Colfax Avenue is the main street that runs east–west through the Denver metropolitan area in Colorado . As U.S. Highway 40 , it was one of two principal highways serving Denver before the Interstate Highway System was constructed. In the local street system, it lies 15 blocks north of the zero meridian (Ellsworth Avenue, one block south of 1st Avenue), and would thus otherwise be known as 15th Avenue. The street was named for former Vice President Schuyler Colfax . At just under 50 miles (80 kilometers) in length, it is known as the "longest continuous commercial street in America".
55-616: State Office Building may refer to: State Office Building (Denver, Colorado) , in Civic Center Historic District (Denver, Colorado) (or Denver Civic Center ) State Office Building (Lansing, Michigan) , listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Ingham County, Michigan State Office Building (Binghamton, New York) , infamous for
110-660: A Mediterranean style , the theater has not only been a concert venue but also a silent film and vaudeville theater, and later a motion picture theater. Built in 1913 as the Thompson Theatre, the Bluebird Theatre was given its current name by theatre mogul Harry Huffman in 1921. Huffman hosted a successful War Bonds contest during WWII, but the theater faced challenges in the post-war years, eventually screening low-budget and adult films until its closure in 1987. In 1994, Chris Swank and Evan Dechtman purchased
165-476: A 105-acre (0.42 km ) campus in today's 6400 block of the road. This sanitorium treated victims of the White Plague who were too poor to pay or whose cases were too desperate to cure. The Golden Hill Cemetery was established at the western end of the road, divided into mainstream and the hill sections, the hill being the final resting place of victims who could not be cured. The hill section, as well as
220-575: A 1928 high-rise building located in Syracuse, New York Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title State Office Building . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=State_Office_Building&oldid=1137669629 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
275-703: A 1981 fire where a transformer explosion contaminated the building with PCBs, leading to a 13-year cleanup effort Pittsburgh State Office Building , in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania State Office Building (Madison, Wisconsin) , listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Dane County, Wisconsin State Office Block, Sydney , former Government Offices in New South Wales See also [ edit ] State Tower Building ,
330-584: A 2004 campaign stop at Civic Center, and 2008 Democratic nominee Barack Obama gave a speech there on October 26, 2008 to an estimated 100,000 supporters. On October 11, 2019, a School strike for climate protest was held in Civic Center Park with Greta Thunberg . Civic Center is also the location for many annual events. These include: Colfax Avenue From west to east, Colfax Avenue starts at Heritage Road in Golden as U.S. Highway 40 and
385-567: A convenient swale for road travel. Stagecoach driver Bill Turner, who drove the route for the Central Overland California and Pike's Peak Express, told the Colorado Transcript in 1909 how and when this changed: The reason I'm telling you about this is to explain what I know about Sloan's lake. The stage line was from Denver to Golden and Central City. The road was the southern route to Golden and we crossed
440-692: A positive impact on the development of the corridor, and by 1890, the Colfax Avenue Railway Company had extended its line to Montclair. The Panic of 1893 led to an economic depression in Denver, and many large houses along Colfax were converted into multi-family units. The once lavish and expensive homes along East Colfax and in Capitol Hill were no longer easy to maintain, and owners of the single-family mansions were forced to rent out rooms in their homes to temporary workers. As
495-497: A prominent residential area. By 1887, residents and property owners along Colfax began pushing for better transportation options. A cable railway was built in 1886 to connect Grant and Colfax with downtown Denver. The system was eventually replaced with streetcars, which facilitated more efficient transportation and encouraged development away from the city center. The construction of the State Capitol building in 1886 also had
550-521: A residential street to a business artery. This change led to a boom in commercial building construction in the 1920s, with various structures being erected along the avenue. While construction declined during the Great Depression and World War II, some commercial buildings and apartments continued to be built. East Colfax and Capitol Hill remained a solid middle-class neighborhood until the next demographic change occurred. After World War II,
