Denver: Capitol Hill. "Now the businesses were set back from the sidewalk with a parking lot between the store and the street. Every block, it seemed, became a parking lot while customers found it necessary to drive from one store to the next. Pedestrians had to dodge cars in the middle of the block... In light of this unpleasant walking atmosphere and Denver's increasing addiction to the automobile, the number of people on the street declined. With this, the neighborhood became less safe." It was a steady downward spiral with many factors leading to what East Colfax is today, including the lack of interest in historic buildings and the myopic visions of the 1950s planners.
Another monumental watershed moment in the history of East Colfax Avenue was the completion of Interstate 70. No longer did incoming tourists drive down the thoroughfare on their way into downtown. The tourist dollar was effectively wiped out as a revenue source for East Colfax after this decade. So began another downward spiral. With no tourists to spend money along East Colfax the businesses suffered, as did the demand to go to Capitol Hill.
A factor in the increase in urban poor along Colfax has been linked to Denver Urban Renewal Authority's plans for urban renewal
Urban renewal
Urban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of...
in Downtown Denver. In the now-discredited belief that tearing down historic buildings and replacing them with modern architecture
Modern architecture
Modern architecture is generally characterized by simplification of form and creation of ornament from the structure and theme of the building. It is a term applied to an overarching movement, with its exact definition and scope varying widely...
and high-rises would benefit cities, DURA bulldozed the bulk of Larimer Street in downtown. The urban poor that had been housed in Larimer Street's single room occupancy
Single Room Occupancy
A single room occupancy is a multiple-tenant building that houses one or two people in individual rooms , or to the single room dwelling itself...
buildings were now displaced to Colfax.
Since grand Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
mansions could be purchased for next to nothing, the state bought them up to house the recently freed mentally ill. The 1960s were a time of great social upheaval and civil rights activism. The functional, yet mentally ill, who were once forced to remain locked up were now de-institutionalized and living in the rundown mansions on Capitol Hill. The mentally ill wandered East Colfax in droves, creating an atmosphere and a reality that only solidified the public's perception and known fact that East Colfax is a dangerous place.
West Colfax
West Colfax Avenue began as a trail blazed during the Colorado Gold RushColorado Gold Rush
The Pike's Peak Gold Rush was the boom in gold prospecting and mining in the Pike's Peak Country of western Kansas Territory and southwestern Nebraska Territory of the United States that began in July 1858 and lasted until roughly the creation of the Colorado Territory on February 28, 1861...
, being a well-traveled direct route to the gold fields in the mountains. Historic media and other sources confirm its existence at least as far back as the spring of 1859, and it immediately became a major thoroughfare of goods, people and transportation service to and from the Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
mountains. Soon it took on its original name, South Golden Road, as the southern road from Denver to Golden
Golden, Colorado
The City of Golden is a home rule municipality that is the county seat of Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. Golden lies along Clear Creek at the edge of the foothills of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. Founded during the Pike's Peak Gold Rush on 16 June 1859, the mining camp was...
.
Originally West Colfax was configured with two major differences than how it exists today. It did not proceed past today's intersection with Wide Acres Road, as originally Wide Acres and today's South Golden (or Old Golden) roads were the continuation of the thoroughfare into Golden. Also, the road's original route took it through the bed of present-day Sloan's Lake
Sloan's Lake
Sloan's Lake is a body of water, park, and neighborhood in Denver, Colorado, US. The neighborhood is located on the northwest side of Denver...
, then a convenient swale for road travel. Stagecoach driver Bill Turner, who drove the route for the Central Overland California and Pike's Peak Express, told the Colorado Transcript
Golden Transcript
The Golden Transcript is the second oldest newspaper in Colorado, behind the Central City Register-Call. The Transcript is also the oldest media outlet of the Denver metropolitan area. It is published by Mile High Newspapers in Golden, Colorado....
in 1909 how and when this changed:
The road for many years traveled over open prairie with various farms along the way. With the arrival of a tramway line running along West 13th Avenue, landowner William A.H. Loveland and others laid out the new city of Lakewood
Lakewood, Colorado
Lakewood is a Home Rule Municipality that is the most populous city in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. Lakewood is the fifth most populous city in the State of Colorado and the 172nd most populous city in the United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that in April 1, 2010...
