"Happy New Year" on Voorhies Memorial - 1929, from the Western History and Genealogy Dept., Denver Public Library
Sunday, December 31, 2017
Saturday, December 30, 2017
Friday, December 29, 2017
Rocky Mountain News
The
Rocky Mountain News shortly after moving into the Colfax and Delaware
location in 1952. (Rocky Mtn. News photo / courtesy Virginia Lee)
Thursday, December 28, 2017
Wednesday, December 27, 2017
Tuesday, December 26, 2017
New Public Art Mural on Colfax
New Mural on Colfax Avenue! Tom Ward painted this amazing mural on the Tommy's Thai building, at 3410 E. Colfax Avenue in Denver. Tommy's has served authentic, family owned and operated Thai food in Denver for over 20 years.
Monday, December 25, 2017
Original Aurora, 1972
Snowed in along the 9900 block of E. Colfax Avenue in 1972. (from Aurora History Museum Photographic Collection)
Sunday, December 24, 2017
Saturday, December 23, 2017
Day Chevrolet
A '70's night time look down E. Colfax featuring Day Chevrolet once at
9530 E. Colfax. (from Aurora History Museum Photographic collection)
Friday, December 22, 2017
Red Door Restaurant and Cocktail Lounge
In 1956, the handsome Red Door Restaurant opened at 10300 W. Colfax Avenue, to serve, under Chef Johnnie Webb's direction, food in keeping with the atmosphere.
The Red Door architecture is unusual in that it is one huge room with the rich dark-mahogany bar--presided over by Restaurant Manager Fred Ehelen, who doubles as head bartender--which stretches across the center of the room, acting as a partition separating cocktail lounge from main dining area. The color scheme throughout is green, off-white, and beige, with the lounge section sporting bright Kelly-green frieze booths arranged in three tiers. Sand-blasted pine-board walls are painted a soft green, and wall-to-wall carpeting is maroon with huge green and beige leaves. Tables in the dining area are mahogany to match the bar and lounge table tops, while dining-room chairs have wrought iron bases with seats and back padded in pinkish beige streaked interestingly with charcoal grey. A dance floor and entertainment stage complete the attractive restaurant of this very superior motel, where children and adults alike are guaranteed a wonderful stay.
Reprinted from the Pacific Coast Record, April 1956
The Red Door architecture is unusual in that it is one huge room with the rich dark-mahogany bar--presided over by Restaurant Manager Fred Ehelen, who doubles as head bartender--which stretches across the center of the room, acting as a partition separating cocktail lounge from main dining area. The color scheme throughout is green, off-white, and beige, with the lounge section sporting bright Kelly-green frieze booths arranged in three tiers. Sand-blasted pine-board walls are painted a soft green, and wall-to-wall carpeting is maroon with huge green and beige leaves. Tables in the dining area are mahogany to match the bar and lounge table tops, while dining-room chairs have wrought iron bases with seats and back padded in pinkish beige streaked interestingly with charcoal grey. A dance floor and entertainment stage complete the attractive restaurant of this very superior motel, where children and adults alike are guaranteed a wonderful stay.
Reprinted from the Pacific Coast Record, April 1956
Thursday, December 21, 2017
Copas Family Drive-In
Known for their foot-long hot dogs, this is a 1948 image of the Copas Family Drive-In at W. Colfax and about Kipling. (from Dino's Restaurant photo collection)
Wednesday, December 20, 2017
Tuesday, December 19, 2017
Monday, December 18, 2017
Ike's Tree
If
a President’s Tree isn’t safe from redevelopment, I don’t know what
is!! Ike’s Tree at Fitzsimons Golf Course is almost 100 years old and is
slated for demolition. (Photo by Jonny B.)
Sunday, December 17, 2017
Saturday, December 16, 2017
Friday, December 15, 2017
Thursday, December 14, 2017
Lingo the Drifter
When ex-football player and bar owner Sam Sugarman re-christened his bar "Sugie's" as the Satire Lounge, Sugie put in a tiny stage and hired a guy called Lingo the Drifter to take over the club and play there. Lingo, an ex-businessman from Chicago who had dropped out, grown a beard and lived out of the back of a pickup truck, did a folksy Burl Ives/Pete Seeger type show that clicked with the local crowd.
Lingo died in 1993, and left a most amazing, Colfax worthy obituary:
Rocky Mountain News (CO) - May 26, 1993
________________________________________
T.D. LINGO, BRAIN RESEARCHER, FOUND DEAD
T.D. Lingo, who was sure he knew the answers to all the questions of life and those by Groucho Marx, died of acute heart failure about May 13 on his mountain near Black Hawk, the Gilpin County coroner said Tuesday. He was 68.
