A Leisurely Walk Around Capitol Hill, Denver...
As my Colorado minutes tick away, I'm left feeling even more nostalgic than normal. I'm trying to cover as many of these specific areas as I can before leaving town, walking old paths and photographing as much of the ambience as still exists today.
One of the most important parts of town for me is the Capital Hill neighborhood of Denver.
The photos here (unless noted) are generally from either August 18, 2013, or May 19, 2018.
Some 20 years ago, this was the area where I met up with my friends and partied on the days where I wasn't up late partying with the Pizza Hut crew.
While I'm not entirely certain on the official boundaries of Capital Hill, for the sake of my story, I'm only covering this area:
Bordered on the north by Colfax Ave (identified by the "70" icon) and 13th Ave on the South. I'm arbitrarily setting the east edge at Corona Street. Anything further east was arrived at via car. The map goes all the way to Broadway, which is just for reference. Our group's wanderings rarely went west of Logan Street...
In June 1998, I brought my camera on the northbound Logan drive, specifically for this sign posted at the 6th Avenue intersection.
The southwest corner of Logan and 13th is home to this parking lot, and almost always where I parked on my car after driving the 6.3 miles from Kenyon. The rates today are astronomical, but 20 years ago, I could park here from around 8pm to 3am for about $5. Only once did I get a parking ticket from this lot.
The Black Box is currently located in this small dance club. Which it has been for the entirely of time I've been coming up here. Only the name changes over time...
Speaking of Logan Street, the southeast corner of this intersection houses The Ambassador apartments. I would park my car at 13th and Logan, then walk across the street to ring Jen's apartment.
Jen's studio apartment became headquarters for planning of the night's events when fellow members of Overpriced Art College declared a night of heavy drinking was in order.
Located in Aurora, Colorado, Overpriced Art College drew a mis-match of talented people from all over the Denver Metro area. Just a bunch of like-minded strange weirdos... A couple of them show up with cases of beer and uhhh... All creativity breaks out....
A September 1998 afternoon of day drinking led Jen and I to start drawing random sketches of weird stuff as we pounded beer and passed a notebook back and forth. Talks of doing some sort of bigger project were always discussed, but never followed up...
She did a nice quick sketch of Frank Zappa from a picture I had in Mr. Book III. Mr. Book was 3-ring binder of "important" papers and xeroxes that I kept in my backpack. They were numbered as the Mr. Book concept evolved, until abandoned completely about 10 years ago.
(I liked how the city has a small people protecting wall, going waist high. Which is a good idea until you consider what can potentially happen with these angled half walls...)
Cafe Netherworld was a goth bar with Siouxsie and Dead Can Dance filling the jukebox, decent non-spooky food, pool table and about everything you'd expect at a bar this size. Except here you're more likely to hear Bela Lugosi's Dead than Turn The Page...
Behind the fence that's behind the bike rack is a small outdoor patio. I remember it being here, but mostly unused in the Netherworld days. The Goth's aren't going out to sit in the sun...
This was a surprise, the inside of The Pub on Penn looks almost exactly like it did as Cafe Netherworld... I was right! At the far end of the bar, that is a different jukebox!
Netherworld took up half of this old building. I'll get to the other half (and much more Skull Crushing Teal half) in a moment. I'm using that picture to compare to this one.
Unfortunately, the only picture I have of Cafe Netherworld is completely blurry and doesn't show any of it's defining features. But it does show how little has changed between the two businesses, despite seeming like polar opposites.
Back in 1998, R.J. Reynolds would send their cigarette reps into bars offering free promotional swag. This half used book of Camel sponsored Netherworld matches has survived in the archives to this day.
The other end of Cafe Netherworld was a laundromat. I'm not sure when it closed, but it was open while I was hanging out up here.
Jen would do her laundry here, and I would sometime tag along. They had a good Ms. Pac Man machine! Though after the first time we tried to play 2 players, she got irritated because I took forever.
I remember sitting on that curb a few times, while smoking a cigarette. That would be before realizing that smoking a cigarette there was just going to attract people to come up and ask me if they could have one of my cigarettes. They were only about $2.25 a pack back then... But that was still 1998 money!
