Chicken Box

Photo courtesy the Aurora History Museum

This photo is of the Chicken Box at 10305 E. Colfax Avenue in Aurora. There was also a location at 7785 W. Colfax Avenue in Lakewood.

Awahnee Motel

Awahnee Motel photos courtesy John Fuchs.

Blue Onion Bar

The Blue Onion Bar located at 8615 East Colfax opened in 1947. Photo courtesy John Fuchs.

Nissim Catan's Turkish Bazaar

This is a picture of Nissim Catan's store in NYC, just before he moved to Denver in 1906. Charley's great-grandfather is Nissim Catan and he's on the left. I'm not sure who the guy with the killer hat and mustache is on the right.

In 1906, he opened at store at 536 West Colfax Avenue in Denver. (sent in by Charley Clinkenbeard)

Jerry's Nite Club

What’s the best way to beat the winter blues? How about dining and dancing at a new club in Aurora? This is an advertisement for the grand opening of Jerry’s Nite Club from the January 22, 1937 edition of the “Aurora Democrat” newspaper. Located at 9758 E. Colfax Ave in the former Hollywood Theater building, the owner decided to dress up the existing Jerry’s Café with some new décor and entertainment and invited the whole community out to see the updates. Come find out more about Jerry’s and other early Aurora restaurants in the exhibit, “US 40 and the American Road Trip,” now on display at the Aurora History Museum!

Dutch Mill Cottage Court

In 1926, Col. Arthur Hart recognized the need for additional housing near Fitzsimons Army Hospital and built Hart’s Park Cottage Camp (later known as the Dutch Mill Cottage Court) near the intersection of Colfax Avenue and Peoria Street. The 1930s saw an increase in traffic along US 40 and a boom in the local cottage camps on Colfax Avenue, so Col. Hart added a neon-lit windmill to draw tourists. This is a postcard of the Dutch Mill, which was used as the motel office, a grocery and a barber shop throughout the years. 

Come learn more about the history of the motels, restaurants and gas stations that lined Colfax Avenue at the Aurora History Museum’s latest exhibit, “US 40 and the American Road Trip.”

R.I.P. Argonaut's Patriarch Hank Robinson