Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
A view of Brașov’s Old Town.
Romania • 12 days, 11 nights
Legends of Romania: Castles, Ruins & Culinary Delights
from
Balkans road trip
Bosnia and Herzegovina • 9 days, 8 nights
Balkans Road Trip: Serbia, Croatia & Bosnia and Herzegovina
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Contemplative paths.
Ayo Rock Formations
Parking Lot Shoeprints
Dewey Square Pylon & Bent 38
Black Rocks of Pungo Andongo
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The pavlova comes crowned with jewel-like fruit.
Central Park Boathouse
The Village Tavern of Long Grove - exterior.
The Village Tavern
Hunter House Hamburgers
L’Escamoteur
Names on the bartop.
The Dive
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Benshi would introduce and provide commentary for films like A Page of Madness.
Remembering the Heyday of Japan’s Silent FIlm Narrators
about 13 hours ago
The Horn & Hardart Automat was a staple of urban dining in midcentury New York City.
All Hail the Slop Bowl, Lunch of Our Ancestors
about 16 hours ago
The Grateful Dead’s “Wall of Sound” on display in Las Vegas.
The Grateful Dead’s Wall of Sound Changed Live Music Forever
about 21 hours ago
Two suitcases in an empty airport hall.
AO Mailbag: Is It Normal to Share a Checked Bag With Your Boyfriend?
3 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States Colorado Denver Colfax Avenue Museum
Colfax Avenue Museum is permanently closed.

This entry remains in the Atlas as a record of its history, but it is no longer accessible to visitors.

AO Edited

Colfax Avenue Museum

This eclectic collection documents the wild legacies of "America's Wickedest Street."

Denver, Colorado

Added By
Ashawnta Jackson
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
Road signs, postcards, and pictures tell the story of the (in)famous roadway.   Jonny Barber/Colfax Avenue Museum
Road signs, postcards, and pictures tell the story of the (in)famous roadway.   Jonny Barber/Colfax Avenue Museum
As a musician himself, Barber is also doing his best to preserve Colfax’s musical history.   Jonny Barber/Colfax Avenue Museum
Jonny Barber has been collecting Colfax memorabilia for 14 years.   Jonny Barber/Colfax Avenue Museum
Colfax Avenue, 1972.   Bruce McAllister
Some of the performers who graced stages on Colfax, including Denver’s own Judy Collins.   Jonny Barber/Colfax Avenue Museum
A guitar once owned by Denver music legend Bob Ferbrache. After an amplifier fell on it, he put his foot through it for good measure.   Jonny Barber/Colfax Avenue Museum
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

“Everyone knows Route 66 because they had a better PR guy, a better song, and a TV show,” Elvis impersonator, artist, and Colfax Avenue historian Jonny Barber once told the Los Angeles Times. But Barber, a Denver, Colorado resident, wants to put the spotlight on another notable U.S. thruway: Colorado's wild and unpredictable Colfax Avenue.

In 2017, Barber opened the Colfax Museum to preserve the street's legacy. He'd been storing all his Colfax memorabilia—which includes odd treasures like a stegosaurus footprint dating back 150 million years, posters, and a hotel room door broken by a drunk guest at the bed and breakfast he and his wife used to run—in his basement, and now he's moved it into a proper museum.

Even before he opened the museum, Barber spent the last 14 years acting as the keeper of Colfax history. And what a history it has been.

Beat Generation stalwart Neal Cassady met a Columbia University student at a Denver public library on Colfax. That student, named Hal Chase, later introduced Cassady to Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg. If the two hadn't met, "there would have been no Beat generation," said Barber.

Clint Eastwood filmed Every Which Way But Loose on Colfax. It was once the site of the world's biggest laundromat. The adventurous sorts could even wrestle a reptile at the Alligator Garden that called the street home. There's even an oft-repeated story that Playboy magazine called the street "the longest, wickedest street in America" (though this is up for debate).

