Denver Public Library opens voting for name of newest branch

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DENVER — The Denver Public Library system is asking the public for help in naming its newest branch.

The branch, located at the "ArtPark" in Denver's Five Points neighborhood, officially opened Feb. 15 of this year, but without a name.

The branch — which the library says will serve the Five Points, Cole, Globeville, and Elyria-Swansea neighborhoods — is part of a new “Community Hub.”

“The Community Hub is a unique partnership between Denver Public Library, RiNo Art District, the City of Denver, RedLine Contemporary Art Center and Focus Points Family Resource Center,” DPL said. “The shared space will provide collaborative programming and services celebrating art, innovation, education and small business. This hub will also have a public plaza off the Platte River Bike Path and green space that will be an active hub for the community.”

Denver residents were asked to submit their ideas for the new branch’s name last fall. A selection committee led by Denver City Councilmember Candi CdeBaca selected these four finalists:

  • Bob Ragland Branch Library
  • Lorraine Granado Branch Library
  • South Platte Branch Library
  • ArtPark Branch Library
Bob Ragland, who once hosted a program called "You're an Artist" on Rocky Mountain PBS, passed away in 2021. A new DPL branch could soon bear his name. (Photo: Rocky Mountain PBS Station's Archived Memories)

You can vote for the new branch’s name here.

The branch name has to meet a certain criteria. For example, if the library branch is to be named after a person, that person must be deceased and have a history of “significant civic service and contribution to the local neighborhood/area surrounding the new branch or Denver proper.”

Bob Ragland and Lorraine Granado each meet that criteria. Ragland, who once hosted a program on Rocky Mountain PBS, passed away in 2021. Granado, an activist who has a park named after her in Elyria-Swansea, died in 2019.

You can read more about them in this information about the four finalist branch names provided by DPL:

Bob Ragland Branch Library

Bob Ragland (1938-2021) was a prolific and well respected Black visual artist, teacher, consultant/coordinator, tv producer, and more. He authored and published “The Artist’s Question and Answer Book” and “The Artist’s Survival Handbook”, (or, “What To Do Till You're Rich and Famous”) and is honored as an award winning artist who worked with multiple mediums. As a longtime resident of both the Whittier and Five Points neighborhoods, Ragland was an advocate for Colorado art/artists as well as art in public schools. He also taught at Emily Griffith Opportunity School, George Washington High School, and Bradley Elementary.  He even had a segment during Denver channel 2’s “Montage, a look at the Arts” television show as well as a series on PBS KRMA TV6 titled “You’re an Artist.” Some of his work is publicly displayed including his 1990 sculpture, “Flute Player with Corn Row Hair”, at the Kirkland Museum of Fine and Decorative Art.

Lorraine Granado Branch Library

Lorraine Granado (1948-2019) was a lifelong, third generation resident of the Globeville, Elyria-Swansea neighborhoods in North Denver. Inspired in part by the Chicano movements of the 60s and 70s, she co founded the Cross Community Coalition in 1987. For decades, she fought environmental degradation resulting from the existence of and attempts to expand the I-70 corridor that had physically separated the communities from the rest of the city and increased noise and pollution in a community that was minority majority. Her work throughout the largely Hispanic community north of I-70 earned her the MLK Humanitarian Award (1997), the Self Sufficiency Award (2000) from the Latin American Research and Service Agency, and the Cinco de Mayo Award (2003).

South Platte Branch Library

The new branch is located on the eastern side of the South Platte River, which was named by the French Mallet Brothers, “Plat” meaning flat or shallow. While generally not considered a mighty river, it has been a draw for plants, animals, and people seeking sustenance for millennia. In prehistoric times, seasonal camps would be set up to sustain those hunting small game or gathering amaranth or plums. The South Platte is not considered a navigable river, but it marked the route for wagons, trains, and highways. It was the home to trade outposts and seasonal campsites for historical tribes of the mountain and plains. After gold was discovered, the city of Denver arose and the river would provide for agriculture and industry.

ArtPark Branch Library

The RiNo Art District has developed an open green space at 35th and Arkins called ArtPark - a creative hub in the Five Points neighborhood designed to spark innovation and bring people together - in which the new branch is located. In addition to Denver Public Library, ArtPark creative and community partners include RiNo Art District, the City of Denver, Denver Parks and Recreation,  RedLine Contemporary Art Center, and Focus Points Family Resource Center. These partnerships are exploring intersections of nature, recreation, and culture. For more information, visit rinoartpark.com.

DPL said the branch will have an official grand opening once it gets its new name. Voting is open until Friday, April 1 at midnight.


Kyle Cooke is the digital media manager at Rocky Mountain PBS. You can reach him at kylecooke@rmpbs.org.