West Side Recorder Volume 6 No 6

              WEST SIDE RECORDER
Volume 6—Number 6
What Is Auraria?
Auraria is old, old Denver
north of the West Side—from
Speer Boulevard and Colfax Avenue to the railroad tracks along
Sixth Street and Wazee Street.
It covers about 40 blocks on 169
acres.
There is argument about how
many people are now living on
the Aurara site, but the best estimate is that there are between
650 and 800 people of all ages,
in families or living alone, mostly low-income Hispanos. This
number does not include the residents at St. Rose's who would
be taken care of elsewhere if
the building were torn down.
Last May there were 264 registered voters in the area.
There are about 60 Auraria
families active in St. Cajetan's
Catholic Church, and about 10 in
St. Elizabeth's. In both churches,
most of the people live in other
parts of Denver.
The Denver county assessor's
records last May showed 134
buildings used for residence.
Most recently University of Colorado Design Center students
have found 176 apartments and
houses in use in the area. Twenty-four of the homes are owned
by the people living in them.
Almost 80 percent of the rental
properties cost less than $75 a
month.
The Auraria site contains two
churches, both with schools; the
Ave Maria Clinic, the Tivoli
brewery property which is a
landmark in excellent condition,
the Casa Mayan restaurant, the
Emanuel Chapel which is the
oldest synagogue building and
one of the oldest places of worship in Denver, and many other
properties ranging in condition
from good to neglected. There
are 240 businesses.
Monthly Newspaper of the West Side, Denver, Colorado
October, 1969
Why Auraria?
West Side Power
Saves Santa Fe
West Side power.
Immediate action.
Everybody  working together.
That's what won the West Side
fvictory over the Victory—over
the attempt to move nude movies
and "girlie" shows from the
former downtown Victory Theater to the neighborhood Santa
Fe Theater which was to be renamed "Victory."
The West Siders won something else, too, by their wholehearted protest.
As a result of the action and
the publicity that went with it,
City Council passed a resolution
that no neighborhood theater in
Denver should be used for such
films.
The problem now is that the
Santa Fe is closed up tight and
Norman Pacheco of the Atlas
Corporation which operates it
says "nothing definite" is
planned for it. Charles Yeger
is the head of the Atlas Corporation.
The former manager of the
Santa Fe Theater, Abel Gallegos, says he did not have a lease
on the movie house but if he had
the opportunity he would operate it again and show Mexican
family-type films.
Mr. Gallegios said, "There
wasn't much profit in the theater—I didn't operate it lor that.
It was enough to meet expenses
—it was a hobby to me.
"Sometimes we had 400 to 700
kids in the theater. I let them
in free if they were with their
parents; otherwise they paid a
quarter.
"I could do this because the
Azteca Distributors I got the
films from did not charge for
the kids.
"I hope to have a chance to
open a theater for the same purpose again in the West Side community," Mr. Gallegos said.
The city, Metropolitan State
College, Denver Community College, Denver Center of the University of Colorado, and the
State Commission on Higher Education are sharing arrangements for use of the Auraria
site as campus for the two colleges and for some of the activities of the Denver Center of
the University.
In order to serve all city students well, the schools must be
easy to reach by public and private transportation, easy to
serve with all forms of public
utilities, near as many jobs as
possible, and the schools must
be where the action is. In today's city, the action—especially jobs and opportunities to learn
and to be involved in real life—
is downtown rather than in outlying areas.
Three selection surveys were
made in 1966-68 of about 20 different sites before Auraria was
chosen as meeting the requirements. Some people feel the
surveys of different locations
were poorly set up and then done
in a way that made Auraria come
out "right." Now the Auraria
site has been recommended to
and approved by the federal
government for a large share
of the financing necessary to
vide land for the campus.
Both Metro State and Community (Junior) College were
started to provide low-cost, open-admission higher education
in the city for Colorado residents. The cost to the student
now and at least in the near
future is set below $500 a year.
Metro State says it will continue
to admit anyone with a_high
school diploma or its equivalent
and with the ability to succeed
in a four-year program even if
he needs to be on a probationary status for a time.
