Davies’ Chuck Wagon Diner and its neon cowboy have long held court along West Colfax Avenue, the prefabricated diner set on its Lakewood foundation in 1957.
The well-known landmark was transported to Colorado by rail from its New Jersey manufacturer, a fully equipped diner weighing 46 tons. Today, it’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
A new study hopes to learn the backstory of many other buildings — possibly 500 or more — that also line the West Colfax corridor in Lakewood.
The 40 West Arts District and Lakewood-West Colfax Business Improvement District have received a $37,500 grant from the State Historical Fund to conduct a historic resources survey of the corridor between Sheridan Boulevard and Welch Street.
Beginning later this year, a consultant working with local volunteers will catalog information about the architecture, use and ownership of every structure along West Colfax that is 50 years or older. A pre-survey already identified more than 500 buildings that qualify, said Bill Marino, executive director of the Lakewood-West Colfax BID.
“There’s an awful lot of history and an awful lot of stories,” Marino said.
The BID and 40 West hope to use the information they collect to publish educational materials, create interpretative signs and even launch tours of the West Colfax area.
Marino said one group has already expressed interest in creating a tour that could include stops at the Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design, housed on the historic Jewish Consumptive Relief Society campus, and Rockley Music Center, the oldest multigenerational family business along the corridor.
The BID provided $12,500 in matching dollars for the state grant, bringing the total funding to $50,000. The survey will take 18-24 months to complete, Marino said.
“There’s just a whole lot of wonderful commercial buildings that go back to the ’40s, ’50s, ’60s that deserve to be catalogued and remembered,” Marino said.
“It’s to capture the character and heritage of the corridor and immortalize it.”
The city of Lakewood is also taking steps to champion historic preservation.
The Lakewood City Council on Aug. 12 appointed the first members to the city’s new Historic Preservation Commission, the first board of its kind in Lakewood city history.
The five-member commission will be tasked with designating local historic landmarks, ruling on proposed changes to designated buildings and conducting its own historic resources surveys, as well as educating the community on the benefits of historic preservation.
The first meeting of the new commission is Aug. 27, said Holly Boehm, a principal city planner. The framework for the board was included in the citywide zoning overhaul approved by the city council in late 2012.
Establishing the Historic Preservation Commission is also a major benchmark toward achieving status as a Certified Local Government, a goal set out in October 2012 with the approval of the city’s first Historic Preservation Plan.
A federal program of the National Park Service, CLG status brings with it access to a special pot of grant money, as well as state preservation tax credits for individual property owners, Boehm said.
“It really lends credibility to Lakewood’s commitment to preserving its history and celebrating its history,” Boehm said.
Currently, only one property — the White Way Grill, now at the Lakewood Heritage Center — is a locally designated historic landmark. Three properties are on the state list, and nine, including Davies’ Chuck Wagon Diner, are on the National Register of Historic Places.
“Lakewood is a new city and wasn’t incorporated until 1969,” Boehm said. “It really has roots way back to when this area was an agricultural and farming community.”
Emilie Rusch: 303-954-2457, erusch@denverpost.com or