Wickedest or not, Barber wants to preserve it all. Barber's Colfax Museum was housed in a space provided by a local florist, until the building was sold, forcing Barber to relocate to Lakewood. For Barber, the weird history of the highway is worth protecting, no matter what the future holds. “If Colfax looks different in 20 years," he said. "I can’t change that, but I can create a time capsule full of its stories and tall tales.”

Colfax Avenue runs 32 miles through the Denver Metro area, starting at I-70 as it exits Mt. Vernon Canyon and cutting its way east to Strasbourg, Colo., where it ends at Headlight Road.

Colfax Avenue forms part of US Route 40, which stretches for 490 miles across Colorado and originally stretched across the country, from Atlantic City, New Jersey all the way to San Francisco. These days, this little ribbon of Americana cuts off at Silver Creek Junction, Utah, 50 miles east of Salt Lake City.

Update as of September 2021: The museum closed in 2020 due to flood damage. Some of the artifacts have been spread along Colfax Avenue until the owners locate a new location for the entire collection. Check their website to see where the current artifacts on display are. 

Related Tags

Museums Museums And Collections History Roads Roadside Attractions

Know Before You Go

The museum is open from 11:00 to 5:30. Check the museum Web page for the most current information.

Community Contributors

Added By

Ashawnta

Edited By

AdamTKincaid, cyccommute, coloradorobyn, daniellekrolewicz3...

  • AdamTKincaid
  • cyccommute
  • coloradorobyn
  • daniellekrolewicz3
  • rmcmacki
  • orangevening1

Published

November 30, 2017

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • https://www.denverlibrary.org/blog/longest-wickedest-street-america
  • http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-denver-colfax-street-20171120-htmlstory.html
  • https://www.denverite.com/playboy-never-said-colfax-long-wicked-43691/
  • http://www.colfaxavenue.com/p/history-of-colfax-avenue.html?m=1
  • https://businessden.com/2018/06/26/colfax-museum-motors-west-to-lakewood/
Colfax Avenue Museum
2550 E Colfax Ave
Denver, Colorado, 80220
United States
39.739794, -104.956637
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

The Learned Lemur

Denver, Colorado

miles away

Prismatic Electric Fountain

Denver, Colorado

miles away

Cheesman Park

Denver, Colorado

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Denver

Denver

Colorado

Places 45
Stories 12

Nearby Places

The Learned Lemur

Denver, Colorado

miles away

Prismatic Electric Fountain

Denver, Colorado

miles away

Cheesman Park

Denver, Colorado

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Denver

Denver

Colorado

Places 45
Stories 12

Related Places

  • Rotterdam, Netherlands

    Street Posts Museum

    An unexpected public exhibit showcases the diversity of Dutch street posts.

  • One of the galleries in the modern section of the Manchester Jewish Museum.

    Manchester, England

    Manchester Jewish Museum

    A Victorian synagogue-turned-museum chronicles centuries of Jewish life.

  • Heritage Street.

    Henderson, Nevada

    Heritage Street

    Clark County Museum has created an entire street of historically important buildings relocated from various other locations within the county.

  • Aldeburgh, England

    Moot Hall

    One of the best preserved Tudor public buildings in Britain was once used for witch trials.

  • National Route 66 Museum

    Elk City, Oklahoma

    National Route 66 Museum

    An Oklahoma museum that celebrates the history of the "Mother Road."

  • Entrance to the museum inside the Factory

    St. Petersburg, Florida

    Museum of Motherhood

    Hands-on activities, childbirth artifacts, and a library are all part of this tiny, one-room museum that examines motherhood and women’s roles throughout history.

  • Entrance to FAM

    Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

    First Americans Museum

    The largest single-building tribal cultural center in the U.S. is an expansive museum in Oklahoma City.

  • Rock Springs, Wyoming

    Rock Springs Historical Museum

    A local museum remembers one of the worst acts of anti-Chinese violence in American history.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.