[citation needed] Colfax Avenue cuts through Original Auraria, the city's historic core, and skirts the southern edge of downtown Denver.

[3] However, such activities[weasel words] are actually isolated to short stretches of the 26-mile (42 km) length[citation needed] of the street.

Colfax had visited Denver in 1865, and locals may have named the street after him to gain national support from the prominent Indiana congressman for Colorado's ongoing statehood initiative.

The construction of the State Capitol building in 1886 also had 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.

As the economy recovered, apartment buildings were constructed, raising concerns among residents about the impact on property values and neighborhood quality.

While construction declined during the Great Depression and World War II, some commercial buildings and apartments continued to be built.

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 the car-friendly codes and provide for automobile use.

In light of this unpleasant walking atmosphere and Denver's increasing addiction to the automobile, the number of people on the street declined.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 a 105-acre (0.42 km2) campus in today's 6400 block of the road.

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 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.

In 1956, two shopping malls, Westland and the JCRS Center, were built along Colfax, introducing major department stores and groceries to the area.

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 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.

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.

[14] 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 the Bluebird and renovated it into a live music venue with tiered levels and a bar, aided by federal funding.