In the Black - The African American Business Journal
In the Black - The African American Business Journal
People on the Move Business Brief Economic Outlook After Hours Calendar of Events Smart Traveler
Home Bookmark Technology Subscribe Contact Us

Bonus Point

 Spring  2000
By Marva Coleman

Once Denver's most stylish Black community, Five Points is working  its way back from blight

Five Points, one of Denver�s oldest and largest residential neighborhoods, was named so in 1870 by the Denver Tramway Company. There wasn�t enough space on the streetcars to list all the streets at the end of the line�Washington, Welton, 27th Street, and East 26th Avenue converge at one central point at 26th and Welton. So the area, bounded on the west by the South Platte River, on the east by Downing, and south to north from 20th to 38th Avenues, became known as Five Points.

Today, the point of The Five Points Business Association (FPBA) is to promote economic development in this once-vital area.

The Five Points Business Association is the business office for the Five Points Neighborhood Business Revitalization program intended to optimize blighted areas. Residents of several corridors�Washington Street, Downing and 30th, Bruce Randolph, and the Welton Street strip�can tap into any services the Five Points Business Support Office (BSO) has to offer. Marva Coleman is the Executive Director and Chalonie Craighead is Deputy Director.

Between 1920 and 1940, Five Points flourished. Many Blacks bought property in the Points and opened shops, clubs and diners. Welton Street was a Mecca for nightclubs and home to the Casino Ballroom where performers such as B.B. King, Fats Domino, Muddy Waters, and Ray Charles headlined. Down the street, jazz-lovers gathered in the intimate Rossonian Lounge. African Americans were unwelcome in downtown clubs and hotels, just outside of Five Points. Even entertainers who performed in Denver�s venues were not allowed to book a room or dine there.

From 1910 to 1950, Five Points was home to Denver�s Black community. The population peaked at 32,000 in 1950, just years before the landmark Colorado Fair Housing Act prohibiting discrimination in housing went into effect July 1, 1954. Many middle-class African American�s abandoned the area for the suburbs. By 1994, the population had shrunk to a low of 7,800. High crime rates, poorly ranked schools, and sparse shopping plagued the area for more than 50 years. To this day, Five Points remains a minority-held neighborhood. It�s part of what makes the community special. It is also the phenomenon that has kept middle class America out.



For full story please Subscribe to In The Black Magazine

Alexander Named to LMC Board

 Fall 1999

Milroy Alexander, director of finance for the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, has been named to the LMC Community Foundation board of directors. The Foundation is a sponsoring organization for Exempla Healthcare and supports med�ical programs such as Exempla Hospice.

Alexander has been with the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority for more than 10 years. He is responsible for adminis�tration of finance division operations, including financial planning, budgeting and analysis, investments and cash manage�ment, accounting, audit and external financial reporting, loan administration and servicing, new bond financing, and strategic planning.

Alexander is on the board of the Northeast Denver Housing Center and sits on the Investment Advisory Committee of Denver. He is on the board of Senior Housing Options, Inc. and Colorado Enterprise Fund, formerly the Greater Denver Local Development Corp. He and his family reside in Aurora, Colo. 


full story...