605-446: A silent-film theatre in 1917 by John Thompson and Henry Goodridge. It is one of the oldest still-operational theaters in Denver, and was designated a National Historical Place after its reopening in 1993 by current owner Doug Kauffman. The venue has hosted notable figures such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Prince , and has also played a role in the success of local bands like The Lumineers . Designed by architect Harry W.J. Edbrooke in
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#1732775913803660-528: A trail blazed during the Colorado Gold Rush , being a well-traveled direct route to the gold fields in the mountains. Historic media and other sources confirm its existence at least as far back as the spring of 1859, and it immediately became a major thoroughfare of goods, people and transportation service to and from the Colorado mountains. Soon it took on its original name, South Golden Road, as
715-613: A war memorial, and the Voorhies Memorial Seal Pond. It is well known for its symmetrical Neoclassical design. Lincoln Park, immediately east of Civic Center Park, is operated by the State of Colorado. It holds a replica of the Liberty Bell and several memorials. Civic Center was an idea that originated with former Denver mayor Robert W. Speer . In 1904, Speer proposed a series of civic improvements based on
770-400: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Civic Center Historic District (Denver, Colorado) The Denver Civic Center is a civic center area that includes two parks surrounded by government and cultural buildings and spaces. Civic Center is located in central Denver , Colorado , on the south side of Downtown Denver . Much of
825-464: Is part of the City and County of Denver park system, located at the intersection of Colfax Avenue and Broadway, perhaps the best-known and most important streets in Denver. The park is bordered by Bannock Street on the west, Broadway on the east, Colfax Avenue on the north, and 14th Avenue on the south. The park is home to a fountain, several statues, and formal gardens, and includes a Greek amphitheater ,
880-607: The City Beautiful Ideas shown to him at the 1893 World Columbian Exposition in Chicago . Speer hired Charles Mulford Robinson among others to develop plans for the area. Robinson proposed extending 16th Street to the Colorado State Capitol and to group other municipal buildings around a central park area. Such a plan was expensive however. Voter approval was necessary to acquire the funds, but
935-601: The Colonnade , the seal pond, and the realignment of Colfax Avenue and 14th Ave., around the park. The park officially opened in 1919. The City and County Building was finished in 1932. Civic Center has long been the government, arts, history, and learning nexus of both the state of Colorado and the Denver Metropolitan Area . Among the institutions in the Civic Center are Denver Art Museum and
990-417: The Colorado State Capitol building , in the west end of Denver's official Capitol Hill neighborhood, and it includes a few buildings in the south end of Denver's Central Business District . The Civic Center area is known as the center of the civic life in the city, with numerous institutions of arts, government, and culture as well as festivals, parades, and protests throughout the year. Civic Center Park
1045-772: The Denver Central Library along the park's south side, the Colorado State Capitol and the City and County Building of Denver along the east and west axis of the park, the Wellington E. Webb Municipal Office Building on the park's north side, and the History Colorado Center and the Colorado State Judicial Building to the southeast of the park. The Denver Mint lies immediately west of the Civic Center Park across
1100-477: The I-70 Business Loop , and continues east through Lakewood and enters Denver at Sheridan Boulevard. U.S. Highway 287 joins Colfax just west of I-25 , and follows Colfax east through Denver and Aurora . In downtown Denver, near the Colorado State Capitol , the designation changes from West Colfax Avenue to East Colfax Avenue at the intersection with Broadway. It continues as East Colfax Avenue for
1155-661: The Regional Transportation District bus route 15 - East Colfax has the highest ridership in the RTD system. In 2006, the first Colorado Colfax Marathon was held, traversing the length of Colfax Avenue through the three cities. It's become legend that Playboy magazine once called Colfax "the longest, wickedest street in America", but attempts to source the actual quote have failed. However, such activities are actually isolated to short stretches of
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#17327759138031210-502: The Works Progress Administration completely paved and modernized the highway, and built a new western route which took it over the hill and across ranch land to the entrance of Mt. Vernon Canyon, its present route. Around this time Colfax was designated U.S. Highway 40 . From there on, commercial development boomed, including numerous motels , automobile dealerships, restaurants and more. After World War II it
