Nowadays, Jerry Baack can’t even go to the grocery store without being recognized.
The longtime property manager has been a fixture on Colfax since the 1970s, managing three buildings near Marion and Lafayette streets, but since his picture started appearing on banners along Colfax, things have changed for the longtime Denver resident.
Baack is one of five Denverites to have his or her own banner for the holiday season between Grant and Josephine streets as part of a program to celebrate Colfax led by the Upper Colfax Business Improvement District.
There are more than 160 banners up and down each side of the street highlighting various neighborhood personalities as well a gingerbread man and Baack’s dog, Charlie, a Boston terrier. There are eight different banners.
“I think it’s the coolest,” Baack said. “I think there’s other people who should be here, too, not me so much. I’m kind of embarrassed.”
Singer/songwriter and 2007 Denver East High School graduate Kayla Marque said she was also a little embarrassed when she first saw her picture on Colfax, looking up in an optimistic pose.
“I kept getting texts and phone calls and Instagram messages, but they look great,” Marque said.
The banners were installed Oct. 30 and will be up through January. They were designed by Sarah Edgell, with photos from Paul Brokering.
“It was the holiday season, and we want to have that kind of holiday spirit happening on Colfax,” said Frank Locantore, director of the Upper Colfax Business Improvement District.
Locantore said the people on the banners were chosen because they are representative of the different walks of life people lead along Colfax: artists, musicians, business owners, protectors and activists. The organizers recognize it’s a different sort of campaign.
“These aren’t the only characters, but they’re representative of that type of group that makes Colfax the singular awesome place to be,” Locantore said. “It’s about the people on the street.”
Charlie the dog and the gingerbread man were included to let people know this was a fun campaign at heart.
Jonny Barber, a Johnny Cash and Elvis impersonator who also runs the website colfaxavenue.com, represent musicians and artists, along with Marque.
Barber said he first played gigs at the Lion’s Lair near Colfax and Vine Street and remembers living behind the club and meeting his wife during that time about 20 years ago.
“I’m excited,” Barber said. “I’ve been a real fan of Colfax just the way it is. I love the diversity, the insanity. There’s always something going on, even in the middle of the day.”
Baack represents the activist role on Colfax; he claims he has been sticking up for people for a long time. In fact, the first time he met Denver police community resource officer Snow White — who has her own banners representing the protectors of Colfax — he had a man in headlock waiting for police to arrive to arrest the man.
White has been working along Colfax for 20 years and said she loves it. She said she was shocked and honored to be part of the campaign, but admitted she didn’t tell her fellow officers in advance.
Max Hopewell-Arizmendi, owner of Cafe Max, 2412 E. Colfax Ave., takes on the business owner role on the banners. He lived in other cities like New York and Toronto before coming to Denver.
He said parts of Colfax remind him of parts of those cities.
“I’m just honored to be on the longest, wickedest street in America,” he said. “That’s what it’s all about.”
Joe Vaccarelli: 303-954-2396, jvaccarelli@denverpost.com or @joe_vacc