Metro College always has had
an open door policy although
there was a false report recently
that it had changed to admitting
only the top two-thirds of graduating classes. The suggestion
was made by the State Commission on Higher Education that
the policy should be made more
strict in 1971, but Metro students, faculty, and adminstra-
tion overwhelmingly petitioned
the Commision not to enforce
the proposal and it was dropped.
Community College admits
anyone who shows promise.
CONTRIBUTIONS FOR
THIS ISSUE OF THE
WEST SIDE RECORDER
(BASIC COST, $490)
Catholic Archdiocese
of Denver ......$200
Colorado Printers  ....     10
First Avenue Presbyterian
Church   10
First Bethany
Lutheran Church
First Mennonite
Church   ..
Inner City Parish
St. Elizabeth's
Catholic Church
10
10
10
10
St. Joseph's
Catholic Church ....  10
Under $5:    West   Denver
Community   Church   of
God   in   Christ    (Holiness).
And a special* thank-you to
Adolph Coors Co.
PHOTOGRAPHY: Bill Baker and KR Graphics, Inc.,
Barbara Baker.
Pledges for this issue:
St. John's Lutheran
Church $10
Wesley United Methodist
Church      10
What Happens to Auraria?
If Denver's registered voters
give their support in the bond
issue election Tuesday, Nov. 4,
the city will be authorized to
raise $6,000,000 to start buying
and clearing the land. Then the
federal government will provide
$10,600,000 on the purchase plus
$2,000,000 to relocate residents
and businesses now in the area.
The State of Colorado then will
have to provide $6,000,000 to
buy the land from the city and
an estimated $75,000,000 to put
up the buildings. Plans now are
the state's budget for higher education.
It is important to know that
if the bond issue is approved,
no buildings are to be torn down
before this time next year—October, 1970. It will take that long
for all legal and financial arrangements to be made.
Under federal requirements,
a full and open public hearing
must be held by City Council
before the Urban Renewal Authority can go ahead buying any
properties or moving any residents or businesses. This public
hearing on the Auraria site probably will be held in January or
February.
During the first year after the
uond issue vote— if it passes—
Denver Urban Renewal Authority is bound by law to help find
satisfactory housing and business space for all persons in the
area. The payments will vary.
Renters will get some money to
move and in some cases will get
payments for relocation adjustment. Home owners will get a
fair market price plus possbile
relocation adjustment payment
i*r u5to~$5,oou imi^Tnm^ifif^To^^"
up to $200. Businesses will get
as much as $25,000 and possibly
property loss coverage.
Federal laws will not allow the
federal money to be given to
Denver for the higher education
complex unless and until every
family and individual forced to
move out of the area is located
where they want to be, in housing that meets their needs.
Where can Auraria residents
go? Only one or two are willing
to go into city public housing
projects. There is some possibility of new rent-subsidy housing
in the Skyline area.
The real problem is that there
is not enough low-cost housing
in Denver anyway and none is
being built at this time.
What If We All Vote No?
Metro State now is renting
class space in 10 buildings at a
cost of about $860,000. With its
expected growth in enrollment
ment and in costs, it might be
paying more than $2,000,000 rent
five years from now if it does
not have buildings of its own
by that time.
Denver Community College
now has classes north and west,
but there are no state^supported
junior college classes downtown
because the college has no place
there.
What will happen to the Au-
rari site if the bond issue does
not pass has not had much publicity. The number of housing
units in the area has gone from
about 800 in 1940 to less than
one-fourth as many now, while
the number of businesses and industries has increased and probably will grow more. A check of
the business and industrial properties shows that some have
"absentee'1 options on them for
development if the campus does
not come in.
There is no coordination of
planning for private development of the area, nor any plan
for  other public  improvement.
Auraria
What will it mean to West Siders if Denver residents
vote to get started on making the Auraria site north of Colfax into a campus for Metropolitan State College and Denver Community College?
The election on buying the land—which would be done
through a city bond issue—will be Tuesday, Nov. 4. All registered voters in the city and county of Denver can vote on
the bond issue. They do not need to be property owners
to vote.
It is very important for West Siders to get all the facts
they can and to make up their own minds about the election
and what it might mean. The whole question is big and
complex.
