The Barney Ford Building: An Escaped Slave's Brick Monument

The Barney Ford Building stands at 1514 Blake Street in LoDo. Barney Ford opened the People's Restaurant here in August 1863, and the building is Denver Landmark #4. It suits readers who want an early Denver address tied to a single career, and the exterior can be read from the Blake Street sidewalk, with the restaurant, barber shop and bar that once shared the structure laid out in the sections below.

The Denver Public Library calls the building significant for its association with Barney L. Ford, an escaped slave who became a prominent businessman, civic leader and politician in Denver. Ford was born January 22, 1822, in Stafford, Virginia. He escaped to Chicago via the Underground Railroad and arrived in Denver in 1860.

His public life went beyond the restaurant trade. According to the library's building record, he was the first Black man nominated to the Territorial Legislature, and he worked for Colorado's admission to statehood with suffrage for its nonwhite residents. The address on Blake Street is where that business career was based, which is why the building carries his name.

The building dates to 1863. According to the Denver Public Library, Ford opened the People's Restaurant at street level in August 1863. The basement held a barber shop and hair salon, and the second floor held a bar.

That mix of uses made the address a working commercial block rather than a single-purpose dining room. The library describes it as a brick commercial structure with portions dating from the 1860s. From the Blake Street sidewalk, the layout can be matched to the record level by level: restaurant at street level, barber shop and hair salon below, bar above.

The walk is a short one. Blake Street is the only street the record ties to this address, so the route is simple: find 1514 Blake Street and stand across from the brick front. The record gives the street-level restaurant, the basement barber shop and hair salon, and the second-floor bar, and those are the three uses to look for as the eye travels from the ground up.

Brick is the other thing the record stresses. The library's description is of a brick commercial structure with portions from the 1860s, so the material on the facade is part of the building's story, not just its look. The record does not list an architect or a walking route, so the building itself and the street in front of it are the whole stop. The record names no transit stop or parking for this address, so plan the approach to Blake Street before setting out.

The building is designated Denver Landmark #4. Wikipedia's entry on the building also lists it on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places and the Colorado State Register of Historic Properties. City, federal and state recognition all attach to the same address on Blake Street, and the landmark number places it among the first buildings Denver designated.

For other early Denver landmarks, Denver's 10 Oldest Landmarks Still Standing is the next page to open. Ford's building is one of the early commercial addresses, and that page sets it beside the city's other oldest survivors. For a wider look at the same part of town, The Gallup-Stanbury Building: Frontier Art and Bar Tabs covers another early Denver building.

Who was Barney Ford? An escaped slave who became a businessman, civic leader and politician in Denver, per the Denver Public Library. He was born January 22, 1822, in Stafford, Virginia, and arrived in Denver in 1860.

When was the building constructed? In 1863. The People's Restaurant opened at street level that August, according to the library's record.

What else was in the building? A barber shop and hair salon in the basement and a bar on the second floor, per the same record.

Where is it? At 1514 Blake Street in LoDo.

What is its landmark status? Denver Landmark #4, with listings on the National Register of Historic Places and the Colorado State Register of Historic Properties, per Wikipedia.

Updated 2026-10-13: replaced the broken /blog/ series links with live pages; deleted dated claims no listed source states; rebuilt the history around the Denver Public Library and National Register records.