History of Colfax Avenue (2024)

When gold was discovered in Denver in 1858, scores of miners came West looking for the Mother Lode. Colfax Avenue was the major artery linking them to the riches of the Rockies. Originally called "Golden Road", as well as Grand Avenue, Colfax Avenue had its name changed in 1868 to honor of Schuyler Colfax (pronounced SKY-LAR), a powerful Indiana congressman and Speaker of the House of Representatives at that time.

Colorado first applied for statehood in 1865, the same year as Schuyler's western tour which brought him to Denver in May 1865. Perhaps Denver officials thought that renaming the street would help the territory's cause. But if achieving statehood was the reason for the street's name change, it didn't happen overnight. Colorado did not become a state until 1876, eleven years later. Another reason for naming the street after him is most likely "Smiler" Colfax's great oratory and personal charm made him popular with the citizens. Whatever the reason, to honor Colfax, the city dedicated the road along the southern boundary of central Denver to the Hoosier politician.

Colorado already had a champion in Colfax. The first legislation for Colorado was drafted by his pen and pressed by his voice. A delegation was sent to Washington for the creation of a Rocky Mountain Territory separate from the Kansas Territory. On January 6, 1859, Schuyler Colfax, representative from Illinois,introduced a bill in Congress to organize a “Territory of Colona” alongthe eastern slope of the Rockies. The territory was to include the western-mostparts of Kansas and Nebraska as far north as the 42nd parallel, as well as thenortheastern part of New Mexico. This name was taken from the Spanish forColumbus and the New York Times stated that this name was favored by thesettlers of the area.

This new territory lay north of the 36° 30’ latitude line,and by the Missouri Compromise of 1850 this meant that slavery would beprohibited there. In this period of great conflict in the country over thequestion of slavery, there was no way Southerners in Congress would allow thecreation of such a new “free” territory, so there were not enough votes tosupport Colfax’s bill at that time.

"And that thoroughfare, born beneath the mountainous mountains of rocky peaks so high, seeing as it shall victual to prospectors, explorers, and men of chance, and whereas said men, in their sparse moments of recess and requiescence, require relief of an immediate and carnal conformation, let Colfax Way be a den of avarice, a cauldron of covetousness, a peccadillo wharf in a sea-storm of morality. Let not a man walk Colfax Way and wonder, 'Where shall I deposit my virility this eve, where may I encounter mine intoxicant?' for he shall find all he seeks on Colfax. Curse these vexatious rickets!"

(Actually, the quote was penned by the prolific Denver comedian Adam Cayton-Holland in his hilarious, now defunct column "What's So Funny". And it IS funny, because you can find this quote on legitimate, historical websites and publications!)

At first, most of the neighborhoods lining central Colfax Avenue were filled with mansions of the wealthy and elite of Denver. After the Silver Panic of 1893, the cost and demand for lavish houses decreased substantially. After a massive relocation to Denver's suburbs began, many of the large homes built along Colfax were transformed into group homes or apartments. Others were converted to commercial use and still hide behind deceptively modest store fronts.

Colfax Avenue has been called the longest street in America, but it isn't. It is the longest commercial street in the U.S.A., extending a total length of 26.5 miles through the cities of Aurora, Denver, Lakewood and Golden, Colorado, as the "Gateway to the Rockies" from the plains to the mountains. In 2006, the first Colfax Marathon was held, traversing this length of Colfax Avenue.

But that's not the end of the World's Most Famous Avenue! You can run a marathon and still not be at the end of Colfax. On the outskirts of Aurora, Colfax Avenue bends and follows I-70, then U.S. 36 picks up the Colfax name as a virtually seamless route to Watkins, Bennett and Strasburg. If you measure Colfax Avenue from West Heritage Road in Golden, all the way to Headlight Road in Strasburg, Colfax Avenue is 53.3 miles long! This clearly earns its' distinction as the "Longest Commercial Street" in America.

While Colfax Avenue is commonly considered to only run through the Denver metro area, the road extends much farther. Colfax Avenue is a part of U.S. Route 40, the highway which, during its heyday, ran 3,157 miles from Atlantic City to San Francisco, traversing the midsection of the United States. Route 40 served America well, carrying more automobile traffic than any other transcontinental highway.

