Denver in the 1960s and 1970s (Memory Lane) (Aurora, Lakewood: teaching, races)

[edglock21]

Originally Posted by Zenmaster43

Anyone remember a concert in the Denver Coliseum in the early ‘70s with Golden Earring and Cat Stevens? I can’t seem to find it in any of the concert ticket sites, but I was there. I’m looking for the date of that concert.

You may be thinking of two different shows, this site doesn't show them together on the same date (not that it's the be-all and end-all authority, but it does have an extensive database):

https://www.setlist.fm/search?query=...+earing+denver

https://www.setlist.fm/search?query=Cat+Stevens+denver

[citybilly]

Anyone recall the old hotel by union station? In '72- '73, I remember Sunday night Hootenannies.

[jude fawley]

Originally Posted by citybilly

Anyone recall the old hotel by union station? In '72- '73, I remember Sunday night Hootenannies.

During the '70s the Oxford Hotel had folk music. The Oxford had run down a bit, it wasn't as upscale and formal as it is now. Instead of a swanky restaurant it had a room for live music. I remember hearing ads for it on KFML all the time. I think this might be what you're thinking of.

[DOUBLE H]

Originally Posted by jude fawley

During the '70s the Oxford Hotel had folk music. The Oxford had run down a bit, it wasn't as upscale and formal as it is now. Instead of a swanky restaurant it had a room for live music. I remember hearing ads for it on KFML all the time. I think this might be what you're thinking of.

KFML was one of the great stations that Denver had, they would play some way out stuff at times but that type music gets plenty of activity online and the local record stores and the bigger city record swap meets. To name a few artists---SunRa, Pharoah Sanders, Velvet Underground, Zappa/Mothers Of Invention, Captain Beefheart, etc.

I think back to a couple shows I went to at the Oxford--Michael Stanley and Rachel Faro. Faro is certainly not big name but she recorded 2 lp's on RCA in '74 and '75 and a recording that was distributed only in Europe. She now is one of the most noted music producers in the business. Michael Stanley put out his first album on Tumbleweed Records, a Denver local label in March of '73, it was a great show!


If nobody is familiar with Rachel, you tube "Smooth Sailin"". With Stanley you tube "Rosewood Bitters" and "Denver Rain."

[opticksiii]

Originally Posted by TJsHotRods

That manager was a very good friend of mine, Dennis Miller. I was devastated when I heard what happened. Even more so when I heard they were not tried as adults, and got nothing more than a slap on the wrist. I also dated his sister, Denise. I heard they made there get away in your cab also. What happened? I never got the entire story.

I was a young teenager at the time and me and my friend were over at this guy Bob's house that night when his older brother crawled in through Bobs bedroom window on the second floor and hid under Bob's bed. His older brother was named Mike Hicks. When we asked him what happened he said that he and some other guys killed a person at a Red Barn and put him in the freezer.

We didn't believe him until later when we heard he was arrested. I thought he was a bully thug at the time and he scared me the few times I saw him. We stayed away from that house from then on. Such a tragic story.

[opticksiii]

Originally Posted by Alslimo

I was a cab driver in the 70's. I picked up three teenage boys at a house near the Red Barn resturant at 4501 Harlan near Lakeside shopping. They had gone on a "speed" induced crime spree. They had shot and mortally wounded the night manager at the Red Barn and stuffed him in the cooler to die. Turns out they had gone to school with him. A fast thinking offduty Jeffco Sheriff deputy saved my life.

I was a young teenager at the time and me and my friend were over at this guy Bob's house that night when his older brother crawled in through Bobs bedroom window on the second floor and hid under Bob's bed. His older brother was named Mike Hicks. When we asked him what happened he said that he and some other guys killed a person at a Red Barn and put him in the freezer.

We didn't believe him until later when we heard he was arrested. I thought he was a bully thug at the time and he scared me the few times I saw him. We stayed away from that house from then on. Such a tragic story.

[mrblanche]

This thread just goes on and on, doesn't it?


