PRESS CONTACT:
Luke Perkins, Manager of Communications and Public Relations
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Created in collaboration with Colorado Asian Pacific United (CAPU) and the University of Colorado Denver’s College of Architecture and Planning, Where is Denver’s Chinatown? Stories Remembered, Reclaimed, Reimagined shares this undertold history through historic personal family photographs and objects, artifacts from the museum collection, a portrayal of a typical home, and artistic reimaginings of the neighborhood.

“In Colorado we aren’t very knowledgeable about the important role of marginalized communities in our state’s history, because we don’t learn about it in our formal education,” said Joie Ha, executive director of CAPU. “This unique, community-driven, project being on display at the History Colorado Center shows there is a desire from the community and institutions to tell these forgotten histories. It is a chance to pay homage to stories that are foundational to our state, and I hope it provides a platform to look for more of these forgotten histories so they can be rightfully recognized for their importance.”

Once located in the area known today as Lower Downtown (LoDo), Denver’s Chinatown provided a welcoming space for Chinese people in Colorado, who built a flourishing community. The neighborhood represented the earliest AANHPI community in Denver and provided a space where Chinese immigrants could celebrate their culture against a backdrop of frequent ignorance, hostility, and violence. The neighborhood persisted through the Anti-Chinese Riot of 1880 but eventually dispersed as a result of widespread anti-Chinese racism and the passage of national laws that restricted immigration and opportunities for Chinese nationals.

“When I moved to Denver in 2012, I was happy to find the diverse AANHPI communities here, but surprised by how hard it was to find the Chinese history of the Mile High City and the lack of a Chinatown,” said Dr. Josie Chang-Order, school programs manager and co-developer of the exhibition.

The undertold nature of this history was echoed by Samantha Martin, Temple Buell associate curator of architecture and co-developer of Where is Denver’s Chinatown?

“So often when people talk about Denver’s Chinatown they discuss the location or the buildings themselves, but what’s lost is the stories of the people who called it home,” Martin said. “In Where is Denver’s Chinatown? we are trying to change that by engaging with the stories and material culture of Chinese Americans and Chinese immigrants who called Colorado home.”

Among the many important stories remembered in Where is Denver’s Chinatown? are the accomplishments of Chin Lin Sou, a first-generation Chinese immigrant who moved to Colorado in the 1870s and became a successful entrepreneur and leader whose legacy lives on in the community today.

“So often in history textbooks we only have a reference to anonymous Chinese railway workers and miners, but in the case of Chin Lin Sou, we have this figure who worked his way up into leadership spaces that were normally reserved for white men and succeeded in the face of racial disparity and hardship,” Chang-Order said.

Where is Denver’s Chinatown? will also include visual recreations created by students from University of Colorado Denver’s College of Architecture and Planning that depict what the neighborhood might have looked like alongside visions for its potential future as a cultural district dedicated to Colorado AANHPI communities.

"Our team's efforts stemmed from a research course I led, in which students produced drawings and models to represent their architectural ideas of repurposing existing buildings in the former Chinatown neighborhood,” said Leyuan Li, assistant professor at CU Denver College of Architecture and Planning. “Through collaboration with History Colorado – and thanks to the valuable support we have received from CU Denver and CU – several of these student-led possibilities will be displayed in the exhibition alongside a model crafted from historical maps, allowing visitors to both appreciate the history of Denver's Chinatown while envisioning its future.”

Where is Denver’s Chinatown? Stories Remembered, Reclaimed, Reimagined opens to the public on October 10, at the History Colorado Center in Downtown Denver. The History Colorado Center is located at 1200 N Broadway and is open daily from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Admission for kids 18 and under is free every day.

About Colorado Asian Pacific United
With a cultural curator mindset, Colorado Asian Pacific United (CAPU) works to uncover and celebrate local Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) histories through research, oral history collection, place-making, art, and curriculum development. CAPU has been instrumental in raising the profile of Denver's historic Chinatown and was responsible for securing an official apology from Mayor Michael Hancock on the city's treatment of Chinese immigrants and lack of accountability for the 1880 Anti-Chinese Race Riot; the first apology of its kind outside of California and the fifth in the nation. Beyond the Chinatown, CAPU aims to work with the many diverse cultures underneath the AANHPI umbrella to ensure that our stories are not forgotten. Our two long-term goals include the reactivation of the alleyway that used to be the heart of Denver's Chinatown into a pan-AANHPI gathering place, and the establishment of the first AANHPI culture and history museum in the Rocky Mountain Region.

About the University of Colorado Denver
Millions of moments start at CU Denver, a place where innovation, research, and learning meet in the heart of a global city. We’re the state’s premier public urban research university with more than 100 in-demand, top ranked bachelors, master’s, and doctoral degree programs. We partner with diverse learners—at any stage of their life and career—for transformative educational experiences. Across seven schools and colleges, our leading faculty inspires and works alongside students to solve complex challenges and produce impactful creative work. As part of the state’s largest university system, CU Denver is a major contributor to the Colorado economy, with 2,000 employees and an annual economic impact of $800 million. To learn more about how CU Denver helps learners meet their moment, visit ucdenver.edu.  

The College of Architecture and Planning at CU Denver
The College of Architecture and Planning (CAP) at the University of Colorado Denver values innovation, inspires creativity, and believes in community-responsive design. CAP offers an undergraduate degree in architecture as well as master’s degree programs in architecture, landscape architecture, urban and regional planning, urban design, and historic preservation. Additionally, CAP offers a PhD in Geography, Planning, and Design and minor and certificate programs including new offerings in interior design.

About History Colorado
History Colorado is a division of the Colorado Department of Higher Education and a 501(c)3 non-profit that has served more than 75,000 students and 500,000 people in Colorado each year. It is a 145-year-old institution that operates eleven museums and historic sites, a f no ree public research center, the Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation which provides technical assistance, educational opportunities, and other access to archaeology and historic preservation, and the History Colorado State Historical Fund (SHF), which is one of the nation’s largest state funded preservation programs of its kind. More than 70% of SHF grants are allocated in rural areas of the state. Additionally, the offices of the State Archaeologist and the State Historic Preservation Officer are part of History Colorado. 

History Colorado’s mission is to create a better future for Colorado by inspiring wonder in our past. We serve as the state’s memory, preserving and sharing the places, stories, and material culture of Colorado through educational programs, historic preservation grants, collecting, outreach to Colorado communities, the History Colorado Center and Stephen H. Hart Research Center in Denver, and 10 other museums and historic attractions statewide. History Colorado is one of only six Smithsonian Affiliates in Colorado. Visit HistoryColorado.org, or call 303-HISTORY, for more information. #HistoryColorado