"East Coast of the West Coast" by Dyrhan Briskey

Denver Highway 40 Celebration - Now paved Coast to Coast

Colfax Avenue is also a part of U.S. Highway's 36 and 287, but only Route 40 traverses the entire length. This led to Colfax being the center of tourist activity for the Front Range.

The car culture of the 1950's led to an increase in travel throughout the nation. During the period after World War II, automobile-oriented facilities proliferatedalong East Colfax, particularly in the eastern section adjacent to Aurora.Sprawling motels in U-shapes, L-shapes, or other configurations were erected.Restaurants incorporated eye-catching rooflines and unusual architecture tolure passing motorists. Signage was also an important element in roadsidepromotion and employed neon, flashing lights to give the illusion of movement,and symbols (Western themes, crowns, and arrows) to draw attention. Colfax's status as a major thoroughfare led to more tourist traffic along the street. The motels that currently line Colfax are a memory to the Highway 40 era.

Over the course of 150 years, Colfax evolved from a dusty, dirt road to a bustling trolley route and now an urban boulevard; always serving as a main street throughout the city. However, when Interstate 70 was completed, tourists no longer used Colfax as frequently and businesses and neighborhoods suffered. Unfortunately, over the years, Colfax lost much of its vibrancy and main street feel and became noted for abandoned properties, large parking lots, and gritty images of prostitution and drugs.

The Colfax Corridor has a long history of street-level prostitution which drew substantial attention to the area, not only from sex workers and solicitors, but also from business owners, law enforcement, local residents and social service agencies. But a dramatic improvement has recently occurred through the interconnected series of programs, people, and organizations working together to halt the cycle of crime that has plagued the landscape of Colfax Avenue. (Frankly, I think the invention of the Internet did more to get hookers off the street than any official program).

Playboy Magazine reputedly once called Colfax Avenue, the "longest, wickedest street in America." The quote, though often used, is unsubstantiated, but Playboy did once use the word “wickedest” in reference to Denver. “Denver’s Holladay Street,” according to a 1961 article was among the “wickedest and wildest enclaves in all the wild, wild West.”

Today, Holladay Street is Market Street — once home of the most notorious Red Light District in the Rocky Mountain West, and now is one of theritzieststretches of property in Denver.

The Colfax Avenue of today is awakening and regaining its Main Street glory without losing its unique charm. Currently various revitalization efforts have been established to revitalize the street and the old girl is making a comeback. Although its status as a highway has declined, Colfax is still a major transportation route. The 15 bus which services Colfax Avenue (affectionately called the "Nifty 15", "Dirty 15" or the "Vomit Comet"), has the highest rider-ship in the RTD system.

The Denver Post once asked, "The future of Colfax is about values. Is creating fancy lofts, swank restaurants and upscale boutiques enough, or is it also important to preserve the soul of this historic avenue that cuts through the heart of the city?"

Photo courtesy Save the Signs on Colfax

Colfax Avenue Timeline

Colfax Trolley

1900: J.E. Holmburg built Corona Flats, one of the first "modern flats", at the corner of Colfax and Corona Street.

1901:Historian Jerome C. Smiley recognized the street as one of Denver’s principal roadways, “Colfax being the great east-west Avenue clear across its general geographical center.”

1906: The U.S. Mint begins minting coins on Colfax Avenue.

1907: The town of Fletcher changes its’ name to Aurora onFebruary 25, 1907.

1908: The Colorado State Capitol Building iscompleted. The Westside Benevolent Society creates the Golden Hill Cemetery, onWest Colfax, which later becomes a historic landmark.

1912: The magnificent Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral at the northeast corner of Logan Street and Colfax Avenue is completed.

1912: A coalition of booster and good roads groups (including the Chamber of Commerce Good Roads Committee, the Real Estate Exchange, and the Denver Motor Club) joined forces in a drive to make East Colfax the best road in the state. The group aimed to turn Colfax Avenue into the gateway to Denver for tourists visiting by automobile from the East.

1914: The Thompson/Bluebird Theater erected by Harry W.J. Edbrooke at 3315 E. Colfax.

1916: Colfax ispaved.

1917: The Colfaxviaduct is built, linking the east and west portions of Colfax, creating anear-seamless road across Colorado.

