From this year’s 50th anniversary of the landmark 1973 city council revolt, which became known as Denver’s own Stonewall moment, to 2018’s Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission case, Colorado has long served as a hotspot for queer history.
Soon, Denverites may have the chance to learn about this history in “Lavender Hill,” which organizers hope will be Colorado’s first queer cultural district.
Denver-based designer Zach Kotel and the Colfax Business Improvement District have teamed to create Lavender Hill in collaboration with LGBTQ+ leaders, such as Rex Fuller, the CEO of the Center on Colfax, and Tara Jae, founder of Black Pride Colorado. They are also working with an advisory board that includes leaders and business owners in the area. The district would encompass parts of Capitol Hill, City Park, City Park West, Cheesman Park, Baker and Five Points, based on the locations of queer historical sites from the 1930s to today.
The Mile High City’s LGBTQ+ scene is already robust, especially in the neighborhoods that Lavender Hill will include, so Kotel says he’s just trying to further solidify the queer-centered establishments that have been providing safe space and support for decades.
“We’re trying to connect the dots between different people in the community,” Kotel said. “That may be in terms of social connections, business connections, or what we’re calling resource connections — things like mental health services.”
Kotel, who identifies as gay and grew up in Denver, was inspired to create Lavender Hill when he learned about an upcoming mural district in Philadelphia at a conference in 2021. He says he saw his community aching for connection after the pandemic and wanted to combine the benefits of an art district and a historic district into something that could benefit and celebrate the queer community and the establishments they frequent. He connected with the Colfax BID, the Center on Colfax and Black Pride Colorado, and they rallied around the idea to co-found the district.
“There is a rainbow of queer folks, and being able to show the spectrum of folks who are in the community and the businesses that we run [and] we frequent really need to be uplifted,” Jae said. “I think that is the priority of it.”
One of the goals of the district is to connect the queer community to more Denver businesses. The Center on Colfax believes Denver PrideFest alone generates $25 million for the local economy each year; Lavender Hill’s organizers think they can expand that impact to hit year-round.
“Leveraging that to be throughout the year and helping that lead to a sense of place that is defined by queerness,” Kotel said. “That may be as simple as more rainbow flags in more businesses all the time.”
But economic benefits of a queer cultural district are only the tip of the iceberg. Lavender Hill’s advisory board hopes to centralize the availability of resources for LGBTQ people, like the housing, legal and employment resources offered by the Center on Colfax.
“We really hope to see ourselves as one of the centerpieces of the cultural district that will help people find the Center, find the programming that we offer, and that we can help teach people about the important history that has been placed in Colorado,” Fuller said.
Right now, Lavender Hill is in the early stages of development. Based on a community survey, its leaders have only just chosen the name, and it’s fitting: not only is the color lavender historically associated with the LGBTQ community, but the shortened moniker “Lav Hill” is a nod to the “Cap Hill” neighborhood. It also fits within the state’s overall image.
“The state’s motto is ‘Colorful Colorado,’” Kotel said. “What better way to say what makes Colorado colorful than the queer community?”
The second step took place last weekend with the installation of an art project called “The Joy of Pride.” It features photos taken by Black Pride Colorado organizer Eboni Coleman and quotes from 17 members of Denver’s queer community. The installation, which spotlights how LGBTQ Coloradoans find joy and belonging in their daily lives, is up now along Colfax Avenue and the Pride Parade route from Cheesman Park to Civic Center. It’s a new addition to the Colfax BID’s annual “Power Box Art” series and is the first “placemaking” project for Lavender Hill.
After that, Lavender Hill’s organizers will need to gain official recognition for the district from the state. Kotel says the advisory board is unclear on what this process will look like, as Lavender Hill may fall in a gray area between a historic and cultural or creative district. However, they’re moving forward with community outreach, hoping collaboration with the city isn’t far behind.
“In our immediate future, we’re hoping to do some kind of ribbon cutting event to celebrate the official start of this effort,” said Kotel. “We’ll be working on branding and creating a website and all of that important infrastructure stuff that we’ll need to do the formal process. So we’re being very deliberate. The community is bringing us to the city.”
Colorado’s LGBTQ history hasn’t always been a merry one. After the 1992 passage of Amendment 2, Colorado was dubbed the “hate state.” But more than 20 years later, after the re-election of the nation’s first openly gay governor and a barrage of bills protecting gender-affirming care, Lavender Hill seeks to solidify Colorado’s status as a leader for LGBTQ equality.
“Denver is just such a center of gravity in the West,” Kotel said. “We’ve kind of gotten to a point where people are generally accepting. I think after accepting is celebrating, so it’s definitely meant to highlight queer joy, positive contributions that the queer community has made, tell stories that aren’t just about crisis and demonstrate Colorado’s values.”