It also is very important for West Siders to realize there
are good and not-so-good on both sides of the question.
With all the interest on the subject, there are a lot of
rumors, and there have been some serious misunderstandings. The WEST SIDE RECORDER has gathered material
from many places in an effort to give as complete a picture
to West Siders as possible.
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING FOR ALL WEST
SIDERS TO HAVE IN MIND, NO MATTER HOW THEY
VOTE, IS THAT THEY ARE GOING TO HAVE TO LEARN
AS MUCH AS THEY CAN ABOUT THE PROBLEMS
RIGHT AWAY AND DECIDE TOGETHER WHAT THEY
WANT FOR THE WEST SIDE. THEN THEY ARE GOING
TO HAVE TO WORK TOGETHER TO GET IT.
NO MATTER HOW THE BOND ISSUE ELECTION
COMES OUT, THIS IS TRUE.
What About the West Side?
In recent months representatives of Denver Urban Renewal
Authority, Model Cities, and the
City Planning Office have spent
many hours talking with West
Siders, particularly directors of
~ tRe^WestiSideH^^
sociation and persons attending
WSIA meetings, about the possible   future   of  the   West   Side
area.
Nothing has come out of aU
these visits to the West Side
by city officials except frustration for West Siders—so much
talk and no plans, no action,
nothing concrete. However,
there is much will power and
willingness to learn on the West
Side to get improvements, to
protect family values and family
homes, to keep the community
from being exploited by outsiders, and to keep Hispano culture strong in the area.
The biggest threat felt by
West Siders right now is that
high-cost housing might replace
at least part of their low-cost
housing. There is concern that
the West Side retail area might
change—in merchandise and in
prices.
A study made for Denver Urban Renewal Authority in December, 1968, said:
"Aproximately 200 low-rent,
privately owned residential units exist in the area immediately south (of Auraria) which
could be brought up to a suitable standard for student housing, adequate to supply the limited initial demand anticipated.
Increased future demand could
be met through redevelopment
of 'soft areas' (the West Side)
for modern housing units for
students, to be provided by others than the college (itself)."
Three to five students could
go together and rent a house
now occupied by a family at a
much lower total rent. On the
other hand, many students will
live at home to save money, and
commute as students do now at
the Denver Center (CU) and
Metro State. Some large urban
schools in other cities such as
Detroit have not brought many
students to live in the campus
area.
A Neighborhood Development
Program, such as in Model Cities,  or a  Community Development project such as    can   be
(Continued on page %)*)
Are Changes Possible?
The final decision on plans for
the Auraria site and the education complex will T>e made by
the State Commission on Higher
Education. Plans are far from
complete and there is time to
eongidcr alternatives.
Some people are proposing
that some of the Auraria properties be rehabilitated rather than
destroyed, which would save
some housing. Some people are
working on the possibility of
building low-eost, cooperative
housing to be owned and managed only by Hispanos. Whole
new transportation methods and
arrangements are under study
for all of Denver.
St. Elizabeth's will not be torn
down. Although St. Cajetan's
was marked for destruction it
may survive.
Auraria can be developed in
either of two ways if the bond
issue passes. The Commission
on Higher Education can permit
Denver Urban Renewal Authority to sweep through the area
and leave nothing but St. Eliza-
beth's. Or the education complex
can be integrated with the community by selective clearing, rehabilitation and change.
As a study project, a group
from the University of Colorado
and the Denver Design Center
has been exploring possible ways
to develop the Auraria site for
the higher education complex.
The students have talked with
many residents and businessmen
in the Auraria commuity so
their opinions can be worked into the planning.
Some of these people think
the construction of the proposed
Skyine freeway would not be de-
sirable. They believe the present
railroad track area is where the
Auraria site could expand the
most naturally—for any need.
This prospect ties in very well
with the South Platte redevelopment project.
If some of the existing housing and other buildings could
be kept and rehabilitated, it
would provide a smooth blending
of the higher education complex
with the surrounding community This and other possible plans
for the Auraria site are being
studied, always with the thought
that resident participation wm
be the factor that will make the
result satisfactory to all concerned.