Mississippi and Colfax area (Denver, Aurora: crime, motels, neighborhoods)

[Mikieo415]

I have been reading all over these postings to stay away from Mississippi and Colfax ave. Can anyone explain why this area is so undesirable? Is it full of blight, crime and drug dealers? I would appreciate some clarification. Thank you.

[Katiana]

I'm not sure I understand. Mississippi and Colfax are parallel to each other and some distance apart. Colfax is the nation's longest Avenue (so I have heard). It starts out east in Aurora and goes to Golden. Some parts are a bit sketch, some not. I don't know a lot about Mississippi.

[tfox]

As pittnurse says, Colfax and Mississippi don't intersect.

Colfax's reputation is well known. Playboy called it "the longest, wickedest street in America." South Park lampoons it as full of gangbangers and prostitutes. Most of the issues stem from the fact that there are many run-down 1950s motels along the entire stretch of road, since this was at one point the main entry point into the Denver area heading to the Rockies. Since interstate highways bypassed Colfax, many of the old motels by the 1970s declined and had attracted various types of crime, drugs, prostitution, as well as providing a place for the homeless to live.

Colfax today has cleaned up pretty well in spots, though in no place is it really the most glamorous part of the metro area. "East Colfax" near downtown Denver is downright respectable and hip, now, running just north of the Capitol Hill neighborhood and skirting the south end of downtown. However, the part of East Colfax closer to the 1970s/1980s stereotypes of guns, drugs, and prostitution is the part of it in Aurora, starting roughly at the Denver border at Yosemite and heading east.

As for Mississippi, it's a major arterial in the central part of Aurora, and given that city's bad reputation, that may be the source of it's own reputation. However, I don't really see Mississippi itself as any better or worse than the parts of Aurora it goes through. Mississippi in Denver isn't really a main road and mostly runs through neighborhoods, before breaking completely in Wash Park. It picks up again through Southwest Denver and Lakewood, before disappearing completely into the a suburban neighborhood. So, I'm guessing that whoever was bashing Mississippi is probably just bashing the Central part of Aurora generally.

[Mikieo415]

Thank you for the info. I see Aurora has a bad rap, and it is seems to be mostly unfounded. A lot of people probably generalize "bad areas" because they are not near the mountains

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by Mikieo415

Thank you for the info. I see Aurora has a bad rap, and it is seems to be mostly unfounded. A lot of people probably generalize "bad areas" because they are not near the mountains

Also remember that "bad area" depends on who's talking about it. Colfax through Aurora isn't Cherry Hills Village, but its not Gary, IN or East St. Louis, IL either.

[XAFLOC]

The part of Colfax that runs from Yosemite to highway 225 is not all bad. I really think the Martin Luther King Library next to the Fox theatre is a beautiful structure. Plus there are alot of cool old buildings surrounding the library that give the area a lot of potential. The city of Aurora has been laboring to make this an arts district. I really hope they succeed, but my gut feeling is that a city cannot impose their vision on an area and magically make it an "art's district." However, props to Aurora for trying to do something positive.

[David Aguilar]

I live just off Mississippi in Aurora. It's laughable that somebody would say any stretch of Mississippi is a place to avoid. Why don't people just come out and say what they mean, and admit it's "bad" because it's not upper-middle class suburbia? (Even though some of Mississippi in far eastern Aurora is) Think stoplights and strip-malls colonized in the late 70's-early 80's. Nothing bad can be said about Mississippi in Lakewood, but in Denver it goes through SW Denver, which is "considered" a "bad" area.

There is some blight on Colfax, but it mostly is in Aurora near the new hospitals; and it is being cleaned up. Some may refer to the area east of Yosemite as blighted, because the businesses in the area are geared more toward lower-income folks and Spanish speakers, the same can be said for Colfax west of I-25. The only thing I find undesirable about the area east of Yosemite is the complete disregard pedestrians have for motorists. Other parts of Colfax may have more "crime" and "drug dealers", but it is definitely because it is a more densely populated area. Colfax, west of Denver, through Lakewood is a regular suburban boulevard.

To be real, for a second, I think a lot of the negative comments about Colfax and Mississippi (or Aurora in general or even SW Denver), stem from some closet racism. Some people may say these areas are bad, simply because there are more Blacks, Hispanics, and even Asians that live along or off these roads. It's sad that in 2008, I have to be saying this but I feel this is indeed the case.