1917: The Ogden Theatre is erected by Harry W.J. Edbrooke at 935 E. Colfax Avenue.

1925: The mostliberal zoning laws in Denver are put on Colfax Avenue, eventually paving theway for adult-oriented shops decades later.

1926: Boom timesfor Colfax as the avenue becomes part of U.S. 40, a coast-to-coast highway anda major gateway to the Rocky Mountains.

1926: The new East High School designed by George H. Williamson was completed, adjacent to the City Park Esplanade.

1928: Buses areintroduced.

1932: East Colfax Paving in Aurora, Colorado.

1946: Aurora Fox Theater opens on October 30, 1946, on Colfax ina war surplus Quonset-hut.

1950: Colfax Avenue seesits last trolley.

1957: Land in frontof the Jewish Consumptives' Relief Society is sold, making room for a shoppingcenter that will one day be home to Casa Bonita restaurant.

1964-68: Completion ofInterstate 70 to the north permitted transcontinental traffic to bypass theavenue, beginning a steady decline on Colfax Avenue.

1960s: Capitol Hill beginsan era of prostitution and drug sales.

1969: Lakewood, Colorado, incorporates as a city.

East Colfax Avenue in the 1970's

1974: Casa Bonita opens.

1978: Colfax Avenue’s nadir was aptly summarized by conservative columnist George Will: “The fear that [nuclear] war may blow civilization to smithereens loses some of its sting when you see Denver’s Colfax Avenue.”

1983: Sid King's Crazy Horse Bar, the city's most notorious strip club,closes.

1983: One Denver policeman commented on East Colfax in December: “During the early morning and the night shift you get to find just about every facet of society down there: your dealers, pimps, hookers. I think it’s safe to say that anyone who is in the criminal element is on East Colfax at one time during the night.

1984: The Aladdin Theater at 2000 East Colfax Avenue was demolished and replaced with a Walgreen’s drugstore.

1994: A coalition among Aurora, Denver and Lakewood forms torehabilitate the avenue.

2001: Construction begins on the Chamberlain Heights development inDenver. It is the first new residential development on Colfax in 80 years.

2004: Lakewood begins creating development guidelines to accentuate aretro feel for West Colfax.

2005: Denver adopts a "Main Street" zoning designation to luremore pedestrian-friendly and mixed-use development to Colfax.

2006: The first Colfax Marathon takes place in May, 2006.

2007: The University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and TheChildren's Hospital plan to open at the old Fitzsimons Army Medical Center inAurora, creating a campus that could employ 16,000 people by 2010.

2012: The first annual Root 40 Music Festival isheld on Colfax Avenue. The 40 West Arts District is created.

2013: The Aurora Cultural Arts District is designated.

Historic Buildings

Every year, the U.S.Mint strikes over ten billion coins identifiable by the small D that appears belowthe date. The free guided tours of the Mint are one of Denver’s top attractions. Visitors can seethe huge, noisy high-speed presses spitting out 40 million coins each day ontoconveyor belts overflowing with a bright, glittering hoard to be counted,sorted and bagged. In the basem*nt, lies the biggest collection of gold barsoutside of Fort Knox. The shop is a haven for coin enthusiasts,with boxed sets of mint coins available. During the summer, queues frequentlystretch round the block with waiting times of one hour or more. Tours last 20minutes and begin every 20-30 minutes.

Colorado State Capitol

In the domed classical style, the Colorado State Capitol embodiesthe confident civic pride of the young America at the turn of the century.Building construction began in 1886 and was completed in 1901. The brilliant dome gleams with 24-carat gold leaf added in 1908, and outdone only by the uniquerose-colored Coloradoonyx wainscoting inside. Quarried in Beulah, Colorado, the entire world supply of thisonyx was used here. The highlight for the fit and healthy is the winding93-step climb to the top of the dome, rewarded by panoramic views of the Rocky Mountains. Back at ground level, a brass marker onthe steps reminds visitors that they are still ‘one mile above sealevel’.

200 East Colfax Avenue,at Broadway
Tel: (303) 866-2604
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 7:00 am - 5:30 pm. Tours depart every 45 minutes 9:00 amto 2:30 pm. Dome open 9:00 am - 3:30 pm.
Admission: Free.

