Colfax Avenue is the longest commercial street in the United States and is known as Colorado’s Gateway to the Rockies. This colorful thoroughfare is 26.5 miles in length. It’s actually part of the 2,285-mile-long U.S. Route 40, or the Main Street of America and it hosts many Colorado icons along the lengthy commercial road that passes through Aurora, Denver, Lakewood and Golden. Before being named after Schuyler Colfax, Vice President to President Ulysses S. Grant, this avenue was dubbed “The Golden Road” because of its crucial role transporting goods from Denver to the mountains during the Gold Rush. Quickly, as the city of Denver gained population, the street became populated with saloons and brothels. After the completion of Interstate-70, tourism along Colfax declined, causing decreased revenue from the businesses that formerly depended on the high tourist traffic that came down Colfax. Since those days, Colfax has worked to regain traffic by encouraging fresh small businesses to join the community alongside longtime Denver establishments. Now, Colfax has a much larger variety of businesses, including some of Denver’s favorite restaurants, bars, and music venues.

Photo courtesy of Your Colfax News