WASHINGTON STREET MEDIA

Don Crawford

“My songs are are all about the things we’ve all felt.”

– Don Crawford

1608 Colfax: An Eventual Obituary

“The house at 1608 East Colfax just peeks over the storefront addition as if to beg one to remember what this street once looked like.”

– Diane Wilk, Wyman Historic District

Doc Holliday arrived in Denver, Colorado in the summer of 1876 after having fled Texas. It has been written that Doc, being a wanted man, took the alias of Tom McKey. T. S. McKey was the name of Doc’s uncle. Doc found work as a faro dealer at a local theatre and gambling house at 357 Blake Street.

20th Avenue & Welton Street

There’s a triangular piece of land in Denver that is bounded by 20th Street, Welton Street, 20th Avenue (College Lane) and Lincoln Street. This is its story.

The Other Woody: Dave Wood

Svigel’s Auto Parts (1930-2016)

“We Buy Junk Cars & Sell New & Used Auto Parts. We Want Your Junk Car!”

Svigel’s Auto Parts was a family-owned and operated business that served the Denver Metro area for over 86 years. Svigel’s was located at 4393 South Santa Fe Drive in Englewood, Colorado. Click here for a detailed history of Svigel’s from Englewood Herald.

The Attic: Boulder, Colorado Folk

The Attic was a small room in a basement, more of a cavern than an attic. The acoustics were good, and it was intimate, seating only 50 people so the performer was right on top of the mostly student audience. It was like singing in your living room. Folk music was in the midst of its most popular period. – Joe Loop, Owner

Motel de Ville: An Obituary

The building that was once the Motel de Ville, located at 650 W. Colfax, is no more. Demolition began in October 2022 to make way for The Finch, “a 7-story [apartment] project designed to cater to young professionals and affluent singles who enjoy city living.” Demolition was completed in December 2022.

Warren St Thomas: Night Club King of Denver

“Warren is not a saloonkeeper or a strip joint owner. He is a creative artist who might have been an outstanding designer, painter, or architect, but who happens to run the world’s most exciting night club. He’s the exotic dancer’s dream. He’s a master showman.” – Evelyn West (1956)

“With the almost overnight success of his Tropics, St Thomas became night club king of Denver.” -Cabaret Magazine (1956)

Walt Conley: The Founding Father of the Denver Folk Scene

“I’ve been a folk singer, or should I say, a singer of folk songs, for most of my adult life. My idea of folk singers is men like Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly, Pete Seeger, Merle Travis, and dozens more who worked and traveled through the hardships and joys of the folks they wrote about. The music I choose to interpret is really a vicarious expression of my life, because for every song I sing I have a memory from my own travels. That’s what keeps this music alive-the shared association we all have with these songs.”

–Walt Conley, from liner notes of After All These Years