McNichols Building

The McNichols Civic Center Building is located at the northwest corner of Civic Center Park, at the intersection of Colfax and Bannock. In 1909, the cornerstone of the McNichols Building was laid. It set the foundation for the then Carnegie Library that would become a center of learning in Civic Center Park. That tradition continues as the building was re-opened in 2012 as a contemporary hub for arts and culture for the people of Denver. This stunning Greek Revival building with its classic Corinthian columns and iconic colonnade across its front, offers new experiences in a classic space.

Address: 144 West Colfax Avenue (corner of West Colfax and Bannock)
Phone: 720-865-4220
Hours of Operation: Thursday - Sunday 10:00am - 5:00pm
Forbooking,contact Tim Taylor at tim.taylor3@denvergov.orgor (303) 906-1396 or visit our Rental Information page.

East High School

East High School,built in 1925, is Denver'sfirst high school. Students of East High included famed actor DouglasFairbanks, Sr. (once expelled for dressing up the campus statues on St.Patrick's Day), singer Judy Collins, Neal Cassady (Beat hero, honed his writingskills at East), Don Cheadle (nominated for a 2005 East Angel Friends andAlumni FoundationAcademy Award for his portrayal of Paul Rusesabagina in HotelRwanda), Actress Pam Grier (films: Jackie Brown, Coffee, Foxy Brown, etc.), DianneReeves (received a Grammy Award of "Best jazz vocal album" for ALittle Moonlight in 2004), Hattie McDaniel (America's first ever black AcademyAward winner for Best Supporting Actress, playing Scarlet's servant in the 1939epic film Gone With the Wind), Olympic gold medalist Jerome Biffle, PhilipBailey, of Earth, Wind, & Fire, Peter O'Fallon (Hollywood film director,who was publicized for the film Suicide Kings in 1998), T.J. Miller (a comedianwho starred in the movie Cloverfield), Flobot Jamie Laurie, Miss America 1958 MarilynVan Derbur, and the mother of the kid who played Spanky (Our Gang, theearly-1900's comedy serial), was a teacher there. Spanky also reportedly livedin Denver.

For more information about East High School, be sure to visit the East Angel Friendswebsite.

City Park Esplanade

The Esplanade Colfax &Esplanade - In addition to the historicnature of East High School, the City Park Esplanaderunning in front of the school connects 17th Avenue with Colfax. Chicago architect Edward Herbert Bennettdesigned the gateway at the south end that consists of two freestanding piers,one on each side of the motorway. The figures on the east are of two miners. Onthe west are two pioneer women. A lion head is mounted on each wall facing east Colfax Avenue.

National Jewish Hospital--Colfax& Jackson--The Fisher Brothers, whodesigned many buildings around Denver,designed the Mediterranean style National Jewish Hospital on the corner of Colorado Boulevardand Colfax in 1926. Frances Wisebart Jacobs and Rabbi William Sterne Friedmanfounded the hospital to serve the many people who moved to Colorado hoping the climate would cure themof tuberculosis.

At that time, TB was the leading cause of death in the United States.The hospital opened on December 10, 1899. Its slogan was “none may enter whocan pay – none can pay who enter.” National Jewish is still a functioninghospital that provides millions of dollars of free/heavily subsidized care.

Photo courtesy Denver Public Library Western History Collection

Capitol Hill State Bank--Colfax& York--The Capitol Hill StateBank was built in 1925 and was only used as the Capitol Hill State Bank for one year when scandal forced its closure. Before 1940, it was a regular bank. After1940 it became a ladies clothing store and has always been an important Colfaxlandmark. At one time the building also housed the New Yorker Lounge. Today it's the Three Lion's Pub.

Colfax Viaduct--At theviaduct over Interstate 25 and across from parking lots at Mile High Stadium, a long-forgotten piece of Colfax remains. Called the"Bottoms," the area - from the late 1800s through the 1950s - washome to cigar stores, bicycle shops, churches, grocery stores, hay markets andmidwives. Eastern European Jewish families first lived there, followed byMexican immigrants. The viaduct was originally built in 1917 for cars and trolleys, and I-25 camelater, wiping away many of the businesses and homes.