between Golden and Denver. The road, which soon became known as Colfax, became Lakewood's main thoroughfare. Schuyler Colfax
Schuyler Colfax
Schuyler Colfax, Jr. was a United States Representative from Indiana , Speaker of the House of Representatives , and the 17th Vice President of the United States . To date, he is one of only two Americans to have served as both House speaker and vice president.President Ulysses S...
himself had actually once traveled this portion of the road named after him, when he was traveling by stagecoach with presidential candidate Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
during a campaign getaway in 1868. In the meantime of the late 19th Century, the eastern end of West Colfax became home to numerous Jewish people of the Denver area. In 1898, Dr. Charles David Spivak, a noted Russian immigrant, physician and genealogist, established the Jewish Consumptives Relief Society to treat tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
victims on a 105 acre (0.4249203 km²) campus in today's 6400 block of the road. This sanitorium treated victims of the White Plague who were too poor to pay or whose cases were too desperate to cure. The Golden Hill Cemetery was established at the western end of the road, divided into mainstream and the hill sections, the hill being the final resting place of victims who could not be cured. The hill section, as well as the JCRS campus, are now listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
Around 1914 West Colfax was paved with cement and designated a state highway, and it continued evolving into a major commercial thoroughfare of the region. During Prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
it began showing signs of more colorful notoriety when scofflaw roadhouses such as Twilight Gardens operated along the thoroughfare. In 1937 the Works Progress Administration
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
completely paved and modernized the highway, and built a new western route which took it over the hill and across ranch land to the entrance of Mt. Vernon Canyon, its present route. Around this time Colfax was designated U.S. Highway 40. From there on, commercial development boomed, including numerous motels, automobile dealerships, restaurants and more. After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
it was a classic neon-lined highway for natives and travelers of its era; among its landmarks was Davies Chuck Wagon Diner, brought there in 1957 by restaurateur rancher Lyman Davies. The diner is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. In 1956, two shopping malls, Westland and the JCRS Center, were built along Colfax, introducing major department stores and groceries to the area. At its far west end, at the base of the mountains, the Magic Mountain theme park was built, among the first of its kind in the world. The theme park, like many of its era, collapsed, but was resurrected in the 1970s as Heritage Square
Heritage Square
Heritage Square is a Storybook Victorian theme park shopping village at Golden, Colorado. It was originally built as Magic Mountain in 1957-59 by a group spearheaded by prominent Wheat Ridge businessman Walter Francis Cobb and Denver sculptor John Calvin Sutton. They hired Marco Engineering,...
, which still exists .
After the construction of nearby West 6th Avenue
U.S. Route 6
U.S. Route 6 , also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, a name that honors an American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the U.S. Highway system, running east-northeast from Bishop, California to Provincetown, Massachusetts. Until 1964, it continued south from Bishop to...
and Interstate 70
Interstate 70
Interstate 70 is an Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a Park and Ride near Baltimore, Maryland. It was the first Interstate Highway project in the United States. I-70 approximately traces the path of U.S. Route 40 east of the Rocky...
, West Colfax Avenue through Denver's West Colfax Neighborhood
West Colfax, Denver
West Colfax is a neighborhood of Denver, Colorado. The neighborhood is located in the West Denver area. According to the Piton Foundation, in 2007, the population of the neighborhood was 11,285, and there were 3,958 housing units.-Boundaries:...
, Northeast Lakewood, and Edgewater slowly declined and gained the seedy crime reputation and reality of its eastern counterpart. Since the 1970s, West Colfax Avenue through west Denver, Northeast Lakewood, Edgewater has had a high reputation and population of Mexican Americans as well as other Latino
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
immigrants. During the 1990s, Lakewood began what has become a series of urban renewal and beautification efforts along the thoroughfare, from streetscaping to encouraging new proliferation of neon lighting to capitalize on its colorful past. Westland was rebuilt, and the JCRS Center also modified, but not so far as to eliminate the highly popular Casa Bonita
Casa Bonita
Casa Bonita is a chain of Mexican-themed "eatertainment" restaurants which originated in Oklahoma City. As of 2011, only one location remains open, in the western Denver suburb of Lakewood, Colorado....
restaurant which joined it in 1974. On the west end, the Stevinson family, who had originally built automobile dealerships there in the 1960s, built the new Denver West Village shopping center in 1997. In 2002 the Colorado Mills
Colorado Mills
Colorado Mills is a shopping mall placed in Lakewood, Colorado. The mall has 10 anchor stores and it also has some restaurants, including casual dining and regular restaurants, and some entertainment facilities. The mall has 91 stores altogether. Walking one full circuit around the mall's main...
shopping center was built and opened across Colfax from there, the largest commercial development yet built on Colfax.
