DENVER — Denver’s Five Points neighborhood is steeped in history, culture and change. A yoga studio occupies what was once a mortuary owned by the sons of Frederick Douglass. Across the street from an RTD park-and-ride station, you’ll find the former home of Dr. Justina Ford, Colorado’s first Black female doctor who delivered thousands of babies, many of them in her house.
The buildings — and the people — of Five Points have witnessed the evolution of this historically Black neighborhood. As people come and go, the buildings remain. If those walls could talk, what stories would they tell? Two new audio tours from the Denver Architecture Foundation strive to answer that question.
The nonprofit released the tours, titled Five Points Fortitude, as the centerpiece of its annual Doors Open Denver event. Most years, Doors Open Denver showcases the city’s architecture through in-person tours and events. This year, the event was virtual.
The self-paced audio tours are free to access and will be available in perpetuity. The two tours — a 13-stop tour for adults and an eight-stop tour designed for families — allow people to take in the information at their own pace, pausing and replaying as needed. The tour encourages people to take their time in the neighborhood and explore destinations that aren’t designated tour stops.
Michael Hughes, DAF’s interim executive director, said the buildings often considered to be architecturally significant are grand, expensive and designed by white architects. By highlighting the architectural gems in Five Points, the foundation wants to take a step toward revising that narrative.
“The buildings that are often praised or thought about as worthy of attention are buildings of great privilege,” Hughes said. “There's an awakening to really trying to understand the breadth of the community, the diversity of architectural styles, of historic context.”
As one would expect from an architecture tour, each stop includes information about the building’s architectural style and history. But the tour also dives into the cultural history and personal stories of the building.
To help tell those stories, DAF tapped filmmaker donnie l. betts. betts, who does not use capital letters in his name, produced, directed and co-wrote both tours.
betts has established deep roots in the Five Points community, producing films that honor and preserve the history of the neighborhood and the experience of Black people in the West.
“I wanted the buildings to talk. I'm not an architect, but I know how to tell a story,” betts said. “People who are walking and listening to this will have a chance to take in those stories and take in the beauty of the architecture at the same time.”