9.18.2009

I've become more interested in learning about the history of the urban place that I call home. "Why are things where they are? Why does that event have so much impact?" are questions I'm always asking. I live along "the wickedest street in America"--Colfax Avenue. It's also the nation's longest avenue at over 26 miles long. Parts of it are known for its prostitutes, child trafficking, hourly motels, drug dealers/users, and high crime rates. In 2008, Barak Obama accepted the democratic bid for president on part of Colfax. Pope John Paul II visited the avenue in 1993. Jack Kerouac wrote part of his book On the Road about his time on Colfax. Colorado's Capitol Building is along Colfax, as are other historic buildings that formed the original wild west that is now Denver.



http://www.colfaxavenue.com/history.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colfax_Avenue



I think that knowing this history is part of the appeal to me of living in this area. It's a challenge to understand the beauty in a place that is known for its atrocities. The experiences I have in walking to the store, the park, and taking the bus would be a book in itself simply because of the people I meet and observe. I've observed that part if the human experience is to become numb to some of these situations. I've felt for myself that in order to thrive in an area that comes with so many stories and life circumstances that one must normalize ideas that others find absurd. What most would find disheartening is the reason for some to continue to push on in an effort to preserve a human experience that others want to forget exists.

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