I was born in Denver and lived there until the summer of 1966, when we moved out to Kiowa.


Some of the things people are talking about I remember. And some of my favorite memories haven't been mentioned up to the point I've finished read (page 33).


My mother had the bad habit of moving every summer, so we lived all over Denver. Mostly south of downtown, with one year on the west side. I lived in Denver from 1952 to 1966.



Some of my favorite memories.


Museum of Natural History. It has a different name now, but it was always fascinating and taught me so much.


City Park Zoo. Yes, I remember Velox.


Denver General Hospital ER. We were pretty poor, so if we were sick, the ER is where we had to go. (We moved out of Denver just as they were gearing up for major improvements, neighborhood clinics, etc.) The ambulance docks were right by the waiting room, and the stretchers were wheeled right through the waiting room. Sometimes, it was a real education. At the time, Denver judges liked to sentence first time DUI's to spending the weekend night shift in the ER for a month.


White Spot Restaurants. Think Denny's, with better architecture. Open 24 hours. Nothing special, really. They're all gone, now.


I remember when Larimer Square was still "skid row," and the buses didn't stop when they passed through.


Quig Newton Housing Project. Only lived there for a year. Attended Smedley Elementary. Again, an education. But one of our neighbors made the best flour tortillas I've ever had. And I took the worst beating of my life from a girl who lived next door to us. Her brothers held me down while she kicked me everywhere. As I said, an education.


Black Widow Beatnik Coffee Shop. The owner lived next door to one of my friends. He drove a black Studebaker thoroughly hand painted and lettered.


Musicals in Cheesman Park. We saw a couple of musicals, most notably The Music Man, sitting on the grass in the dark in Cheesman Park. I was young. I doubt I stayed awake for the ending.


Several people have mentioned The Little Banquet smorgasbord. The one we visited occasionally was on Broadway.


Lots of people have mentioned The Denver Drumstick. The restaurant KFC, Chicken Express, etc., all wish they were.


I've seen several mentions of the 1965 flood. A disaster for the horse race track. And we had to use a temporary bridge to get to school. We moved out soon thereafter.


Oh, and Englewood Speedway. At one point, we lived just down the hill from the speedway. My brother and I would spend all day Sunday hunting for pop bottles to return for deposit (2 cents each) to raise enough for us to go to the races. Fifty cents each. A lifetime addiction.


My stepfather's parents owned the huge tract of land at West Colfax and Wadsworth, northeast corner. They eventually sold it to K-Mart and got enough money to retire with no worries. It's a Walmart now, I believe. They were German Jewish immigrants who left Germany right after WWI.



As I said, we left Denver in 1966, and left Colorado in 1967. It was the city I grew up knowing well. I don't think I'd move back, but I don't bear it any ill will. I have been back to visit a number of times over the years, but I still recognize the bones of the city I knew.

[mrblanche]

Oh, and I forgot to mention getting haircuts at the Opportunity School for a dime!

[mrblanche]

Originally Posted by Rschober912

1979 advertisement for Casa Bonita, Crystal's Pizza and Taco Bueno

We had a Crystal's Pizza in Irving, TX. And, of course, Taco Bueno was everywhere. I went to a Casa Bonita in Arkansas a few times.


Crystals had a turn-of-the-century (not this one, one before that) decor and great pizza. They went through a couple of owners after Casa Bonita sold them, and eventually closed and have been torn down.



(One of their secrets was that they used provolone instead of mozzarella cheese.)


Sit in your own private booth, or go watch cartoons in the theater.


And back to Denver: Does anyone rember the '60's group "The Green Men?" All of them with green pompadours.

[West Side Boy]

What I wouldn't do for a chicken dinner (in the fire truck), mashed potatoes smothered in the yellow gravy and a couple slices of that Texas toast from the Drumstick for dinner tonight. If my father was still alive, I would also ask to borrow his wristwatch because it had a second hand and I like to time how long it takes for the train to make a complete circuit.

Sadly, both the Drumsticks and my Dad are long gone and all I have is the memories.