Leave it to my brother Chris to stir the pot. He was the one that planted the seed of curiosity with a question that begged an answer requiring more than the standard monosyllabic response.
“Did you know Denver’s Colfax Avenue is the longest continuous street in the United States?”
Chris knows me too well; as well as he knows Denver, after spending the last twenty-five years of his life living there. I was as curious as I am inevitably gullible; the two obviously go hand in hand.
I knew Denver was the mile-high city (that’s pretty common knowledge), which is an obvious plus in giving Denver's skyscrapers a little extra leverage in reaching new heights of financial success;
“Did you know Denver’s Colfax Avenue is the longest continuous street in the United States?”
Chris knows me too well; as well as he knows Denver, after spending the last twenty-five years of his life living there. I was as curious as I am inevitably gullible; the two obviously go hand in hand.
I knew Denver was the mile-high city (that’s pretty common knowledge), which is an obvious plus in giving Denver's skyscrapers a little extra leverage in reaching new heights of financial success;
There's gold in them thar hills; and skyscrapers.
but I had no idea Playboy magazine once referred to Denver’s Colfax Avenue as “the longest, wickedest street in America.” Even Denverites are willing to admit that certain portions of Colfax Avenue have had a very colorful history. Denver is, after all, part of the wild, Wild West.
The West’s longest, wickedest concrete vein is still pumping life into Denver and surrounding parts (the cities of Aurora and Lakewood are at opposite ends of Colfax Avenue ) even though some stretches look like all the life has been sucked out of what was once a thriving commercial center during the Pike’s Peak gold rush of 1858.
Either way, I had to see this piece of Denver’s past and present for myself.
The West’s longest, wickedest concrete vein is still pumping life into Denver and surrounding parts (the cities of Aurora and Lakewood are at opposite ends of Colfax Avenue ) even though some stretches look like all the life has been sucked out of what was once a thriving commercial center during the Pike’s Peak gold rush of 1858.
Either way, I had to see this piece of Denver’s past and present for myself.
Denver's Colfax Avenue is one of dozens of such named streets across the U.S.
I could tell you Colfax Avenue runs west to Utah and east to New Jersey given it’s been part of U.S. 40 for at least a century, but strict constructionists would argue that Colfax is really only 26.8 miles long and stops where the road meets Interstate 70 at both ends, in Aurora and
Lakewood.
Ironically, it was progress that resulted in the most recent economic collapse along Colfax Avenue, dating back to the 1960’s. Like many of America’s mom-and-pop operations that supported the advent of a mobile society, in towns across the country following World War II, when those tourist dollars were diverted with President Eisenhower’s new Interstate Highway System, Colfax Avenue lost the economic base needed to prevent the decay that in turn generated the “white flight.”
Lakewood.
Ironically, it was progress that resulted in the most recent economic collapse along Colfax Avenue, dating back to the 1960’s. Like many of America’s mom-and-pop operations that supported the advent of a mobile society, in towns across the country following World War II, when those tourist dollars were diverted with President Eisenhower’s new Interstate Highway System, Colfax Avenue lost the economic base needed to prevent the decay that in turn generated the “white flight.”
U.S. Interstate Highway System is the 2nd longest system in the world, second only to China's.
Within a decade the “den of avarice” that history and namesake Schuyler Colfax had called this stretch of roadway a century earlier was thriving once more. In his 1878 autobiography, Cursed Rickets, Colfax had a bit more to say about this Gateway to the Rockies.
"And that thoroughfare, born beneath the mountainous mountains of rocky peaks so high, seeing as it shall victual to prospectors, explorers, and men of chance, and whereas said men, in their sparse moments of recess and requiescence, require relief of an immediate and carnal
conformation, let Colfax Way be a den of avarice, a cauldron of covetousness, a peccadillo wharf in a sea-storm of morality. Let not a man walk Colfax Way and wonder, 'Where shall I deposit my virility this eve, where may I encounter mine intoxicant?' for he shall find all he seeks on Colfax. Curse these vexatious rickets!"
Wow, he was certainly the politician! Colfax could ride a lot of bull in the local rodeos with that rhetoric. Apparently I’m not alone in my observations. Abraham Lincoln privately regarded Colfax as "a little intriguer—plausible, aspiring beyond his capacity, and not trustworthy".
Perhaps Colfax Avenue might have fared better with its original name, Grand Avenue. Schuyler’s involvement with the worst political scandal of the 19th century essentially ended his political career in the days leading up to the end of his term as Vice President to Ulysses Grant in 1872.
The rise and fall of Denver’s famed Colfax Avenue has repeatedly followed the ebb and flow of economic boom and bust and the sin and salvation that accompanies the worship of such golden calves. And why not; Denver has been the epicenter of entrepreneurial opportunities since the Pike’s Peak Gold Rush days of 1859. Add neglect and poor government choices, and the inevitable urban decay is hardly isolated to the city of Denver, much less Colfax Avenue.