1265-419: The zoning along East Colfax has been badly planned for 50 years. In the 1950s East Colfax was rezoned B4, and the planners encouraged separation of uses and dependence on the automobile. Property owners along East Colfax found it much more rewarding to tear down an existing historic building and put up a new building in its place, rather than renovating. Planners and building officials encouraged this, for this
1320-424: The 26-mile (42 km) length of the street. Periodically, Colfax undergoes redevelopment by the municipalities along its course that bring in new housing, businesses and restaurants. Some say that these new developments detract from the character of Colfax, while others worry that they cause gentrification and bring increased traffic to the area. Colfax's precursor, Grand Avenue, was established in along what
1375-462: The Bluebird and renovated it into a live music venue with tiered levels and a bar, aided by federal funding. AEG assumed control of the property in 2006. The Bluebird Theater is known for an intimate atmosphere and contributing to the cultural heritage of Colfax Avenue. Designed by architect Harry W.J. Edbrooke, the two-story building features a light tan brick exterior with red terra cotta accents and
1430-533: The Colfax Avenue and I-70 interchange, and at an interchange (I-70 Exit 292), Colfax Avenue becomes State Highway 36 and continues east from Aurora through Bennett to end at Headlight Road in Strasburg . Colfax Avenue cuts through Original Auraria, the city's historic core, and skirts the southern edge of downtown Denver. Because of the dense, mixed-use character of the development along Colfax Avenue,
1485-518: The JCRS campus, are now listed on the National Register of Historic Places . Around 1914 West Colfax was paved with concrete and designated a state highway, and it continued evolving into a major commercial thoroughfare of the region. During Prohibition it began showing signs of more colorful notoriety when scofflaw roadhouses such as Twilight Gardens operated along the thoroughfare. In 1937
1540-482: The Platte river where Larimer street crosses it now, and the road went on out over the hill and into that wide sag, or swale, where Sloan's lake is now. The road was good right down through the middle of what would now be the bed of the lake. In June, 1861, when I went down into Kansas territory to keep a stage station, there wasn't any lake there. When I came back in the early part of 1863, less than two years later, there
1595-466: The architectural demise of East Colfax. Phil Goodstein, a Denver historian, analyzes the effect of the FAR in his book, The Ghosts of Denver: Capitol Hill . "Now the businesses were set back from the sidewalk with a parking lot between the store and the street. Every block, it seemed, became a parking lot while customers found it necessary to drive from one store to the next. Pedestrians had to dodge cars in
1650-500: The area is a historic district which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 (boundaries clarified 1988). A somewhat smaller area was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 2012 as one of the nation's finest examples of the City Beautiful movement of civic design. Denver Civic Center lies partially within the north end of an official Denver neighborhood also named Civic Center . It includes
1705-493: The base of the mountains, the Magic Mountain theme park was built, among the first of its kind in the world. The theme park, like many of its era, collapsed, but was resurrected in the 1970s as Heritage Square . After the construction of nearby West 6th Avenue ( U.S. Highway 6 ) and Interstate 70 , West Colfax Avenue through Denver's West Colfax Neighborhood , Northeast Lakewood, and Edgewater slowly declined and gained
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1760-436: The car-friendly codes and provide for automobile use. As the feasibility study, East Colfax Avenue: An Opportunity and a Model for Development Action , claims about the streetscape of East Colfax, "[East Colfax is designed to] encourage development of smaller parcels that lack frontage definition, have unevenly deep setback patterns and leave a large quantity of undeveloped space." This FAR almost single-handedly contributed to
1815-522: The center of the state and local government institutions, Civic Center has become the place for political statement for various groups and individuals representing a variety of causes. In 1990 and 1991, the Civic Center was the location of the CART Grand Prix of Denver . It was Civic Center where the public held a vigil for the victims of Columbine High School massacre , and 9/11 . Former presidential candidate and Denver native John Kerry made