Overseen by consulting engineer H.S. Crocker, the Colfax-Larimer viaduct was completed in 1917. Built for both streetcars andautomobiles, the viaduct was the longest concrete span of its kind in theworld at that time. The viaduct was built to connect downtown Denver and west Denver overthe South Platte River and the railroadtracks. By 1983, 35,000 vehicles crossed the viaduct daily, which was in need of repair. The new viaduct was completed in 1983.

Greek Town

Photo courtesy Aurora History Museum

In 1891, former Chicago resident Donald Fletcherfounded what was thought of as a “trolley town” and he named the town Fletcher,after himself.From aturn-of-the-century rail stop near the corner of Galena Street and East Colfax, Aurora sprang to life.The rail, which allowed easier travel from Denvereast along Colfax, propelled Aurora into one of Denver's first truesuburbs. However, after the Silver Crash of 1893 he fled town, leavingthe residents with outstanding bond payments and other problems. In 1907, theangry residents changed the name to Aurora(Latin word for "dawn").

1918: The U.S. government selected Aurora as the site for Fitzsimons Army Hospital to treat the wounded—especially those affected by mustard gas and tuberculosis—during World War I.

1929: Colorado's Secretary of State recognized Aurora—with 2,000 residents—as a city, and tax revenues were appropriated for sewers, roads and fire stations. Most citizens were located just south of Colfax Avenue.

• During the Great Depression, Colorado’s congressional delegation managed to save Fitzsimons from closure due to cuts in military expenditures. President Roosevelt later visited Fitzsimons and was so impressed with the facility that he appropriated funds for its improvement.
• In 1942, the Army Air Corps built Buckley Field, enhancing the military presence in Aurora. This, coupled with the addition of Lowry Field, resulted in more employment, residents and money for the city.
• In 1947, Buckley Field was renamed Naval Air Station.
• By 1960, Aurora had 50,000 residents. The Naval Air Station is renamed Buckley Air National Guard Base.
• The 1970s were prosperous for Aurora with the city benefiting from new highway construction.
• The 1980s were a time of economic cooling off, as with the rest of Colorado.
• The 1990s ushered in economic prosperity. However, closures of the military bases, which began with the closure of nearby Lowry Air Force Base, threatened the city's well being.
• In 1995, the U.S. Congress targets Fitzsimons for closure. That same year, officials with the City of Aurora, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and the University of Colorado Hospital present the U.S. Department of Defense with a plan to reuse the decommissioned base as a world-class medical campus. The Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority is formed through an intergovernmental agreement.
• In 1998, the first biotech companies move to Fitzsimons.
• In 2000, Aurora’s population had increased to 276,393 residents Buckley Air National Guard Base re-designated as Buckley Air Force Base.
• The 1-square-mile life sciences city at Fitzsimons is home to the University of Colorado Hospital and Health Sciences Center, Rocky Mountain Lions Eye Institute, the Nighthorse Campbell Native Health Building, Research Complex I and Colorado Bioscience Park Aurora, with more to come.
• In 2008, the city is home to more than 300,000 residents.

Aurora grewslowly until the opening of FitzsimonsArmy Hospitaland Denver Municipal Airport.After World War II the town grew quickly due to Lowry Air Base, Buckley Fieldand the Rocky Mountain Arsenal. World attention focused on Aurora for seven weeks during the fall of1955, as President Dwight D. Eisenhower recovered from a heart attack atFitzsimons. The hospital is also the 1943 birthplace of 2004 Democraticpresidential candidate John Kerry. Decommissioned in 1999, the facility is partof the Anschutz Medical Campus of the University of Colorado Denver, and the Colorado Bioscience Park Aurora.The Anschutz Medical Campus also includes the University of Colorado Hospitalwhich moved to Aurora from Denver in 2007. These facilities will employa workforce of 32,000 at build-out.

Immigrant Center

As ArmyHospital 21 in 1918, and later as the Fitzsimons Army Medical Center, the siteat East Colfax and Interstate 225 attracted many of the area's early immigrantswho worked in and around the Aurora hospital. Now the site for University of Colorado and Children's Hospital, a newmedical and research campus, old Fitzsimons is has injected new life intoColfax.