7-11 was on the southwest corner of 13th and Pearl Street, and they tapped out years ago.
Capitol Convenience (on the northeast corner of the same intersection) emerged as the victor in that small convenience battle. When I frequented the area, we chose our quick lotto, cigarette and non-alcoholic beverage needs dependent on our location. Both stores got our business.
Capitol Convenience used some of the spoils of victory to upgrade their appearance. A fresh color scheme and clean up went a long way over the last five years...
Including FINALLY covering up this HORRIBLE Colorado Avalanche Stanley Cup mural that had been on the wall since likely 1996. It's just so awful and was up forever...
The building that was blue in 2013, is painted like clouds in 2018. Denver Ted's is gone, and been added in to the new Capitol Convenience grey look.
Would have hoped they'd come up with something that makes use of that great marquee sign, better than slapping logo stickers on it... Get some sweet neon going up in there! You won! Show off!
The entire building that houses Capitol Convenience is rather large, stretching out to the alley. This photo from 2013 shows it sectioned off by paint to mark the different businesses. Including FashioNation, which relocated to 1598 S. Broadway, not long after I took this picture.
Wax Trax II is the home of vinyl. There is a huge selection of records that you dig through for hours behind that door.
If I were to turn around from where I took that picture, and it was still 2013, I would have seen this building. I never knew what it was, only that it was strange looking, and has since been demolished. This is the best picture I have of it...
Now this is what a music store should look like! This place has character and atmosphere to spare. On the right side of this picture, is a sign for magazines (a Ms. Pac Man machine used to stand here). The Wax Trax magazine shelves were one of my favorite places in the entire city.
While the selection today can't compare with what it would have been 25 years ago, it was nice to see there was still an outlet for the ever shrinking crop of zinesters in Denver.
I bought this issue of Avow at Wax Trax back in the day, and liked the cover so much that I shamelessly ripped it off for Wasted Quarter issue #40. Coincidentally to commemorate my friends and I graduating from Overpriced Art School...
There have been a few issues of Wasted Quarter put on sale at Wax Trax. Though I never went back to see if they sold... Ahh.... It doesn't matter. Maybe someone read them. And if so, that's cool enough.
In 2011, a car speeding down 13th, caught that angled wall and flew into Wax Trax (photo shamelessly ripped off from the Denver Post). The entrance was smashed open, but at least the damage was repairable.
While not a feature I was ever a part of, two blocks east of Wax Trax is a pedestrian bridge linking the blocks to Morey Middle School.
This landmark at 13th and Emerson St. has always been seen by me as the southeast gateway to Capitol Hill.
If you took this road 6.3 miles south, you'd hit Kenyon. Though you'd probably get stopped at I-25, with the lack of a bridge... And you can't go south because it's a one way...
As we walk up Pennsylvania Avenue, let me again reiterate about the parking in Capitol Hill... They're mean business when it comes to booting cars... And is TWO really necessary?
The most notable landmark on Pennsylvania Ave. is the Molly Brown House Museum. A noted female pioneer in Denver's history, Brown became one of the more famous passengers on the Titanic for doing something that I can't remember. I'd ask Laura because she'd know, but she's sleeping right now...
We toured the house in March 2013, and that was when that picture was taken. It was built in 1894 (I think?) and was almost demolished in the early 1970's, after being used as a women's shelter, and cheap apartments.
A block north of Molly's House is The Biltmore apartments. In 1998, another of the Overpriced Art School crew, Garth, moved into a corner 1 bedroom apartment on the second floor.
Above the front doors was a little covered seating area, where one could kick back with a smoke and an alcoholic beverage and watch the sidewalk action unfold in front of you! Sitting out here on a rainy afternoon with Garth and others is a great memory of these days....
Directly across the street from those alcohol distributors (and where I was hassled this morning about not having any cigarettes to give a homeless man... Buddy, I want a cigarette more than you do...) is the Cathedral Basilica Of The Immaculate Conception. Typing all that out sucks... It's been undergoing exterior work for quite a while now.
Here is the Cathedral Basilica Of The Immaculate Conception while facing west. That Denver Cash Register building can be seen popping up again...
