Five Points Neighborhood
Five Points is the name given to the neighborhoods surrounding the intersection of Washington Street, 27th Street, 26th Avenue and Welton Street, northeast of Denver's Central Business District. The collision between the downtown diagonal grid and the rectangular grid of East Denver neighborhoods causes this intersection to be five-way, hence the name. One of the city's oldest neighborhoods, the area came to prominence in the 1860s. The Curtis Park and Ballpark neighborhoods are located within the larger Five Points neighborhood, one of the largest neighborhoods in Denver.
Five Points was once one of the most prosperous black communities in the West and is now home to the Black American West Museum. The neighborhood is also well known for its long jazz history. Between the 1920's and 1950s, Five Points clubs famously hosted some of the greatest jazz musicians ever - Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis and others.
The construction of the Welton-Downing light rail corridor in 1994 and an increase in demand for urban lifestyles near downtown have spurred much private real estate investment in Five Points. Urban lofts now intermix with restored Victorian homes. Demographics are shifting. As is the case with many urban core neighborhoods nationwide, Five Points strives to strike a balance between the converging cultures of its historic and future identity.