Aurora Fox Theater

History of West Colfax Avenue

West Colfax Trolley

In Denver, the area between Decatur Street and the Platte Riverwas known as Brooklyn. Brooklynprovided employment and a new streetcar line bringing families looking for moreland to build homes. Residential development boomed. Except for the Voorheessubdivision, a small enclave of relatively expensive homes between Irving Street and Julian Street, Conejos Place and 16th Avenue, mostof the houses were small residences occupied by factory workers and laborers.In 1889, eastern entrepreneurs Charles Welch and W.A.H. Loveland platted theLakewood Subdivision located between Harlan Street and Carr Street on the south side of West Colfax Avenue.By 1892, a new hardware company located along the roadway was looking for 400men to employ. The company was offering more than just jobs, housing and ageneral store were also available. While many of the early structures are longgone, the Loveland Home at 14th Avenue and Harlan Street remains today as a reminderof bygone days.

Health institutions also played a significant role in the history of WestColfax. St. Anthony Hospital Central, starting as a dream of the Sisters of St.Francis, was dedicated on June 13, 1893, after the sisters overcame financialobstacles by visiting mining camps, barber shops, and saloons to raise fundsfor construction of the facility. Located at West 16th Avenue and Stuart StreetSt. Anthony Hospital Central has continued togrow and modernize in response to community needs. In 1972, St Anthony FlightFor Life became the first airborne ambulance service in the nation. Furtherwest from St. Anthony's in 1904, the Jewish Consumptive Relief Society (JCRS)opened a sanatorium, just north of Colfax between Pierce and Kendall Streetsthat treated tuberculosis patients. In 1954, this facility was renamed theAmerican Medical Center (AMC) and became a major cancer research facility.

The West Colfax neighborhood, bordered today by Federal and Sheridan boulevards, started as the town of Colfax in 1891 and was annexed to Denver in 1897. The area was sparsely populated with several mansions and scattered squatters’ shacks. During this time West Colfax was known as “No Man’s Land” and “Jim’s Town.”

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a large wave of Jewish Immigrants from Eastern Europe moved into the West Colfax area. These immigrants turned “No Man’s Land” into Denver’s version of a European neighborhood. West Colfax Avenue was lined with two-story brick commercial buildings, saloons, stores, a hotel, and a restaurant. West Colfax Avenue had a constant flow of hay wagons and peddlers that came from the agriculture communities of Golden and Morrison en route to Denver.

As a link in U.S. 40, oneof the first transcontinental highways, West Colfax Avenue was widened in 1935 and 1936. The roadway improvementswere performed by president Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Civilian ConservationCorps (CCC). It was a program that offered employment during the GreatDepression.

The designation as a major nationalroute initiated "the golden years" for West Colfax as itbecame a tourist strip lined with motels, tourist camps, servicestations and diners. Eventually, however, construction of InterstateHighway 70 to the north and the 6th Avenue freeway to the south,virtually eliminated Colfax Avenue as a significant route choice forvacationing and commuting travelers.

Awave of Latinos immigrated to the neighborhood in the 1960s. YoungAnglo families and Southeast Asians immigrated to the neighborhood inthe 1970s. Today, West Colfax is a diverse neighborhood made up ofAnglo, Jewish, African American, Latino, Native American, andSoutheast Asian residents.

The neighborhood’s legacyremains in buildings that reflect its past. Confluence Ministries at14th and Quitman is housed in the former synagogue and Hebrew school,Yeshiva Kneseth. The Charles Dickinson Library at Colfax and Hooker,built in 1914, was the smallest of eight branch libraries in thecity. Historic buildings are being repurposed, and the BID isactively restoring West Colfax’s unique neon signs, including theiconic Lake Steam Bath and Aristocrat Motor Hotel signs.

Photo by Juli Scalzi

Lake Steam Baths--Colfax& King

The Hyman family opened the Lake Steam Baths in 1927. Today, the Lake Steam Bathsis the oldest business on West Colfax. People go there for massages and steambaths because of the health benefits. The baths were first used by people whohad consumption, also known as tuberculosis. Old and young people still enjoythe steam baths today.

Colfax Elementary School--Colfax & Tennyson

The first Colfax Elementarywas built in 1887 as a one-room brick building. During its first years,students came to the school from farms and homes on Stuart St. Since 1887, the school hasserved more than four generations of local families.

