Trail's End Motel by Jax Quackenbush

Radiant Motel: Then and Now

(Courtesy Colfax Jack)

Retro Colfax: Mountain View Inn

The Mountain View Inn, at Colfax and Indiana St., in 1950.

Colfax Throwback: The Beatles Sound

R-R Lounge by Gina EM

107 Things to Do on Colfax - from 107x

It has played host to a pope and is the workplace of prostitutes. Colfax Avenue is a 26.8-mile stretch of salvation and sin, depression and revival, past and present. It is a concrete vein that pumps life into three cities. While names and faces have changed since Colfax first showed up on maps 150 years ago as a six-block street across from the yet-to-be-imagined Capitol building, the avenue has been a living example of Colorado's past, present and future. People live and die on the avenue, create poetry and speak hate, get drunk and find sobriety, prey on others and pray for themselves. The spectrum of life envelops the avenue, gives it an essence like no other in the state.

So that being said, here's 107 things to do on the greatest street in the world!

1. See a concert at the Fillmore Auditorium.
2. Eat a Sugar Steak at Bastiens.
3. Buy legal weed.
4. Get a stiff drink and listen to the Grateful Dead at Sancho's Broken Arrow.
5. Give a homeless guy a dollar, your extra taco or pocket shot of Fireball.
6. See a Dub Step show at the Ogden Theatre. The walls literally shake!
7. Go through Black Barts Cave at Casa Bonita. (eat somewhere else before you go...LOL) 
8. Get a Voodoo Doughnut at 2am. 
9. Run the Colfax Marathon.
10. Go Skiing at Winter Park/ Mary Jane. (yes, Colfax is Highway 40!) 
11. Rent a bike.
12. Steal someone's "Car to Go".
13. Pick up a piece of trash.
14. Eat 2 chili dogs at Steve's Snappin' Dogs.
15. Go to a festival in Civic Center Park.
16. Barf.
17. Get your car towed.
18. Eat at Pete's Kitchen between 2-4am.
19. Lose a shoe.
20. Eat tacos and drink Tecate in a can at Mezcal.
21. Take a free tour of the Colorado State Capitol building.
22. Go to the Tattered Cover.
23. Use the drive-thru at Scooter Liquors.
24. Hug a bar tender at Blush & Blu.
25. Eat Sheppard's Pie and drink Guinness at the Irish Snug.
26. Make an illegal U-Turn.
27. People watch.
28. Get the "Mass Confusion" at the Denver Diner the morning after a drunken night.
29. Get caught on camera.
30. Trip on the broken side walk.
31. Hang out at the LostLake Lounge on a Saturday night.
32. Check out some sweet graffiti.
33. Try and find a hotel without bed bugs.
34. Walk in the Gay Pride Parade.
35. Grab a shot and a beer at the Satire Lounge.
36. Get a Tattoo.
37. Check out all the old school neon signs on bars and hotels.
38. Play Old School video games at the "1UP".
39. Go to a Denver Broncos game. (play-off game would be best!)
40.  Sweat your ass of at a punk show at the LionsLair.
41.  Buy a vinyl record at Angelo's CD's.
42. Visit a friend in jail at Denver County.
43. Go to the Fetish Ball at the Diamond Cabaret.
44. Look both ways before you cross it.
45. Spend 20 minutes at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception and get forgiven before you finish this list.
46. Kick back for an hour with a premium cigar at Capitol Cigars.
47. Take a tour at the Denver Mint.
