Five Points, CO
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Denver, CO 80205
Five Points is one of Denver, Colorado's oldest historic neighborhoods adjacent to the downtown central business district. The neighborhood is located in the area of Northeast Denver where the original downtown street grid meets the neighborhood street grid of the first Denver suburbs. Horse-drawn transit served this Denver neighborhood and the limited space to name the transit stops caused the area to be named Five Points. The Five Points transit stop culminated the names of the following streets: Washington Street, 27th Street, 26th Avenue and Welton Street. Five Points came to significant historical prominence from the 1860s through the 1950s. The neighborhood was home to Denver's aristocracy housing Mayors, Governors and prominent business people. The Welton Street Business District, Clement neighborhood, San Rafael community, Curtis Park and Ballpark neighborhoods are located within the larger Five Points neighborhood.
Five Points is considered the "Harlem of the West" due to its long jazz history. It was the first predominantly African-American neighborhood in Denver. In the 1920s through 1950s the community thrived with a rich mix of local business and commerce along the Welton Corridor offering the neighborhood butcher, real estate companies, drug stores, religious organizations, tailors, restaurants, barbers and many other main street uses. Welton Street was also home to over fifty bars and clubs, where some of the greatest jazz musicians ever, such as Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Nat King Cole, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie and many other legends performed. The Legendary Rossonian building, built in 1912, became the center of the Five Points community offering a premier hotel and jazz club still nationally known.
Although the birth of the neighborhood was historic and prominent, the Five Points community suffered, as many urban areas did, in the late 1950s through the late 1990s due to the influx of drugs, crime and urban flight. Many properties were abandoned, the local economy became somewhat irrelevant and the larger market was turned off by what was happening. Through that time there were many starts and stops to redevelopment but also many hindrances to reinvestment. Five Points simply became a 'no-man's land' in need of a larger vision and new generation of leadership.
Five Points is considered the "Harlem of the West" due to its long jazz history. It was the first predominantly African-American neighborhood in Denver. In the 1920s through 1950s the community thrived with a rich mix of local business and commerce along the Welton Corridor offering the neighborhood butcher, real estate companies, drug stores, religious organizations, tailors, restaurants, barbers and many other main street uses. Welton Street was also home to over fifty bars and clubs, where some of the greatest jazz musicians ever, such as Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Nat King Cole, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie and many other legends performed. The Legendary Rossonian building, built in 1912, became the center of the Five Points community offering a premier hotel and jazz club still nationally known.
Although the birth of the neighborhood was historic and prominent, the Five Points community suffered, as many urban areas did, in the late 1950s through the late 1990s due to the influx of drugs, crime and urban flight. Many properties were abandoned, the local economy became somewhat irrelevant and the larger market was turned off by what was happening. Through that time there were many starts and stops to redevelopment but also many hindrances to reinvestment. Five Points simply became a 'no-man's land' in need of a larger vision and new generation of leadership.
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