In 1975, attorney Jerry Gerash convened a coalition called "Unity" that grew from 10 to 39 LGBTQ+ organizations. In November 1976, 22 members of that coalition drafted bylaws for what would become the Gay Community Center of Colorado. The center opened in August 1977 in a house owned by the First Unitarian Society at 1436 Lafayette Street, funded by roughly $10,000 raised through grassroots donations.

An earlier effort had existed briefly: the Gay Coalition of Denver operated an office at 1450–1460 Pennsylvania Street from 1973 to 1974, run by Cordell Boyce. It closed after approximately one year due to lack of funding. The 1976 founding represented the community's second attempt — this time with broader organizational support and staying power. LGBTQ+ Denver Guide

Phil Nash, one of the Center's first volunteers and its first salaried coordinator, recalled the hostility of the era. He described being shot at with pellet guns from cars driving past on East Colfax. The Center existed in a climate where its mere presence was provocative, and its staff and volunteers faced physical danger as part of their daily work.

The name evolved through several iterations: Gay Coalition of Denver became Unity, then the Gay Community Center of Colorado, then the GLBT Community Center of Colorado, and finally The Center on Colfax. Each name change reflected shifts in language, politics, and the community's understanding of itself. Colfax Avenue Queer History

Phil Nash, one of the Center's first volunteers and its first salaried coordinator, recalled being shot at with pellet guns from cars driving past on East Colfax. The Center survived that hostility — and AIDS, Amendment 2, and 50 years of change — to become the institutional backbone of LGBTQ+ Colorado.

On July 6, 2010, the Center moved to 1301 East Colfax Avenue — a 15,000-square-foot building that had previously housed the Metropolitan Industrial Bank (1959–1990) and then a Video One store. The capital campaign was led by Barbara Harrison and Christopher K.M. Leach, funded in part by a bequest from Roy Wood. The new location sits half a block from the Center's first office on Pennsylvania Street.

The building gave the Center space to consolidate programs that had previously been scattered across multiple locations. For the first time, youth services, elder programs, mental health counseling, and administrative offices all operated under one roof.

Rainbow Alley, established in 1998, is a drop-in center for LGBTQ+ youth ages 11 to 21. West of 50, formerly SAGE of the Rockies dating to the 1980s, serves LGBTQ+ elders. The Glass Lawler Mental Health program provides counseling, and the Legal Program handles over 160 cases per year. The Terry Mangan Memorial Library holds more than 2,000 volumes.

The Colorado LGBTQ History Project, housed at the Center, has conducted more than 100 oral histories and donated over 30 collections to the Denver Public Library. The Center also founded the Colorado AIDS Project in 1983 and has produced PrideFest since 1989 or 1990. The Transgender Program and RANGE education initiative round out a service portfolio that reaches more than 50,000 people annually.

The Center on Colfax functions as the institutional memory of LGBTQ+ Colorado. While bars open and close, organizations rise and fold, the Center has maintained continuous operations through the AIDS crisis, the Amendment 2 battle, the marriage equality movement, and the current era of anti-trans legislation. Its longevity provides organizational continuity that few LGBTQ+ institutions in any American city can match.

That continuity matters because institutional knowledge is fragile. The Center's history project, library, and archival partnerships with the Denver Public Library ensure that the community's story survives beyond the memory of any individual participant.

Explore Denver's LGBTQ+ Community

The Center on Colfax is the institutional heart of LGBTQ+ Denver. Read the full guide to the community it serves.

Denver LGBTQ+ Updates

Get the latest on Denver's LGBTQ+ events, community news, and nightlife guides.