48. Eat a Tijuana Dog at Billy's Gourmet Hot Dog's.
49. Go to all 20 7-11's on Colfax and still not find a Slurpee machine that works.
50. Grab some totally used gear from the ARC.
51. Two words: Mon Chalet.
52. Get an over-priced Burger at City Grille.
53. Do Laundry at Smiley’s.
54. Check out the oldest McDonald's in the state at Colfax & Kingston.
55.  Eat fried chicken for breakfast at the Denver Biscuit Company.
56.  Grab flowers from Country Club Flowers…best way to apologize for all your Colfax Shenanigans.
57. Coffee at Hooked on Colfax.
58. When you’re at the Bluebird Theater, tell someone that it used to be a XXX movie theater.
59. Burritos at Emilio’s.
60. Buy 24K gold rolling papers at Freaky’s.
61. Fried chicken, Collard Greens & Banana pudding at Kirk’s Soul Kitchen.
62. Buy some lights and soil at Grofax and grow your own weed at home!
63. Get the Paella at Solera.
64. Go to a happy hour party on the roof top of the GLBT building.
65. Go to a “Miss Colfax” competition.
66.  See a car accident.
67. Get a classic feel for Colfax, Order the Buckaroo at Davies' Chuck Wagon Diner.
68. Enjoy some Nob, Nob Hill Inn that is…one of the most infamous dive bars on the strip.
69. Close the night out at Kinga’s Lounge.
70.  Get two caffeinated cups at the Hot Chick A Latte.
71.  See what an $18 glass of beer taste like at the Cheeky Monk.
72. Get in a Soccer Hooligan fight at Streets of London Pub.
73.  See an indie flick at the SIE Film Center.
74.  Order the Beer of the Month at the Abbey Tavern.
75. Buy a Longboard at 303 Boards.
76. Shoot a belt fed machine gun at Machine GunTours.
77. Enjoy a barrel fire under Colfax and I-25.
78. Sleep with the pigeons at Civic Center Park.
79. Eat a Calzone from D.P. Dough at 3am.
80. Get a Mohawk at the Bad Kittie Salon.
81. Play BINGO at the Goosetown Tavern.
82. Party where the Rock Bar used to be.
83. Get your dog a bone at Green Buddies.
84. Catch a fish in the Platte River and sell it for beer money.
85. Get a cowboy hat from Corral Western Wear and 2pac shirt from GENX.
86.  Puff some Hookah at Pita Grill and Hookah. (slip them a Lincoln and you’ll get booze)
87. Show your pride at Charlie’s.
88. Hug a MANnequin at the Xbar.
89. Find everything you need to make bad decisions at Capital Hill Market.
90. Bootleg at Prohibition.
91. Hit rock bottom.
92. Freestyle Rap Battle at the bus stop near Park Ave.
93. Laugh at everything but the comedy at Squire Lounge.
94. Learn the Craft at Herbs & Art.
95. Punch someone in the face at Edge Boxing.
96. Practice your second amendment rights at Scottie’s Guns.
97. Straight out of Compton… Mart.
98. Motel 9…They won’t keep the lights on.
99. Check out a performance at the Aurora Fox Theatre & VintageTheatre.
100. Have a sicknic at General’s Park.
101. Take a canoe up Toll Gate Creek.
102. Get your towed car back from M&M Impounding.
103.  Buy a sack full of root vegetables from Marczyk Fine Foods.
104.  Pass out on the 18th hole of Springhill Golf Course.
105. Ride the Alpine Slide at Heritage Square.
106. Grab a coffee and contemplate life at Cafe Max. 
107.  Steal the “Colfax” street sign and hang it in your garage (if you did all 106 things…you deserve it!)

