9. The Histories That Get Remembered

Rachel Gross: At the start of the sidewalk running down historic Ninth Street you will see a metal sign attached to a six-foot tall pole boasting the official looking stamp of the Landmark Preservation Commission. Unlike the half-hidden inscription about displaced residents you saw at the previous stop, this sign is prominent, proudly announcing a more celebratory story of historic preservation. It explains why and how these old houses are still here.

Cameron Blevins: “There has been a great deal of talk in recent months about the Ninth Street Project of Historic Denver. In Auraria there were a group of unusual Victorian small houses that, according to the Interior Department, could be unique in the country.” (The Rocky Mountain News, 1974)

Rachel Gross: In the 1970s, a non-profit dedicated to historic preservation stepped in to protect the buildings. The homes were renovated to highlight the trim and other decorative elements. They were then officially designated as historic buildings to be preserved by the city. Up and down the block, small signs outside of each building celebrate this architectural history.

Cameron Blevins: “No two homes are alike. Some are cottages with quaint trim, one is like an Italian villa, another resembles a miniature Windsor castle made out of brownstone.” (Fourth Estate, University of Colorado Denver, 1974)

Rachel Gross: By focusing on a more distant period, these signs and plaques ignore the more recent past. They turn displaced Aurarians into ghosts–some of their homes survive but their stories are not fully visible.

Tony Garcia described what it was like to walk around the neighborhood in the years right after his family was displaced.

Tony Garcia: I was walking through the Auraria neighborhood and through the west side, and I saw those houses. And all of the sudden I felt like, what I would refer to it as ghosts. I saw the ghosts of a community that had been there.

Rachel Gross: Garcia has embraced the ghosts of the community, allowing their voices to shine through his art, including theatrical and musical performances like “Westside Oratorio” and “El Corrido del Barrio,” which celebrate Auraria through song.

To get to the next stop on our tour, walk down historic 9th Street along the right-hand sidewalk until you get to a brick structure at 1050 9th street.