In the late 1990s the entirety of Colfax Avenue was designated a Colorado Heritage Corridor by the state government.
Historic landmarks
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
:
- Basilica of the Immaculate ConceptionCathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, DenverThe Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception is the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Denver of Roman Catholic Church. It is located at the corner of Logan St. and Colfax Avenue in the North Capitol Hill neighborhood of central Denver. The cathedral has a capacity of 800 persons and hosts...
- Civic Center Historic District
- Denver MintDenver MintThe Denver Mint is a branch of the United States Mint that struck its first coins on February 1, 1906. The mint is still operating and producing coins for circulation, as well as mint sets and commemorative coins. Coins produced at the Denver Mint bear a D mint mark...
- West Side Court Building
- East High School
- Davies' Chuck Wagon Diner
- Jewish Consumptives' Relief Society
- Hill Section, Golden Hill Cemetery
Current status
Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Denver
The Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception is the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Denver of Roman Catholic Church. It is located at the corner of Logan St. and Colfax Avenue in the North Capitol Hill neighborhood of central Denver. The cathedral has a capacity of 800 persons and hosts...
, is on the corner of Colfax and Logan Street and is one of the buildings that would be involved in this designation. According to spokespeople at CHUN, local property owners, perhaps fearing the restrictions that Local Historic District designation might place on them, chose not to pursue Historic District status.
All of these factors created a climate for depressed real estate values, and weak infrastructure
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...
. The downfall of East Colfax was a slow and steady downward spiral of neglect, perception and poor governmental choices. More recently, preservationists and developers have renovated sections of East Colfax between Downing Street and Park Avenue.
Blueprint Denver has been a driving force toward the clean up of East Colfax. Blueprint Denver is the growth plan for the 21st century and addresses zoning changes along East Colfax for more mixed-use, high density, pedestrian friendly development and renovation, while at the same addressing transportation issues for the Avenue. The planning and zoning issues that have plagued East Colfax for decades will be addressed and rewritten in an attempt to streamline the process for better urban design in the Capitol Hill business district. Denver has made serious levels of commitment to the improvement of East Colfax.
In popular culture
Jack KerouacJack Kerouac
Jean-Louis "Jack" Lebris de Kerouac was an American novelist and poet. He is considered a literary iconoclast and, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Kerouac is recognized for his spontaneous method of writing, covering topics such as Catholic...
's Beat Generation
Beat generation
The Beat Generation refers to a group of American post-WWII writers who came to prominence in the 1950s, as well as the cultural phenomena that they both documented and inspired...
novel On the Road
On the Road
On the Road is a novel by American writer Jack Kerouac, written in April 1951, and published by Viking Press in 1957. It is a largely autobiographical work that was based on the spontaneous road trips of Kerouac and his friends across mid-century America. It is often considered a defining work of...
, some of which takes place in Denver, contains several references to Colfax. The protagonist, Sal Paradise
Sal Paradise
Salvatore “Sal” Paradise is the narrator and the protagonist in Jack Kerouac's novel On the Road. Sal, an Italian American youth living in New Jersey with his aunt, is an uninspired writer working on a book who follows and accompanies Dean Moriarty, a young and reckless Denver vagrant, on his...
, at one point keeps an apartment there and drinks in its bars. When the characters Dean Moriarty, Marylou and Ed Dunkel leave Denver, Kerouac writes that they "roared east along Colfax and out to the Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
plains" — this was before the construction of Interstate 70.
In the "Erection Day
Erection Day
"Erection Day" is the seventh episode and mid-season finale of the ninth season of the animated television series South Park, and the 132nd episode overall. It first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on April 20, 2005. In the episode, South Park Elementary's talent show is coming up and...
