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082109ColfaxAvenueProjectMP0800

SHOT 8/22/09 12:50:15 AM - Hanging out by the bar at Rockbar on Colfax Avenue in Denver, Co. Lava lamps, orange- and silver-foiled wallpaper and floor-to-ceiling mirrors all remind visitors that old is newly in vogue at this groovy bar celebrating the 70s. Throwback hipsters jive to the sounds of heavy metal and classic rock--Metallica, AC/DC, Pink Floyd, and Led Zeppelin--while tossing back PBR and Schlitz beers or cheap, but potent cocktails. Colfax Avenue is the main street that runs east and west through the Denver-Aurora 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 point (Ellsworth Avenue, one block south of 1st Avenue). For that reason it would normally be known as "15th Avenue" but the street was named for the 19th-century politician Schuyler Colfax. On the east it passes through the city of Aurora, then Denver, and on the west, through Lakewood and the southern part of Golden. Colloquially, the arterial is referred to simply as "Colfax", a name that has become associated with prostitution, crime, and a dense concentration of liquor stores and inexpensive bars. Playboy magazine once called Colfax "the longest, wickedest street in America." However, such activities are actually isolated to short stretches of the 26-mile (42 km) length of the street. Periodically, Colfax undergoes redevelopment by the municipalities along its course that bring in new housing, trendy 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. (Photo by Marc Piscotty / © 2009)

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082109ColfaxAvenueProjectMP0800.jpg
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© 2009 Marc Piscotty
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5465x3629 / 3.4MB
Contained in galleries
Colfax Avenue Project, 5280 Reasons to Love Denver Request
SHOT 8/22/09 12:50:15 AM - Hanging out by the bar at Rockbar on Colfax Avenue in Denver, Co. Lava lamps, orange- and silver-foiled wallpaper and floor-to-ceiling mirrors all remind visitors that old is newly in vogue at this groovy bar celebrating the 70s. Throwback hipsters jive to the sounds of heavy metal and classic rock--Metallica, AC/DC, Pink Floyd, and Led Zeppelin--while tossing back PBR and Schlitz beers or cheap, but potent cocktails. Colfax Avenue is the main street that runs east and west through the Denver-Aurora 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 point (Ellsworth Avenue, one block south of 1st Avenue). For that reason it would normally be known as "15th Avenue" but the street was named for the 19th-century politician Schuyler Colfax. On the east it passes through the city of Aurora, then Denver, and on the west, through Lakewood and the southern part of Golden. Colloquially, the arterial is referred to simply as "Colfax", a name that has become associated with prostitution, crime, and a dense concentration of liquor stores and inexpensive bars. Playboy magazine once called Colfax "the longest, wickedest street in America." However, such activities are actually isolated to short stretches of the 26-mile (42 km) length of the street. Periodically, Colfax undergoes redevelopment by the municipalities along its course that bring in new housing, trendy 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. (Photo by Marc Piscotty / © 2009)