Notice that blue trailer at the base of the Cathedral Basilica Of The Immaculate Conception? That is one of the new Denver sponsored portable public restrooms. The city started plopping these on street corners around town, with larger concentrations of homeless people. The trailers are watched under camera surveillance for security, and are pretty nice from what I've read. Once they need to be dealt with, the city hauls them away and plops a new one down.
Five years ago, I took this picture of the Cathedral Basilica Of The Immaculate Conception just before it went completely dark for the night. It's blurry, but I really like this picture...
Across the street from the Cathedral Basilica Of The Immaculate Conception is this piece applied to an electrical box on the sidewalk.
Between the Nob Hill Inn and Denver Drug and Liquor, sits what's left of the Bargain House furniture store. The dome of the Colorado state capitol building can be seen above the rooftops.
Either some work has been or is being done inside. My vote would be they are still working on it, but on a several year coffee break.
Appears some light from the alley is coming through the covered window on the left side of this picture...
A block west of the Bargain house is the space that was once occupied by Xeno Collectible Toys. Otherwise known as the store that changed my collections drastically...
First discovered shortly after I moved to Denver and started exploring the town. I entered this tiny store that was rather dark and black-lit inside. Filled with displays of every toy I ever remembered as a kid... Nearly the entire line of Masters Of The Universe housed in a display case, with an actual helmet worn in that crappy MOTU movie from 1987 sitting among them. Another case has nearly every G.I. Joe figure (with intact wieners) standing on the MF'ing U.S. Flagg aircraft carrier! The walls are lined with mint carded action figures from every line...
Lighted glass display cases of MISB original 1980's Transformers! I nearly wet myself at seeing MISB Fortress Maximus (only $2000!!!) for the first time in my life. Two more display cases were jammed full of loose Transformers, most in excellent condition, with all accessories. Unopened packs of 1985 Transformers Action Cards!
Xeno ruled it. And it was a very sad day in early 1999, when I walked down Colfax, ready to look at the latest arriving old toys, and Xeno was gone. The store was completely empty inside. The sign was gone.
There's a joke to be made about this store switching from selling classic toys to selling marijuana... But I'm gonna just go next door instead!
Hollywood Posters occupied a two store space next door to Xeno, and was jammed full of old movie posters and other awesome pop culture supplies from the last 80 years. Looking in this place was always fun, you never knew what you'd find.
The only picture I have of Hollywood Posters is from May, 2015. Just before the store closed for good. While he wasn't yelling at me, when I snapped this picture there was a guy yelling at traffic in front of the store.
I don't think I ever bought a poster from Hollywood Posters, but I did buy this sweet Faith No More pin from there. It was affixed to the collar of my old jean jacket for a while! Because it should be!
Back to that awesome alley picture I was talking about a few pictures ago. Apparently they have a problem with Homeless Person Parkour?
Opposite the video monitored alley was the home of Jerry's Record Exchange. For years I'd wondered if I misread my information, and Jerry was still running his record shop. Alas, only the sign has been up for nearly 8 years after Jerry's closed.
I hit up Jerry's very early on in my Capitol Hill visits, and loved that he had a great back catalogue of the weird stuff I was just getting into.
Jerry's provided two excellent albums by The Residents, just as I was just discovering their extreme weirdness...
While I'd heard of Neil Hamburger before finding this used copy of America's Funnyman at Jerry's. It was an instant hit with me, and the first CD I bought at Jerry's in 1996.
When Jerry closed the record store in 2010, he cited the increasing expense of doing business on Colfax, and that the amount of customers coming in for music was getting fewer and fewer. When he closed, all of his inventory was sold to Black And Read in Arvada, Colorado.
Today, Jerry's is a private art gallery. But you'd only know that if you looked at this note tacked to the door.
The entire building that houses Jerry's, the Satellite Bar and the extra secure fire escape is all part of the Newhouse Hotel building. An old hotel that is converted apartments today.
Capitol Hill Books is the largest retail tenant in the Newhouse Hotel. I've wandered through here a bunch, brought out of town friends here, and bought a few books here over the years.
Walking back down Logan Street, toward where I parked the car. Here is the former Olin Hotel, also converted to apartments years ago.
