Pfeifer's Restaurant Lounge

 

Originally a dinner lounge with in-house jazz band, rented for small events, and also was a meeting spot for Aurora politicians and businessmen. Pfeifer's Lounge was located at 11707 E. Colfax Avenue.

Trav-a-leer Motel

 

The Trav-a-leer Motel was located at 10750 E. Colfax Avenue in Aurora, Colorado. It was a prominent roadside motel and the site is now occupied by a Taco Bell. The iconic sign for the motel was saved by preservationists and has been stored for future display by the Save the Signs group.

K Motor Lodge

 

This is the original sign for the K Motor Lodge, at 10730 E Colfax Ave, Aurora, CO, which is no longer there.

Timberline Motel

 

The Timberline Motel is at 11818 E Colfax Ave, Aurora, CO. This was their original sign, which was later hit by a car and totaled. 

Paisan's Pizzeria

 

Paisan's Pizzeria was located at 8119 East Colfax Avenue in Denver, Colorado. Operated by Vincenzo "Jim" Sannino (Sano) around the late 1950s and 1960s, it was known as one of the early pizza spots on East Colfax.

Le Bistro a Go-Go

 

The Band Box

 

Apple Tree Shanty

The Apple Tree Shanty was once at 8710 E. Colfax Avenue

 

Friday's and Saturday's

 

Fitzsimons Corner Service

 

Dutch Mill Cottage Court

 

Aiton's Service Station

Dever's Tropical Inn

 

Tiki Kai Restaurant and Cocktail Lounge

 

Aurora Liquors

 

Olin Hotel

 

Blue Bow Modern Cabins

Ed. F. Schu Florist

 

West Colfax Gulf Service

 

K.C. Steam Dye Works

 

The Capitol by Moonlight

Chanticleer Poultry Company

Thunderbird Motel

 

Olin Hotel

 

Royal Villa Motel

 

Alben's Flowers & Gifts

  

Alben's Flowers & Gifts, 7676 East Colfax, 1958

The caption accompanying this newspaper photo from April 24, 1958 reads, "A NEW 'FLOWER' HAS sprouted at 7676 East Colfax in the form of this sign announcing the location of Alben’s flowers and gifts. Al Zimmon and Ben Carpenter are working together to provide convenient flower service and feature fast delivery, advice on planting and flower arrangement for funerals and weddings. There is an easy access drive in for parking."

 

Raise The Roof

 

The Ranch House Cafe at 7676 East Colfax in Denver started life as a restaurant called The Roof, as illustrated in this 1957 ad

 

In 1961 the space was renamed Howard House and the 1960s-style sign was likely added at that time.

Mosko's Holiday Manor

 

La Fonda Motel

 

Golden Hours Motel

 

The Yucca Restaurant

The Yucca Restaurant, 9504 East Colfax, Aurora, 1950

The original Yucca Restaurant opened in 1941 at 8975 East Colfax and was built in the style of the Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe.

 

This is an interesting ad because it lists the address of the 2nd location of the Yucca but it shows an image of the 1st location at 8975 East Colfax. 9504 was on the south side of Colfax and further east, where Si Amigos restaurant is now. 9504 has always been a one story building. (Courtesy Save the Signs)

Denver Streetcar

Denver Streetcar • Colfax & Broadway • 1940s

Signs and businesses include Zephyr Burlington Route, AE Meek Luggage, Cory Hotel, Walgreen Drugs and YMCA.

Trail's End Motel

 

Jo Ann Motel

Homestead Motel

 

"New" Mesa Motel

 

Driftwood Motel

 

Combs Manor House

 

Stan's Auto Sales

Stan's Auto Sales, 7500 East Colfax, Denver (undated photo courtesy of the Shorty Hanger collection and scanned by Todd Matuszewicz)

Also pictured is a sign for Bragdon's TV at 7540 East Colfax.

West Vernon Hotel

 West Vernon Hotel-Sid King's Crazy Horse Bar

This two-part commercial block at 1201 East Colfax Avenue was built in 1905 on lots 21 and 22 of block 31 in the Park Avenue Addition for a cost of $21,000. The three-story Mediterranean Revival style building was designed by architect Edwin H. Moorman, whose other works included the Fillmore Auditorium, Park Hill Fire Station, and the iconic Tower of Jewels at Lakeside Amusement Park. The property was owned by John S. and Nellie Flower.  John, a prominent investor and president of the Real Estate Exchange, had purchased the parcels in 1900 from the Jefferson Investment Company.

In 1912, the Flowers sold the building to the Scherrer Land and Investment Company. Through the years, many different commercial businesses occupied the ground level of the building.  Perhaps most notably, Sid King’s Crazy Horse Bar occupied the building beginning in 1948.  King and his partner Joseph Goodman purchased the building from owner William Vasil in 1965.  Westword magazine credited the Crazy Horse as one of the anchoring post-World War II properties on East Colfax that turned the thoroughfare into the “gauntlet of dives, XXX theatres, hookers, (and) drug deals…” An iconic Denver burlesque club, it attracted notable locals, celebrities, and dignitaries alike, among them Elvis Presley, King Hussein of Jordan, and Clint Eastwood. The interior and exterior of 1201 E. Colfax was included in Eastwood's 1978 film “Every Which Way But Loose.” Outside his club, Sid King was a noted philanthropist.

Denver Drumstick

Courtesy Save the Signs

Denver Drumstick, 6301 East Colfax, Denver

Other locations listed: 6801 West Colfax, 1490 South Colorado, 4095 South Santa Fe and 7400 North Federal.

6301 East Colfax was the 3rd location of Denver Drumstick. The original opened at 6801 West Colfax in 1955, but later moved to 6501 West Colfax in 1967.

Hickory Pit Bar Barbeque

 

Hickory Pit Bar Barbecue, 12039 East Colfax Avenue, Aurora, Colorado (undated photo courtesy of the Shorty Hanger collection and scanned by Todd Matuszewicz)

It's unclear if this sign was ever made. In addition to the Colfax and Peoria restaurant, there were several other Denver-area locations over the years of a restaurant called "Hickory Pit" or "Hickory Pit Bar-B-Que."

Ads from 1954 proclaimed the Aurora restaurant to be "under new management." A 1959 newspaper article mentions the grand opening of Hickory Pit located at 7950 Federal Blvd in Westminster. The Westminster location advertised another grand opening in 1960. An ad from 1961 lists Hickory Pit Bar-B-Que at 28th and Downing and a 1965 ad lists it at 2861 Colorado Blvd.

A Bar D Motel

 

A Bar D Motel, 11891 West Colfax, Lakewood, Colorado, 1950s

Color Harmony Center

Color Harmony Center / Aurora Color Center, 10216 East Colfax Avenue, Aurora, Colorado (undated photo courtesy of the Shorty Hanger collection and scanned by Todd Matuszewicz)

Mesa Motor Inn

 

West Colfax, 1976

 

Eden Motor Lodge

 

La Vista Motel

 

Compass Motor Lodge

 

Courtesy Motel