Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Colfax - It's Not Just for Hookers Any Longer...

by Anita Taylor - I took this picture (go go gadget Iphone!) last Thursday while traveling down Colfax Avenue here in Denver. It cracked me up... Family Cigarettes... ha, ok maybe it's funny to only me - I digress.... Anyway:In my recent past, I lived a few years in a part of downtown Denver called "uptown" (get it?) Location wise I was 4 blocks north of Colfax Avenue on 19th street. I was so excited to move into downtown, albeit a little wary because I was so close to Colfax Avenue.

After moving to Colorado from California, I grew up some 40 ish miles north of this "Colfax" and yet its tales made their way to many an area. It was seedy, and dirty, full of run down hotels and motels, prostitution ran rampant, and drugs were sold from every corner. People were mugged some shot – you NEVER walked along Colfax for any distance! For this teenager it was a BAD and SCARY place. (and I grew up in SoCal!) The few times I ever happened to drive the “fax” the stories I heard played easily into what I was seeing and I’m sure I perpetuated the saga.

Fast forward 15 or so years and I start looking into downtown living. I wanted to be closer to work, I was young(ish) and single, and it was hip and cool! I took a drive of the area and to my unreasonable surprise, it dawns on me how close Colfax is to all this downtown living. Now I knew it was there, hell I had worked in downtown for 10 years – but you drive in, you drive out, you don’t even pay attention. When I found a place to live that I HAD TO HAVE, I drove the Colfax strip, first east, then back west and was amazed and excited by what I saw. It was a funky eclectic mix of redevelopment, old classics, and yes even a bit off the seed was still there - it was awesome. There was WaxTrax (oh memories!), and fabo restaurants, classic music venues, Argonaut liquors!, PETE'S kitchen oh yum!, shop after shop… funny, they were all there but when I had gone to them I was oblivious to all the relation around me. Even South Park wrote in a piece of the Colfax action.

Want to know more?  Here is a great site all about Colfax history!

2 comments:

  1. I'am So Worried That I May End Up There On Colfax? Due To Me Wanting To Move Away From Texas But I Have Nobody In Colorado/Denver,Colorado/I Also have no Money. And My Dad Is In A Rebaliation Center Due His Bad Health So I Don't Even Know If He Is Still Alive. Due To Damn Coronavirus Unfortunately So I'am On My Own Now At 20 Years Old? And I Don't Know What To Do Or Where To Turn To?.

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  2. Hey give me a call I can help you 970-573-2487

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