Looking across a parking lot on Logan, towards the Colorado State Capitol building. This would be the back side, the front of the capitol borders Lincoln Street.
Another building at 14th and Logan. I couldn't find any information online about what this place is used for. So I'm going with government...
Now at this point, I've walked back to the car. But I still have a few points on Colfax that I wanted to cover. So let's take that fictional car and drive east on Colfax Ave...
A semi-national chain of adult stores. Some have theaters or jerk-it booths with glory holes, some are a little classier, that simply sell pleasant smelling dildoes... This purple Romantix is of the sleezier variety, which is probably tied into it's location.
However, another appearance by the Denver Cash Register building amuses me... Standing tall above the bright purple porn shop...
However, in it's relaxed and brown state of Romantix, the Denver Cash Register tower is not visible... Yes... Clouds and angle... And five years later... I'm too classy to make the excited vs flaccid joke that's sitting right there!
Where you can play a version of Q*bert that is a lot harder than the original. And should actually be named what the marquee implies...
The 1up Colfax is one half of a larger building, with Sancho's Broken Arrow (a Grateful Dead themed bar) taking the other half. A few years ago, the space taken by Sancho's was known as Kitty's East. A very notorious Denver chain of porno shops (and a direct competitor with Romantix), that was finally closed down for good once the city figured out that meth was being dealt in the jerk-it booths.
A couple of blocks east of Sanchos and the 1up, is the Ogden Theatre. Originally a movie house built in the early 1910's, the Ogden was saved from demolition a few times and became one of the top local music venues. Most of the shows I've seen in Denver, were at the Ogden, starting with They Might Be Giants on January 2nd, 1997.
This picture taken in 2015, is from nearly 15 years after I was last inside. It's undergone a lot of renovations in that span, from the pictures I've seen online.
This picture is also from the September 2003 photo tour where I didn't do it right. This is one of the better pictures I took that day...
But there I was, standing next to the soundboard, juggling a Rolling Rock beer bottle, chain smoking cigarettes, and steadying the dictaphone I was using to record the set. This was the only time, but I finally got to see Faith No More live...
This show was extra insane, as some kid stage dove, fell and messed up his neck. They had to turn the house lights on while staff carted him out on a gurney. Ween serenaded the moment with three Frank Sinatra covers as it was unfolding in front of them.
Next door to the Ogden is a location of local chain, Angelo's CD's. This was a Warehouse Music some 20 years ago, but has always been a record shop of some sort as long as I've lived here.
I will never in my life grow tired of seeing closed up Blockbuster Video stores! Like this one across the street from Angelo's CD's, in 2013.
Tucked behind the Dominos Pizza sign in the previous picture, is this small tan brick building with Robin Williams on the wall. Today it's a realtor, but 20 years ago, it was an abandoned convenience store that was fully stocked!
The store never opened and had food on all the shelves inside. What's worse is they sold fried chicken there, and had a pan with chicken pieces on it, rotting in the window. The place sat untouched and rotting for over six months before someone came in and took the food out. Then it sat forever as an unstocked abandoned convenience store.
Had the digital camera technology of today existed in 1998, documenting this would have been my Masters Thesis...
One of the most important parts of town for me is the Capital Hill neighborhood of Denver.
The photos here (unless noted) are generally from either August 18, 2013, or May 19, 2018.
Some 20 years ago, this was the area where I met up with my friends and partied on the days where I wasn't up late partying with the Pizza Hut crew.
While I'm not entirely certain on the official boundaries of Capital Hill, for the sake of my story, I'm only covering this area:
Bordered on the north by Colfax Ave (identified by the "70" icon) and 13th Ave on the South. I'm arbitrarily setting the east edge at Corona Street. Anything further east was arrived at via car. The map goes all the way to Broadway, which is just for reference. Our group's wanderings rarely went west of Logan Street...
In June 1998, I brought my camera on the northbound Logan drive, specifically for this sign posted at the 6th Avenue intersection.
It says NADS!
The southwest corner of Logan and 13th is home to this parking lot, and almost always where I parked on my car after driving the 6.3 miles from Kenyon. The rates today are astronomical, but 20 years ago, I could park here from around 8pm to 3am for about $5. Only once did I get a parking ticket from this lot.