Mr. Lingo spent 36 years at the Dormant Brain Research and Development Laboratory on Laughing Coyote Mountain trying to prove that people use only 10% of their brains, while he had discovered how to use 100%. He said his ability enabled him to communicate with other species, experience extrasensory perception and have four-hour multiple orgasms. Until his death, he still was waiting for the public to accept the book he had written, with chapters such as "Quick / Easy Neurology" and "Quick-Fix Nirvana."
"It's going to be a national best-seller," he said in an interview in 1991.
Mr. Lingo grew up as Paul Lezchuk in Chicago, fought in World War II and
went to the University of Chicago. He renamed himself Theocharis Docha Anthropotis Lingo, which he said means "the love of God and the spirit of mankind." He became Lingo the Drifter, a folk singer with three chords and nine songs.
In 1957, he appeared on Groucho Marx's television quiz show You Bet Your Life and won $16,000. He cashed the check into bills that filled two shopping bags. He gave one to the Internal Revenue Service. He bought Laughing Coyote Mountain with the other, and he said he discovered how to "click" the brain into 100% consciousness. Most of his theories are contradicted by generally accepted theories of science, which only proved his point, he said.
He kept the brain of his former professor at the University of Chicago in a glass specimen jar in a storage building. He lived on vegetables and vodka. He went to Black Hawk once a month to pick up groceries and his mail.
"Someday, people are going to look at my work, comprehend what it means to lick the cosmic lollipop instead of just living out their chow-mein brained lives," he said. "It might not happen in my time, but someday somebody is going to stumble across what I did here and say, 'That guy wasn't crazy after all.' "
A visitor found him May 15. He is survived by his brother, Bill Lezchuk of California.
Lingo died in 1993, and left a most amazing, Colfax worthy obituary:
Rocky Mountain News (CO) - May 26, 1993
________________________________________
T.D. LINGO, BRAIN RESEARCHER, FOUND DEAD
T.D. Lingo, who was sure he knew the answers to all the questions of life and those by Groucho Marx, died of acute heart failure about May 13 on his mountain near Black Hawk, the Gilpin County coroner said Tuesday. He was 68.
Mr. Lingo spent 36 years at the Dormant Brain Research and Development Laboratory on Laughing Coyote Mountain trying to prove that people use only 10% of their brains, while he had discovered how to use 100%. He said his ability enabled him to communicate with other species, experience extrasensory perception and have four-hour multiple orgasms. Until his death, he still was waiting for the public to accept the book he had written, with chapters such as "Quick / Easy Neurology" and "Quick-Fix Nirvana."
"It's going to be a national best-seller," he said in an interview in 1991.
Mr. Lingo grew up as Paul Lezchuk in Chicago, fought in World War II and
went to the University of Chicago. He renamed himself Theocharis Docha Anthropotis Lingo, which he said means "the love of God and the spirit of mankind." He became Lingo the Drifter, a folk singer with three chords and nine songs.
In 1957, he appeared on Groucho Marx's television quiz show You Bet Your Life and won $16,000. He cashed the check into bills that filled two shopping bags. He gave one to the Internal Revenue Service. He bought Laughing Coyote Mountain with the other, and he said he discovered how to "click" the brain into 100% consciousness. Most of his theories are contradicted by generally accepted theories of science, which only proved his point, he said.
He kept the brain of his former professor at the University of Chicago in a glass specimen jar in a storage building. He lived on vegetables and vodka. He went to Black Hawk once a month to pick up groceries and his mail.
"Someday, people are going to look at my work, comprehend what it means to lick the cosmic lollipop instead of just living out their chow-mein brained lives," he said. "It might not happen in my time, but someday somebody is going to stumble across what I did here and say, 'That guy wasn't crazy after all.' "
A visitor found him May 15. He is survived by his brother, Bill Lezchuk of California.
Wednesday, December 13, 2017
Tuesday, December 12, 2017
Let Us Have Peace
Thomas Nast was an ardent supporter of Republican Ulysses S. Grant's
Presidential run in 1868. Here he portrays Grant & VP candidate
Schuyler Colfax hanging banners that explain the meaning of "Let Us Have
Peace," Grant's official campaign slogan.
Monday, December 11, 2017
Sunday, December 10, 2017
#SeenOnColfax Mike Watt!
Last night's show at the Lion's Lair with the legendary Mike Watt! He gave a brilliant performance for this show, it was his Mother's Birthday after all!