1870-559: The economy recovered, apartment buildings were constructed, raising concerns among residents about the impact on property values and neighborhood quality. Three buildings still in existence from this early period are The Colonnade, Alta Court (formerly the Altamaha Apartment Building), and the Hamilton. The cultural and demographic shift, from single-family mansions toward boarding houses and rental property for
1925-429: The history of East Colfax Avenue was the completion of Interstate 70 . No longer did incoming tourists drive down the thoroughfare on their way into downtown. The tourist dollar was effectively wiped out as a revenue source for East Colfax after this decade. So began another downward spiral. With no tourists to spend money along East Colfax the businesses suffered, as did the demand to go to Capitol Hill. A factor in
1980-621: The increase in urban poor along Colfax has been linked to Denver Urban Renewal Authority's plans for urban renewal in Downtown Denver. In the now-discredited belief that tearing down historic buildings and replacing them with modern architecture and high-rises would benefit cities, DURA bulldozed the bulk of Larimer Street in downtown. The urban poor that had been housed in Larimer Street's single room occupancy buildings were now displaced to Colfax. West Colfax Avenue began as
2035-415: The largest commercial development yet built on Colfax. In the late 1990s the entirety of Colfax Avenue was designated a Colorado Heritage Corridor by the state government. Colfax is a hub for live music and culture in Denver. A number of theaters actively operate on the street. The Ogden Theatre is a concert venue that has been a significant part of the city's entertainment history since its founding as
2090-516: The lower country, the road I used to travel was changed. The lake had covered up the old right of way. The road for many years traveled over open prairie with various farms along the way. With the arrival of a tramway line running along West 13th Avenue, landowner William A. H. Loveland and others laid out the new city of Lakewood between Golden and Denver. The road, which soon became known as Colfax, became Lakewood's main thoroughfare. Schuyler Colfax himself had actually once traveled this portion of
2145-502: The measure was defeated in a 1906 election. Undaunted, Speer gathered business leaders who brought in new ideas for the Civic Center including the creation of an east-west axial between the Colorado State Capitol , and swinging the north and south borders of the park into the city grid system. These plans were stalled when in 1912, Speer was replaced as mayor. The new mayor brought in Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. who
2200-446: The mentality of many urban dwellers shifted. Mortgage lenders preferred new construction and there was a massive " white flight " to the suburbs. Families and the established middle class left Capitol Hill in a mass diaspora , selling off the family home to a developer interested in putting up a high-rise in its place or leaving the home abandoned. The demographics of people left behind were an underclass of transients and renters. Also,
2255-458: The mid-1920s. Various groups sought to make East Colfax the best road in the state, transforming it into the gateway to Denver for tourists visiting by automobile from the East. It remained the gateway to Denver until i-70 was built in the 1950's. Denver's 1925 zoning code designated most of East Colfax as commercial or business, and the city's 1929 Master Plan acknowledged its transformation from
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2310-447: The middle of the block... In light of this unpleasant walking atmosphere and Denver's increasing addiction to the automobile, the number of people on the street declined. With this, the neighborhood became less safe." It was a steady downward spiral with many factors leading to what East Colfax is today, including the lack of interest in historic buildings and the myopic visions of the 1950s planners. Another monumental watershed moment in
2365-500: The remainder of the route. In the eastern outskirts of Aurora, Colfax Avenue meets I-70 and the two U.S. highways follow the I-70 route eastward; signage at Picadilly Road and the frontage road is labeled Colfax Avenue. While appearing to be interrupted at the I-70 and Colfax Avenue interchange, Colfax Avenue has signage in the complex E-470 interchange, appearing as a frontage road of I-70 on most maps. This frontage road starts just west of
2420-542: The road named after him, when he was traveling by stagecoach with presidential candidate Ulysses S. Grant during a campaign getaway in 1868. In the meantime of the late 19th Century, the eastern end of West Colfax became home to numerous Jewish people of the Denver area. In 1898, Dr. Charles David Spivak , a noted Russian immigrant, physician and genealogist, established the Jewish Consumptives Relief Society to treat tuberculosis victims on