The Black Box is currently located in this small dance club. Which it has been for the entirely of time I've been coming up here. Only the name changes over time...
I should have asked Garth what else has been here...
Speaking of Logan Street, the southeast corner of this intersection houses The Ambassador apartments. I would park my car at 13th and Logan, then walk across the street to ring Jen's apartment.
She lived in a tiny studio on the second floor with her wiener dog Otis.
The walls displayed her abstract Dali-esque paintings...
And others that were more fun...
Plus an odd upside-down wiener statue on the phone both sized kitchen counter...
Jen's studio apartment became headquarters for planning of the night's events when fellow members of Overpriced Art College declared a night of heavy drinking was in order.
Located in Aurora, Colorado, Overpriced Art College drew a mis-match of talented people from all over the Denver Metro area. Just a bunch of like-minded strange weirdos... A couple of them show up with cases of beer and uhhh... All creativity breaks out....
A September 1998 afternoon of day drinking led Jen and I to start drawing random sketches of weird stuff as we pounded beer and passed a notebook back and forth. Talks of doing some sort of bigger project were always discussed, but never followed up...
She did a nice quick sketch of Frank Zappa from a picture I had in Mr. Book III. Mr. Book was 3-ring binder of "important" papers and xeroxes that I kept in my backpack. They were numbered as the Mr. Book concept evolved, until abandoned completely about 10 years ago.
I'm off track...
Whomever had gathered at Jen's apartment that night (or day),
would then leave out the back door of The Ambassador, and into the alley...
would then leave out the back door of The Ambassador, and into the alley...
Eastbound and down this sidewalk...
(I liked how the city has a small people protecting wall, going waist high. Which is a good idea until you consider what can potentially happen with these angled half walls...)
foreshadowing...
And right on down to Cafe Netherworld!
Cafe Netherworld was a goth bar with Siouxsie and Dead Can Dance filling the jukebox, decent non-spooky food, pool table and about everything you'd expect at a bar this size. Except here you're more likely to hear Bela Lugosi's Dead than Turn The Page...
And I hope you like Cloves!
Until about 15 years ago... Now that space is home to The Pub On Penn.
Now I bet you hear a whole lot of Dave Matthew's Band inside...
This was a surprise, the inside of The Pub on Penn looks almost exactly like it did as Cafe Netherworld... I was right! At the far end of the bar, that is a different jukebox!
I spent $22 here on June 5th, 1998.
And another $22 on March 12, 2000!
Unfortunately, the only picture I have of Cafe Netherworld is completely blurry and doesn't show any of it's defining features. But it does show how little has changed between the two businesses, despite seeming like polar opposites.
Back in 1998, R.J. Reynolds would send their cigarette reps into bars offering free promotional swag. This half used book of Camel sponsored Netherworld matches has survived in the archives to this day.
I really miss cigarettes lit by matches...
Jen would do her laundry here, and I would sometime tag along. They had a good Ms. Pac Man machine! Though after the first time we tried to play 2 players, she got irritated because I took forever.
Today, the building is bright Skull Crushing Teal (except the smashed out window) and a vape shop.
I like how 5 years ago, it was for lease. And now that it's fully leased, the building is for sale...
Across the street is a couple of painted signs. No idea their age, but the Penn Garage is long gone.
There is an alley between the Skull Crushing Teal Denver Vape Shop and this...
The back wall usually had some nice graffiti and tagging, but today it had been freshly painted over.
This former 7-11 closed close to 15 years ago. Here is it on May 19, 2018.
And here it is on August 18, 2013!
And here it is OPEN on September 28, 2003!
My apologies for this terrible picture... I was still working on the drive by photography method...
I remember sitting on that curb a few times, while smoking a cigarette. That would be before realizing that smoking a cigarette there was just going to attract people to come up and ask me if they could have one of my cigarettes. They were only about $2.25 a pack back then... But that was still 1998 money!
7-11 was on the southwest corner of 13th and Pearl Street, and they tapped out years ago.
Capitol Convenience (on the northeast corner of the same intersection) emerged as the victor in that small convenience battle. When I frequented the area, we chose our quick lotto, cigarette and non-alcoholic beverage needs dependent on our location. Both stores got our business.