Saturday, December 9, 2017
Friday, December 8, 2017
Squire Market
The old sign for the Squire Market, on Glencoe Street and Colfax Avenue, as it was being torn down. (photo courtesy Erick Roorda)
Thursday, December 7, 2017
Wednesday, December 6, 2017
Colfax Avenue Walk of Fame and Museum: T.J. Miller
East High School Grad T.J. Miller, you are hereby inducted into the
Colfax Avenue Walk of Fame and Museum. Not so much for your acting, but
more for having survived a weekend at the Holiday Chalet with your
wedding party.
Tuesday, December 5, 2017
West Colfax Overpass
Aerial View of Denver Looking East. Featuring the magnificent Valley Highway, and the famous West Colfax Overpass, 1960s.
Monday, December 4, 2017
Sunday, December 3, 2017
Winning Coiffures
Rosalyn
Redwine, a Colorado native, has owned and operated Winning Coiffures at
6115 E. Colfax Avenue since Oct. 22, 1979. Here's a photo celebrating
their 10th Anniversary in business back in 1989.
Saturday, December 2, 2017
Get Drunk with Scrooge this Holiday Season
This year a local theatre company is putting a boozy spin on everybody’s favorite Christmas tale. Join the drunken cast for a beer at Fiction Beer Company as they teach Scrooge a lesson about Christmas and all its “spirits”. Drunk Christmas will be a shortened version of Charles Dicken’s classic, and is part of Audacious Theatre’s holiday fundraiser. The festive evening will include raffles, baked goods, and Christmas Karaoke.
This production is directed by Bethany Richardson, and the cast includes Logan Custer, Joey Laughlin, Ren Manley, Dylan Nevergall, Andrew Norman & Elizabeth Porter.
Audacious Theatre is a new performance group that seeks to create innovative and immersive theatrical events that engage all of the senses.
Drunk Christmas will only perform for 2-nights at Fiction Beer Company at 7101 E Colfax Ave Dec. 15 & 16 at 8:00 p.m. Limited reserved seating is available for $15 and pay-what-you-can admission is available first come, first served. For tickets and more information, visit www.audacioustheatre.com.
Audacious Theatre presents
Drunk Christmas
It’s Dickens. Drunk.
Dec. 15-16 @ 8:00 p.m.
Fiction Beer Company, 7101 E Colfax Ave, Denver
Tickets $0-$15
Online at www.audacioustheatre.com
Baked Goods & Beer available. All ages, must be 21+ to drink
Friday, December 1, 2017
Miss Colfax December 2017 - Amanda Partridge
Miss Colfax December 2017, Amanda Partridge, is a big fan of Frank Sinatra, so I knew right where to take her on Colfax Avenue: the mid-century wonder that is Bastien's Restaurant. She is also the founder of a fun event raising money for a great cause: Redheads Unite! Photos by Jonny Barber, on his iPhone 6.
Founded in 1937, Bastien's is celebrating 80 years in business this year!
Thursday, November 30, 2017
Letters to the Editor
Hey Jonny,
I saw the article in the LA Times today, and it reminded me of a story.
My mom, Betty Cohen, was born in Denver 1907 and lived with her parents at 2704 Marion St. After her parents divorced, she lived for a time at the Clifton Hughes Training School for Girls, which I tried to find on a visit last summer, but it's now a park.
She described "Clifton" as a Methodist boarding school, which must have influenced her theology a bit!
She said she used to pray that if her parents got back together, she would "go down to Colfax and convert all the Jews."
Thanks for your great work.
Don't Agonize — Organize!
Alan Weiner
I saw the article in the LA Times today, and it reminded me of a story.
My mom, Betty Cohen, was born in Denver 1907 and lived with her parents at 2704 Marion St. After her parents divorced, she lived for a time at the Clifton Hughes Training School for Girls, which I tried to find on a visit last summer, but it's now a park.
She described "Clifton" as a Methodist boarding school, which must have influenced her theology a bit!
She said she used to pray that if her parents got back together, she would "go down to Colfax and convert all the Jews."
Thanks for your great work.
Don't Agonize — Organize!
Alan Weiner
Wednesday, November 29, 2017
Colfax Avenue Walk of Fame: Bill Frisell
Today we are inducting legendary guitarist/East High graduate Bill
Frisell into the Colfax Avenue Walk of Fame and Museum, and this poster
is going on the wall. My favorite work of his was with the Ginger Baker
Trio. One of their albums was called "Falling Off the Roof", and I was
actually at Ginger Baker's house when he fell off the roof.