Be Like Annie's - Support Local Businesses on The Fax!

Photo by Jonny Barber

Scene on Colfax: Rick James

Super Freak Rick James suffered a neck aneurysm at the Mammoth Events Center (now the Fillmore Auditorium at Colfax Avenue and Clarkson Street) on November 6, 1998, after too many super-freaky tosses of his head. Doctors diagnosed him with "rock 'n' roll neck". The aneurysm caused a blood clot that went to his brain, causing a stroke a week later.

New Mural on the Hangar Bar

Cool new mural by artist Robbie Ortiz on the west side of the Hangar Bar at Tamarac and East Colfax!!! (photos sent in by Tom Fesing)

The Sexy History of the Lion's Lair

and the fact that the comic's artist, Karl Christian Krumpholz hangs out there, make it that much MORE sexy!!

Tiny People Colfax Mural Painters

"Colfax Mural Painters" - Copyright 2015 Dane "Colfax" Stephenson and Tiny People Photography

This is actually a t-shirt, and not a real mural that they are "painting".

Sand & Sage Motel Postcard

Colfax Trolley, 1906

October 25, 1906 - This photo was taken near Colfax & Ulster St, (not too far east of Quebec St), right after a major snow storm. The house to the left in the background is 1455 Quince St., (right next door to the new Quince Essential Coffee House).

(Photo from: Denver's Street Railways Volume II - 1901-1950, compiled and written by Don Robertson and Rev. W. Morris Cafky, 2004).

Historic Montclair Neighborhood, early 1900s

Photo is from the Denver Public Library digital photo archives

Here's a photo of the Montclair neighborhood, from the early 1900s. The land was originally barren and had few trees, which provided each home with an amazing view of the front range.

 Montclair was once it's own town and one of Denver's earliest streetcar suburbs. The extensive streetcar network that existed throughout Denver at that time, allowed many people the option to live outside the hustle and bustle of downtown.

The Elms

"During the boom years of the 1940s and 1950s along the business barometer of East Colfax, where the Baron von Richthofen once planted his Elms, change was most evident. The elm trees were cut down and the concrete corridor was fattened.

Many of the substantial old homes that once made East Colfax a fashionable residential district had undergone ingenious transformation, reappearing as shops selling everything from tropical fish to false teeth, from books to caskets. Above all, Colfax became an ode to the automobile, a gasoline alley of service stations and car lots.

Such signs of "progress" on East Colfax and the general pattern of urban blight and suburban flight greatly troubled Montclair in the 1960s. During the 1960s the crime, welfare, unemployment, and overcrowding rates all rose." (Noel, 1976)

Wings Over Colfax

Photo from: Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum archives

1920-1930s: Photograph of a stuntman hanging on to the wing of a biplane, as it soars over the Montclair and Park Hill neighborhoods. The street that cuts left to right (near the middle of the photo) is Colfax Avenue. The campus of the Colorado Women's College (now Johnson & Wales University), can be seen at the far left.

Scene on Colfax: The Legendary John Doe

John Doe at the Lion's Lair - photo by Jim Leonard

One-Stop Shopping!

Riviera Saturday Night Neon

by Colorado Josh

The Paladins coming to the Goosetown Tavern Nov. 21st

Speer and Colfax, 1964

Colfax Banners feature members of Community

Denver's Veterans Day Parade

The parade along Colfax Avenue and around Civic Center park begins at 10 a.m. and will feature segments that represent the major conflicts in US military history, including the Revolutionary War, Civil War, World War I, World War II, and more recent conflicts.

Thousands of local veterans will be participating in Denver's Veterans Day Parade on Sunday morning.

The first parade was held in 2000 and saw only a small handful of participants.

One veteran at the event said he enjoys going to the parade because it makes him proud be a veteran. The awards recognize individuals who devote time and energy to improving the lives of Washington's veterans. "We have a lot of veterans in our group and a lot of other groups that have a lot of veterans within their group".

Just prior to the parade, there will be a Remembrance Ceremony at the Colorado Veteran Monument at Civic Center Park.

It's true what they say, you know...

Unique holiday banners line Colfax Avenue in Denver

YAMN at the Bluebird Theater Nov. 12th

Colfax Avenue: The Video Game!

Colfax Avenue: The Video Game?! Where can I get a copy? (compliments of Birdy Magazine, that's where!)

A Wretched Hive of Scum and Villany

"Growing up, my friends and I all called Colfax Avenue 'Mos Eisley' because you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. Try not to touch anything on the number 15 bus!” - sent in by Joshua Harris

Saurer Motor Truck First to Travel the Entire U.S.

(Detroit Public Library, Digital Collection, Resource ID # na009620)

Saurer freighter truck in front of the Capitol Building, first truck to travel across the entire U.S. They started here in Denver, March 3, 1911, traveled to San Francisco, traveled by train back to Denver and then drove onto New York. (courtesy The Denver Eye)

Home of the World's First Rodeo

If you take Colfax way out East, and I mean WAY out East a piece to the town of Deer Trail, CO, you'll come to this: the site of the World's First Rodeo. (photo by Jonny B)