Still nice to see the little guy win.
Including FINALLY covering up this HORRIBLE Colorado Avalanche Stanley Cup mural that had been on the wall since likely 1996. It's just so awful and was up forever...
The building that was blue in 2013, is painted like clouds in 2018. Denver Ted's is gone, and been added in to the new Capitol Convenience grey look.
Would have hoped they'd come up with something that makes use of that great marquee sign, better than slapping logo stickers on it... Get some sweet neon going up in there! You won! Show off!
The entire building that houses Capitol Convenience is rather large, stretching out to the alley. This photo from 2013 shows it sectioned off by paint to mark the different businesses. Including FashioNation, which relocated to 1598 S. Broadway, not long after I took this picture.
The building itself dates back to 1910.
Today, it's a much nicer presentation. Except that awful Capitol Convenience sign... Clean it up!
Despite it's moving several years ago, a mural for FashioNation is still painted in the alley.
The southeast side of Pearl and 13th is home to Jelly (wasn't in 1998...) and some other businesses that are not 20 plus years old.
And Your Mom's House is there too...
Yeah... That's about what I expected to see in this alley...
Butt on the other side is Wax Trax I and II, with Kilgore Books in the middle. There used to be a Wax Trax III located across the street, in the same storefront that once housed FashioNation. Wax Trax: The Stores can be directly traced back to the old Wax Trax punk record label.
Wax Trax II is the home of vinyl. There is a huge selection of records that you dig through for hours behind that door.
I've bought a few things at Kilgore's over the years.
And that door cartoon is really cool...
The windows of Wax Trax I are completely covered by band flyers promoting upcoming concerts.
Here's a shot of the front entrance of Wax Trax, taken from the northeast corner of 13th and Washington in 2013.
And this is kind of the same shot from 2018.
Lemmy is now on the side of the building.
And they REALLY should restore that old Records sign...
Looking inside the front doors of Wax Trax.
Now this is what a music store should look like! This place has character and atmosphere to spare. On the right side of this picture, is a sign for magazines (a Ms. Pac Man machine used to stand here). The Wax Trax magazine shelves were one of my favorite places in the entire city.
While the selection today can't compare with what it would have been 25 years ago, it was nice to see there was still an outlet for the ever shrinking crop of zinesters in Denver.
I bought this issue of Avow at Wax Trax back in the day, and liked the cover so much that I shamelessly ripped it off for Wasted Quarter issue #40. Coincidentally to commemorate my friends and I graduating from Overpriced Art School...
There have been a few issues of Wasted Quarter put on sale at Wax Trax. Though I never went back to see if they sold... Ahh.... It doesn't matter. Maybe someone read them. And if so, that's cool enough.
Quick peek at the rest of Wax Trax...
Even though I'm rarely in this part of town anymore, Wax Trax is a Denver treasure.
They even advertised in some of the zines they carried!
One more thing before we move on...
Remember back a ways, when I expressed concern for the angled sidewalk people protecting walls placed along the sidewalk, on the south edge of 13th Ave?
While not a feature I was ever a part of, two blocks east of Wax Trax is a pedestrian bridge linking the blocks to Morey Middle School.
This landmark at 13th and Emerson St. has always been seen by me as the southeast gateway to Capitol Hill.
If you took this road 6.3 miles south, you'd hit Kenyon. Though you'd probably get stopped at I-25, with the lack of a bridge... And you can't go south because it's a one way...
As we walk up Pennsylvania Avenue, let me again reiterate about the parking in Capitol Hill... They're mean business when it comes to booting cars... And is TWO really necessary?
The most notable landmark on Pennsylvania Ave. is the Molly Brown House Museum. A noted female pioneer in Denver's history, Brown became one of the more famous passengers on the Titanic for doing something that I can't remember. I'd ask Laura because she'd know, but she's sleeping right now...
We toured the house in March 2013, and that was when that picture was taken. It was built in 1894 (I think?) and was almost demolished in the early 1970's, after being used as a women's shelter, and cheap apartments.
Here it is from another angle and five years later...
See, I told you this was historic!