JCRS Sanitarium--The JCRS Sanitarium was established in the early 20th century in what is now Lakewood, a western suburb of Denver. JCRS, or the Jewish Consumptives' Relieft Society, was organized by a group of working men who were frustrated with the policies of the other tuberculosis sanitarium in Denver, National Jewish Hospital, which refused to serve kosher meals, discouraged the use of Yiddish, and for a time (because of the fear of being swamped by destitute patients) only accepted sufferers with incipient tuberculosis and those who could afford to support themselves once they left the hospital.

A forerunner to what later would become Lakewood, the Jewish Consumptives' Relief Society opened in 1904 on Colfax to serve tubercular patients from across the country. Though most of the Relief Society patients were Jewish, the organization served thousands of non-Jews, many of whom were treated free of charge. The society changed its mission to cancer research in the 1950s, also changing its name to the American Medical Center. The property with its original buildings now is the campus for the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design. A tower with the American Medical Center's initials can be seen from Colfax between Kendall and Pierce streets.

Dr. Charles Spivak

The organization and success of JCRS was due in large part to the efforts of Dr. Charles Spivak, a local legend, and Yehoash (Solomon Bloomgarten), who came to Denver to "chase the cure" in 1899. Starting around 1906, Yehoash presided over the Yiddish section of the 'Sanitorium,' a JCRS publication, including his own poetry and that of "Lung-fellow" as well as using graphics designed by the Bezalel School in then-Palestine. (Spivak and Yehoash, lovers of Yiddish, are famous for their dictionary of Hebrew elements in Yiddish).

Visit the Golden Hill Cemetery, also in Lakewood, to find the graves of Dr. Spivak and David Edelstadt, another Yiddish poet and an anarchist, who died of t.b. around 1892. Edelstadt's grave (a monument) was inscribed with one of his poems and a photograph of the poet. Spivak's grave was adjacent; Spivak donated his skeleton to the Hebrew University. The upper part of the cemetery contained the graves of the patients who didn't beat the "white plague;" many, unfortunately, are marked only with small metal plaques, now unreadable.

Landmark eatery | A stop on many Colorado travelers' lists, Casa Bonita Mexican restaurant, 6715 W. Colfax Ave. in Lakewood, once was a field belonging to the Jewish Consumptives' Relief Society. Property in front of the Relief Society was sold in the 1950s. Casa Bonita, famous for its cliff-diving acts, opened in 1974 in the JCRS Shopping Center.

In the "ErectionDay" episode of South Park, Jimmy tries to buya hooker at Colfax Point, a reference to sections of the avenue noted forprostitution.

Another episode of South Parkfeatures a visit to Casa Bonita, a Mexican-themed restaurant and entertainmentcomplex located on West Colfax in the city of Lakewood.

Denverarea bands The Colfax Stranglers, Steele & Colfax, Colfax Slim, Colfax Speed Queen, all take their names from the street.

Five Iron Frenzy, a ska-punkband consisting of Denvernatives, has a song called "Where 0 Meets 15". Thetitle refers to two bus routes that cross at this intersection. In the song,the narrator is waiting at a bus stop. The songs lyrics describe how an experienceat Colfax & Broadway made the singer feel as though he would beunsuccessful in his continuing attempts to save the world. The song was included on the ColfaxAvenue.com Compilation CD Vol. I.

In the movie About Schmidt, Jack Nicholson'scharacter drives his RV along a stretch of East Colfax near Ogden Street. The viewer can clearly seethe Royal Host Motel and the Ogden Theater in the shot.

In the movie Things To Do In Denver WhenYou're Dead, Jimmy 'The Saint' Tosnia picks up a prostitute along East Colfax,in front of the Bluebird Theater.

In 1984, a sensational murder took the life of outspoken radio talk show host Alan Berg as he arrived home on the 1400 block of Adams Street, near East Colfax Avenue across from the Bluebird Theater (before it was a concert and fine film venue). Berg, who was Jewish, was gunned down in his driveway while exiting his Volkswagen, by white supremacists who had baited him in hostile calls on the air before the killing. The execution received national publicity. His killers went on the commit a major armored car robbery in another state. They were later caught and convicted of both crimes. The wife of Alan Berg wrote a book about the tragedy.