Tuesday, November 28, 2017
Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception
The Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, taken soon after construction was completed. (Louis Charles McClure/Denver Public Library/Western History Collection/MCC-1920)
Monday, November 27, 2017
The Story of Modern East Denver by Phil Goodstein
Phil Goodstein, The Story of
Modern East Denver: Magnificent Mayfair, Beautiful Bellevue, Hale, Hilltop,
Hospitals. Denver: New Social Publications, 2017. ISBN
0–9860748–3–7. vi + 474 pp. Illustrations. Index.
$24.95.
Nobody has written more about Colfax
than Phil Goodstein. In such volumes as the Ghosts of Denver, The
Denver Civic Center, and North Side Story, he has looked at the
character of the road between Colorado Boulevard west to the city limits at
Sheridan Boulevard. His Park Hill Promise covers the north side of
the street from Colorado Boulevard to Syracuse Street. Now he has added
to this by focusing on the south side of Colfax between Colorado Boulevard and
Monaco Street Parkway in The Story of Modern East Denver: Magnificent
Mayfair, Beautiful Bellevue, Hale, Hilltop, Hospitals.
When residential development started
to emerge east of Colorado Boulevard near Colfax in the 1880s, Colfax was still
something of a rural road. A branch of the Mayfair Ditch ran along it,
eventually draining into City Park. Efforts soon saw the extension of
streetcar lines east of York Street. Businesses popped up on the
boulevard near substantial houses. In 1902, the Denver Orphans’ Home
occupied its new premises at the northwest corner of Colfax Avenue and Albion
Street. For a while, it had a school of its own, Albion Street, across
the road at the northeast corner of the intersections.
In the course of the mid-20th
century, Colfax east of Colorado Boulevard was an exemplar of middle-class
retail. Some stores, such as the Dolly Madison at Colfax Avenue and
Forest Street and the nearby Colfax Radio & Appliance at 5128 Colfax Avenue
were crucial parts of the city’s business scene. The Mayfair Shopping
Center at 14th Avenue and Krameria Street, opened in 1951, was once the city’s
busiest shopping center. It blended it with stores on Colfax. Among
them was the city’s leading toy store, Guys and Dolls, at the southeast corner
of Krameria Street next to a Walgreens.
During much of the 20th century,
Colfax was a premier automobile-oriented boulevard. Not only were there
numerous filling stations along the road, but such new car dealers as Empire
Olds, Seifert Pontiac, and Deane Buick were on the arterial. So were car washes,
body shops, car rental agencies, and tire dealerships. As The Story of
Modern East Denver notes, such businesses are still part of the fabric of
Colfax.
Business improvement and leadership
has been another Colfax theme. In the mid-20th century, the East Denver
Civic Association claimed ownership of the strip. Then, in the 1980s,
groups such as Colfax United and Colfax to the Limits emerged, seeking to forge
business partnerships to improve the image of the famed arterial. The
21st century, as the volume observes, has been marked by the formation of the
Fax Partnership and the Colfax–Mayfair Business Improvement District.
This is but the beginning of the
volume’s wide-ranging emphasis on Colfax. Included is the time when
stripper joints invaded the road in the 1970s, followed by used bookstores in
the 1980s. The Story of Modern East Denver highlights both
achievements and failures. Not only does it address the people who have
lived nearby, but it is a balanced measure of what Colfax has been all
about. Anybody interested in the road will want to read it.
Sunday, November 26, 2017
Cahoots - Legend of the Parlangua
Cahoots was a house band in Aurora Colorado in the mid-eighties. They played at a historic country music club called Four Seasons. The band was fronted by Lloyd Barnett, an talented songwriter and performer. His wife Annie backed him on vocals and did lead on several songs.
The Cahoots band was comprised of Lloyd Barnett (bass, vocals and wrote most of the songs), Ann Marie Barnette (his wife and singer), Willy Angel (lead guitar), Mac Eisensohn (drums), Vaughn Meyer (keyboards) and a few others. The group broke up after recording the Legend of the Parlanqua.
Many people confuse this band with other similarly named groups. This is not the group named IN CAHOOTS based in England. Also, it is not the Cajun band named The Cahoots. (Legend of the Parlangua song was released in the 1983. The cajun band "Cahoots" didn't get together until 1997.)
Because the lyrics of the Legend of the Parlangua deal with the theme of the Louisiana Swamps, many people think it was recorded by a Cajun band. However, it was actually recorded by a Colorado based band.
Saturday, November 25, 2017
Aurora Pharmacy/Distillery
Another Classic Colfax story! Gustin was only a doctor at the Aurora Pharmacy on East Colfax and Dayton Street for a year, before being arrested for selling whiskey and leaving town. (Photo courtesy The Colfax Museum)
Friday, November 24, 2017
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