Above the front doors was a little covered seating area, where one could kick back with a smoke and an alcoholic beverage and watch the sidewalk action unfold in front of you! Sitting out here on a rainy afternoon with Garth and others is a great memory of these days....
At the north end of Pennsylvania, you hit Colfax Avenue... The most famous road in Colorado!
There's the Nob Hill Inn, which is well regarded in town, but I've never been there.
And Denver Drug and Liquor! I know we've bought beer here before...
Here is the Cathedral Basilica Of The Immaculate Conception while facing west. That Denver Cash Register building can be seen popping up again...
Notice that blue trailer at the base of the Cathedral Basilica Of The Immaculate Conception? That is one of the new Denver sponsored portable public restrooms. The city started plopping these on street corners around town, with larger concentrations of homeless people. The trailers are watched under camera surveillance for security, and are pretty nice from what I've read. Once they need to be dealt with, the city hauls them away and plops a new one down.
This is not a bad idea at all...
Across the street from the Cathedral Basilica Of The Immaculate Conception is this piece applied to an electrical box on the sidewalk.
Between the Nob Hill Inn and Denver Drug and Liquor, sits what's left of the Bargain House furniture store. The dome of the Colorado state capitol building can be seen above the rooftops.
Long closed, with barred (but not covered) windows and doors...
Whoever is responsible for it doesn't have a problem with the storefronts staying somewhat open.
No public restroom (use the trailer!), but they do take Diner's Club!
Inside the Bargain House, going right to left...
I couldn't read the sign above the hole in the wall...
Another door that isn't the main entrance...
Appears some light from the alley is coming through the covered window on the left side of this picture...
A block west of the Bargain house is the space that was once occupied by Xeno Collectible Toys. Otherwise known as the store that changed my collections drastically...
First discovered shortly after I moved to Denver and started exploring the town. I entered this tiny store that was rather dark and black-lit inside. Filled with displays of every toy I ever remembered as a kid... Nearly the entire line of Masters Of The Universe housed in a display case, with an actual helmet worn in that crappy MOTU movie from 1987 sitting among them. Another case has nearly every G.I. Joe figure (with intact wieners) standing on the MF'ing U.S. Flagg aircraft carrier! The walls are lined with mint carded action figures from every line...
And oh the Transformers....
This store was heaven.
And I was going to aspire to a collection like this...
And I'm going to stop right here because I'm already writing this story for a different post...
Xeno ruled it. And it was a very sad day in early 1999, when I walked down Colfax, ready to look at the latest arriving old toys, and Xeno was gone. The store was completely empty inside. The sign was gone.
Today, the storefront that once housed Xeno is a dispensary.
There's a joke to be made about this store switching from selling classic toys to selling marijuana... But I'm gonna just go next door instead!
To Hollywood Posters!
Hollywood Posters occupied a two store space next door to Xeno, and was jammed full of old movie posters and other awesome pop culture supplies from the last 80 years. Looking in this place was always fun, you never knew what you'd find.
The only picture I have of Hollywood Posters is from May, 2015. Just before the store closed for good. While he wasn't yelling at me, when I snapped this picture there was a guy yelling at traffic in front of the store.
And you can't get much more Colfax than this!
I don't think I ever bought a poster from Hollywood Posters, but I did buy this sweet Faith No More pin from there. It was affixed to the collar of my old jean jacket for a while! Because it should be!
Today, the main entrance to Hollywood Posters appears to be part of g's grow room...
Sassafras!
I know nothing about this place...
I'm actually a bigger fan of the alley in this picture. That just looks cool!
Turning around you'll see the City Grille... I guess they have good burgers...
Cash register building!
They appear to be overly proud of them...
I don't think this is part of their promotion... But thanks for the reminder!
Opposite the video monitored alley was the home of Jerry's Record Exchange. For years I'd wondered if I misread my information, and Jerry was still running his record shop. Alas, only the sign has been up for nearly 8 years after Jerry's closed.
I hit up Jerry's very early on in my Capitol Hill visits, and loved that he had a great back catalogue of the weird stuff I was just getting into.
Jerry's provided two excellent albums by The Residents, just as I was just discovering their extreme weirdness...
