Streetwise: Colfax: Then and Now

Colfax, the southern boundary of Park Hill, is an iconic thoroughfare with a checkered past and present. Colfax was named after Schuyler Colfax, a U.S. Representative from Indiana from 1855 to 1869, Speaker of the House of Representatives from 1863 to 1869, Abraham Lincoln’s first vice president and a fervent abolitionist.

An article in Playboy magazine once referred to Colfax as the “longest and wickedest street in America.” The wicked reference is hyperbolic and the length claim may not be true. Numerous sources that claim that Colfax, 26 miles end to end, from Aurora to Golden, is the longest continuous street in America. Others state that Figueroa Street in Los Angeles and MacCorkle Avenue in Charleston, West Virginia, stretch farther.

There is no doubt that Colfax has played a significant historical and cultural role in Denver. As U.S. Highway 40, it was one of the two principal highways that served Denver prior to the Interstate system. Pre-Interstate, motels flourished along Colfax, and many remain, with wonderful names and signage. Post-Interstate, the motels and many of the neighboring businesses went into decline. While there are still pockets of seediness on Colfax – which, let’s be honest, give it some funky flavor – in recent years large chunks of Colfax have been rehabilitated.

Various public and private entities, including Blueprint Denver, and several business associations, including The Fax Partnership, have helped Colfax become a street that balances residential and commercial interests. The nature and speed of change on Colfax are controversial – note, for example, the heated debate a few years back about the McDonald’s at Colfax and Krameria. And many folks are not really tickled with the way the retail block catty-corner from the McDonald’s shuts off direct access from the street. There is hope that the Marczyk’s at the old Fairfax Hardware will attract new businesses. Local fans of alternative groceries were pleased to hear that a new Sunflower market will be located just west of Colfax and Colorado Boulevard, although it was disappointing to Park Hillians who had thought at one point that it might be land at Colfax and Elm.

There are numerous references to Colfax in literature. In On the Road, Jack Kerouac’s beat bible, the characters Dean Moriarity (based on Neal Cassady, who posthumously received his East High School diploma in a ceremony this February) and Marylou and Ed Dunkel “roared east along Colfax and out to the Kansas plains.” Colfax has been filmed or referred to in numerous movies and has been the subject of several documentaries.

The Colfax 15 bus line is the Regional Transportation District’s busiest. It is surely the District’s most interesting arterial. The homeless, Goths, punks, gang bangers, starving artists, soccer moms and wealthy attorneys all mingle more or less comfortably on the 15. Many diverse tongues are heard there. It is not merely a bus, but a cultural exchange center. I don’t think you can say you have truly experienced Denver unless you have spent some time at the intersection of the 0 and the 15 at Colfax and Broadway.

If you have questions or ideas about streets in Park Hill, contact the Jack at denverfarrar@comcast.net or 303-388-5204.