West Colfax (Denver, Colorado)

USA / Colorado / Edgewater / Denver, Colorado
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Originally, Colfax was known to residents of Denver in the early 20th century as "No Man's Land", and "Jim Town." This area was sparsely settled but did contain several mansions of wealthy families as well as scattered squatters' shacks. A large wave of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe came into the area in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Attracted by others with similar language, cultural and religious backgrounds, the immigrants made "No Man's Land" into Denver's version of a European neighborhood.

The town of Colfax was annexed to Denver in 1897. The name "Golden Avenue" was officially changed to "West Colfax Avenue." West Colfax Avenue was the main street of this small neighborhood and was lined with two-story brick commercial buildings, stores, saloons, a restaurant, a meeting hall and even a hotel. West Colfax had a constant flow of hay wagons and peddlers, since all traffic en route to Denver from the agricultural communities of Golden and Morrison converged here.

The Depression years saw little or no development in the West Colfax neighborhood. In the 1940s and mid 50s, a housing boom occurred, characteristic of the "Filling In" era. Most vacant land west of Utica Street was purchased for home building. West Colfax, along with the Barnum and Sloan Lake areas experienced this housing boom simultaneously.

The mayoral administrations of the 1950s promoted civil bond issues that funded the construction of public housing in and near West Colfax. The 1960s brought a wave of Latino immigration. The 1970s brought young Anglo families into the neighborhood, and in the mid 70s the first wave of southeast Asian families settled in the neighborhood. Today, West Colfax is a neighborhood of varied ethnic make-up with Anglo, Jewish, African American, Latino, Native American, and southeast Asian residents.
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Coordinates:   39°44'26"N   105°2'21"W
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This article was last modified 8 years ago