While I'd heard of Neil Hamburger before finding this used copy of America's Funnyman at Jerry's. It was an instant hit with me, and the first CD I bought at Jerry's in 1996.
But thaaaaaat's myyyy liiiiife!
Hmmmmm....
When Jerry closed the record store in 2010, he cited the increasing expense of doing business on Colfax, and that the amount of customers coming in for music was getting fewer and fewer. When he closed, all of his inventory was sold to Black And Read in Arvada, Colorado.
Today, Jerry's is a private art gallery. But you'd only know that if you looked at this note tacked to the door.
Next door is the Satellite Bar. I've never been here, but that's a pretty cool sign!
Their neon marquee works!
Front entrance to Capitol Hill Books, with the sticker covered pole.
Stop saying write...
That entrance is not handicapped accessible...
The main entrance to the Newhouse Hotel, on Grant Street.
I wasn't aware it was under attack...
Well, there's rampant gentrification, but you can't really shoot gentrification...
Walking back down Logan Street, toward where I parked the car. Here is the former Olin Hotel, also converted to apartments years ago.
Looking across a parking lot on Logan, towards the Colorado State Capitol building. This would be the back side, the front of the capitol borders Lincoln Street.
Another building at 14th and Logan. I couldn't find any information online about what this place is used for. So I'm going with government...
Now at this point, I've walked back to the car. But I still have a few points on Colfax that I wanted to cover. So let's take that fictional car and drive east on Colfax Ave...
Where you can find such businesses as...
Romantix!
A semi-national chain of adult stores. Some have theaters or jerk-it booths with glory holes, some are a little classier, that simply sell pleasant smelling dildoes... This purple Romantix is of the sleezier variety, which is probably tied into it's location.
However, another appearance by the Denver Cash Register building amuses me... Standing tall above the bright purple porn shop...
However, in it's relaxed and brown state of Romantix, the Denver Cash Register tower is not visible... Yes... Clouds and angle... And five years later... I'm too classy to make the excited vs flaccid joke that's sitting right there!
Romantix is located less than a block from a Denver Police Station.
So he was on patrol.
Not cruising...
After you wash your hands, feel free to drop by the 1up Colfax!
The 1up features some interesting video game artifacts on it's walls.
Such as this sweet Twin Galaxies 1984 Video Game Tournament flyer.
Check out that Ottumwa, Iowa video game logo!
And this guy...
And there's that cop again!
This picture taken in 2015, is from nearly 15 years after I was last inside. It's undergone a lot of renovations in that span, from the pictures I've seen online.
In that time, they were able to bring the building into focus...
This picture is also from the September 2003 photo tour where I didn't do it right. This is one of the better pictures I took that day...
Oh look! The Insane Clown Posse is coming!
Faith No More were REALLY loud...
Limp Bizkit were REALLY terrible...
And these guys twice at the Ogden!
Magical!
This ad from an issue of Westword hung on the bathroom mirror at Kenyon for over 4 years...
1999 Mr. Bungle shows were so tight...
And they sold these great keychains!
I will never in my life grow tired of seeing closed up Blockbuster Video stores! Like this one across the street from Angelo's CD's, in 2013.
And sorry Blockbuster, it's not "this location only".
Not by any means...
Reap what you sow...
And stuff...
Allright... It's getting early and the sun is up, I gotta get home...
Let's walk back to the parking lot at Logan and 13th...
When I mentioned The Black Box earlier, I'd said the name changes all the time...
In August, 2013, it was True Blue. Jerry Garcia was stuck to the wall.
Because it's Colorado.
For months!
Had the digital camera technology of today existed in 1998, documenting this would have been my Masters Thesis...
And on that note, there's the Art Museum dead ahead...
Time to hit up south Broadway and the route home.
Goodbye Capitol Hill...
And goodbye Denver...
I have some of the greatest memories here!
I like the site man, thanks
ReplyDeleteI came across this blog post and thoroughly enjoyed it. I lived in Capital Hill in the 90’s and I remember hanging out at the Cafe Netherworld! At that time, my friends and I frequented Rock Island and the Denver Diner too.
ReplyDeleteIt was a different time back then, and it definitely had its own cool distinct vibe. Even though Denver has deteriorated since then, that same vibe still lives on in some great memories.