2475-495: The seedy crime reputation and reality of its eastern counterpart. Since the 1970s, West Colfax Avenue through west Denver, Northeast Lakewood, Edgewater has had a high reputation and population of Mexican Americans as well as other Latino immigrants. During the 1990s, Lakewood began what has become a series of urban renewal and beautification efforts along the thoroughfare, from streetscaping to encouraging new proliferation of neon lighting to capitalize on its colorful past. Westland
2530-423: The southern road from Denver to Golden . Originally West Colfax was configured with two major differences than how it exists today. It did not proceed past today's intersection with Wide Acres Road, as originally Wide Acres and today's South Golden (or Old Golden) roads were the continuation of the thoroughfare into Golden. Also, the road's original route took it through the bed of present-day Sloan's Lake , then
2585-445: The street after him to gain national support from the prominent Indiana congressman for Colorado's ongoing statehood initiative. Denver's population rapidly increased with the arrival of railroads, growing from 4,759 in 1870 to 106,713 in 1890. The area along Colfax developed unevenly: by the end of 1879, the area east of Broadway and north of Colfax was still mostly open prairie, but the area between Grant and Ogden Streets had become
2640-531: The street from the City and County Building. The area has seen a new civic development, including the Denver Newspaper Agency (northeast of the park), the home of The Denver Post . Voters in 2004 approved a new Denver Justice Center , two blocks away from Civic Center Park. This project was completed in 2010. Civic Center is known throughout the state as the rendezvous for the largest and most important cultural and civic events. Being at
2695-405: The transient middle class, marked a shift in the demographics of East Colfax. The development of East Colfax was significantly influenced by the automobile, with the number of cars increasing exponentially from the mid-1910s to the 1920s. Increasing traffic led to the corridor becoming more commercial and the street was paved sometime prior to 1920. It part of the transcontinental U.S. Route 40 in
2750-485: Was a classic neon-lined highway for natives and travelers of its era; among its landmarks was Davies Chuck Wagon Diner, brought there in 1957 by restaurateur rancher Lyman Davies. The diner is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places . In 1956, two shopping malls , Westland and the JCRS Center, were built along Colfax, introducing major department stores and groceries to the area. At its far west end, at
2805-415: Was a time when old was considered ugly and new buildings meant progress. In addition the zoning code from the 1950s, a 2:1 floor-area ratio (FAR) was adopted for East Colfax. These ratios determine the square footage of the building in relation to the lot size. Builders in the 1950s who tore down historic buildings along East Colfax for the purpose of developing a brand-new property were required to abide by
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#17327759138032860-472: Was developing plans for Denver's mountain parks . His ideas included an informal grove of trees on the eastern edge of the park, and a lighted concert area. When Speer was reelected in 1916, he went against Olmsted's designs. Speer instead hired Chicago planner and architect Edward H. Bennett , a protégé of Daniel Burnham . Bennett combined the ideas of all of the previous plans, adding the Greek amphitheater,
2915-527: Was rebuilt, and the JCRS Center also modified, but not so far as to eliminate the highly popular Casa Bonita restaurant which joined it in 1974. On the west end, the Stevinson family, who had originally built automobile dealerships there in the 1960s, built the new Denver West Village shopping center in 1997. In 2002 the Colorado Mills shopping center was built and opened across Colfax from there,
2970-425: Was the lake just as it is now, and it never has changed a bit that ever I could see. There was some talk years afterward about a man having dug a well there and it overflowed, forming the lake, but I was along there about as much as anybody and I never saw any well. However, it may have started from a well. All I know is that it came there in a good deal less than two year, to my certain knowledge. When I came back from
3025-401: Was the southern boundary of central Denver. It was established as an east-west running baseline street along with the north-south running Broadway, to border new eastern and southern districts for the city. In 1868, Grand was renamed "Colfax" to honor U.S. House Speaker Schuyler Colfax who later became Ulysses Grant's Vice President. Colfax had visited Denver in 1865, and locals may have named
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