" episode of South Park
South Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
, Jimmy tries to buy a hooker at Colfax Point, a reference to sections of the avenue noted for prostitution. The "Casa Bonita
Casa Bonita (South Park episode)
"Casa Bonita" is the 11th episode of the 7th season of Comedy Central's South Park. It revolves around Eric Cartman's plots to get to a popular Mexican restaurant known as Casa Bonita, which is a fairly accurate representation of an actual theme restaurant in Colorado. The episode originally aired...
" episode of South Park features a visit to Casa Bonita
Casa Bonita
Casa Bonita is a chain of Mexican-themed "eatertainment" restaurants which originated in Oklahoma City. As of 2011, only one location remains open, in the western Denver suburb of Lakewood, Colorado....
, a Mexican-themed restaurant and entertainment complex located on west Colfax in Northeast Lakewood
Lakewood, Colorado
Lakewood is a Home Rule Municipality that is the most populous city in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. Lakewood is the fifth most populous city in the State of Colorado and the 172nd most populous city in the United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that in April 1, 2010...
. In the South Park episode "My Future Self n' Me
My Future Self n' Me
"My Future Self 'n' Me" is episode 95 of the Comedy Central series South Park. It originally aired on December 4, 2002.- Plot :The kids find a joint in the woods left there by some older kids. They want to dispose of it, as they do not want other kids to do drugs, but are afraid touching it may...
", a secretive business is shown to be located at 3451 Colfax Avenue; although this address seems to be featured prominently in the episode, in reality, nothing unusual appears to be at that address on either West or East Colfax. In the ninth season episode "Bloody Mary
Bloody Mary (South Park)
"Bloody Mary" is the fourteenth episode of the ninth season of the series South Park. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on December 7, 2005. In the episode, Randy drives drunk and loses his driver's license. He then forced to go to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, where he...
," one of Randy Marsh's Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...
classmates exclaims "No more blowing guys on Colfax Avenue for a pint of vodka for this cowboy!"
Five Iron Frenzy
Five Iron Frenzy
Five Iron Frenzy is a Christian ska band formed in Denver, Colorado in 1995 and disbanded in 2003. The band announced they were recording new material on November 22, 2011....
, a ska-punk band consisting of Denver natives, has a song called "Where the Zero Meets the Fifteen". The songs lyrics describe how an experience at Colfax and Broadway made the singer feel as though he would be unsuccessful in his continuing attempts to save the world. The title refers to two bus routes that cross at this intersection; in the song, the narrator is waiting at a bus stop.
In the movie About Schmidt
About Schmidt
About Schmidt is a 2002 American comedy-drama film directed by Alexander Payne, starring Jack Nicholson in the title role. It is loosely based on the 1996 novel of the same title by Louis Begley. Many of the scenes were filmed on location, especially in Omaha, Nebraska and Denver, Colorado...
, Jack Nicholson
Jack Nicholson
John Joseph "Jack" Nicholson is an American actor, film director, producer and writer. He is renowned for his often dark portrayals of neurotic characters. Nicholson has been nominated for an Academy Award twelve times, and has won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice: for One Flew Over the...
's character drives his RV along a stretch of East Colfax near Ogden Street. The Royal Host Motel and the Ogden Theater
Ogden Theater
The Odgen Theater is a music venue and former movie theater in Denver, Colorado, United States. Located at 935 E. Colfax Avenue in the neighborhood of Capitol Hill, it was built in 1917 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.- History :...
are visible.
In the movie Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead
Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead
Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead is a 1995 crime film directed by Gary Fleder from a screenplay written by Scott Rosenberg. The film features an ensemble cast that includes Andy García, Christopher Lloyd, Steve Buscemi, Christopher Walken, Fairuza Balk, and Gabrielle Anwar.The film's title...
, Jimmy "The Saint" Tosnia picks up a prostitute along East Colfax, in front of the Bluebird Theater.
The Denver band Slim Cessna's Auto Club
Slim Cessna's Auto Club
Slim Cessna's Auto Club is an alternative country-gothabilly band formed in 1992 in Denver, Colorado. The constant in the band has been Slim Cessna, formerly a member of The Denver Gentlemen along with David Eugene Edwards and Jeffery-Paul of 16 Horsepower. Jay Munly is also a key member of the...
mentions Colfax in the song "Champagne Like a Lady" while comparing a girl to a Colfax hooker
External links
- Main Street, USA from the Denver Westword
- Eat, Drink and Be Merry on East Colfax
- Definitive guide to Colfax Avenue