The Center on Colfax

The Center on Colfax is Colorado's largest LGBTQ+ community centre — the primary institutional home of Denver's organised queer community, located at 1301 E Colfax in Capitol Hill at the geographic heart of the city's gay neighbourhood. The Center provides the full range of services that a major LGBTQ+ community centre serves: social services, HIV testing and prevention, mental health support, youth programming, senior services, legal resources, advocacy work, community events, and the daily operation of a welcoming community space that serves tens of thousands of Colorado LGBTQ+ people annually. The Colfax location places the Center at the centre of Denver's gay geography — walkable from Charlie's Denver and the other Capitol Hill bars, easily accessible by bus from across the city, and visible as the institutional anchor of the neighbourhood. The Center has been operating in various forms since the 1970s, making it one of the older LGBTQ+ community organisations in the Mountain West. Its longevity is a measure of the community's investment in maintaining a permanent institutional presence on Colfax. For visitors to Denver, the Center provides the clearest window into the depth and organisation of the city's LGBTQ+ community beyond its nightlife.