I tried to look past the pawn shops and the barren stretches of urban blight; past the used car lots and seedy bars that line parts of Colfax Avenue in hopes of seeing the promise of that post-Civil War city folks hoped would be the symbol of Denver’s upstart metropolis of the West.
"And that thoroughfare, born beneath the mountainous mountains of rocky peaks so high, seeing as it shall victual to prospectors, explorers, and men of chance, and whereas said men, in their sparse moments of recess and requiescence, require relief of an immediate and carnal
conformation, let Colfax Way be a den of avarice, a cauldron of covetousness, a peccadillo wharf in a sea-storm of morality. Let not a man walk Colfax Way and wonder, 'Where shall I deposit my virility this eve, where may I encounter mine intoxicant?' for he shall find all he seeks on Colfax. Curse these vexatious rickets!"
Wow, he was certainly the politician! Colfax could ride a lot of bull in the local rodeos with that rhetoric. Apparently I’m not alone in my observations. Abraham Lincoln privately regarded Colfax as "a little intriguer—plausible, aspiring beyond his capacity, and not trustworthy".
Perhaps Colfax Avenue might have fared better with its original name, Grand Avenue. Schuyler’s involvement with the worst political scandal of the 19th century essentially ended his political career in the days leading up to the end of his term as Vice President to Ulysses Grant in 1872.
The rise and fall of Denver’s famed Colfax Avenue has repeatedly followed the ebb and flow of economic boom and bust and the sin and salvation that accompanies the worship of such golden calves. And why not; Denver has been the epicenter of entrepreneurial opportunities since the Pike’s Peak Gold Rush days of 1859. Add neglect and poor government choices, and the inevitable urban decay is hardly isolated to the city of Denver, much less Colfax Avenue.
I tried to look past the pawn shops and the barren stretches of urban blight; past the used car lots and seedy bars that line parts of Colfax Avenue in hopes of seeing the promise of that post-Civil War city folks hoped would be the symbol of Denver’s upstart metropolis of the West.
Just another day in paradise.
I actually did see a bit of that promise at a Colfax address that had yet to be realized when the mile-high city was just a mining camp in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains.
Constructed in the 1890’s of Colorado white granite, the Colorado State Capitol Building (it looked like a smaller version of the U.S. Capitol Building) sits at 200 East Colfax Avenue. Some might say it’s the epicenter of Colfax Avenue’s revitalization efforts.
Constructed in the 1890’s of Colorado white granite, the Colorado State Capitol Building (it looked like a smaller version of the U.S. Capitol Building) sits at 200 East Colfax Avenue. Some might say it’s the epicenter of Colfax Avenue’s revitalization efforts.
Just a short hike up 93 steps to the entrance of the Capitol Building.
Evidence of those continuing revitalization efforts was obvious. The Capitol’s distinctive gold dome (the original copper sheathing was replaced with gold after the public outcry of Coloradans fully aware of the lack of copper as a Colorado product could no longer be ignored) was in the midst of a much needed face lift (I can certainly empathize!) the day I was there several months ago.
The Civil War soldier erected in 1907 in front of the Capitol Building had a view to die for
The Civil War soldier erected in 1907 in front of the Capitol Building had a view to die for
One Civil War Battle was fought in Colorado at Sand Creek in 1864. Chivington's Massacre.
(oooh, that one was bad!) looking west from the Capitol steps (the Capitol building sits slightly higher than any other downtown Denver site and includes an “official” designation of Denver’s mile-high status with a commemorative marker)
I went to great 'heights' for today's post.
to Civic Center Park and the Colorado Veterans Monument.
Colorado's Veterans Monument takes center stage in the Civic Center Park,
No political rally the day I was there, although it’s a popular venue for supporting large gatherings, from Occupy Wall Street protesters to presidential candidates to gay rights activists and the annual pro-cannabis rally evert April.
I also missed the wild nights for which Colfax Avenue is so famous given my daytime visit. Maybe next time I can create a little history of my own after dark. Nothing that’s the stuff of legends; just a little hint of sparkle in my otherwise ordinary life, like the gold just beneath the surface of all that rugged grit and grime and promise of grandeur that was and still is the backbone of American’s longest grand avenue.
I also missed the wild nights for which Colfax Avenue is so famous given my daytime visit. Maybe next time I can create a little history of my own after dark. Nothing that’s the stuff of legends; just a little hint of sparkle in my otherwise ordinary life, like the gold just beneath the surface of all that rugged grit and grime and promise of grandeur that was and still is the backbone of American’s longest grand avenue.
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