DENVER — The Black American West Museum and Heritage Center in Denver has reopened after a two year closure for renovations.
“They took off the yellow paint that was on the side windows, the walls and exterior, and there was literally 300-350 bricks that they had to replaced… on the inside we have new flooring, new walls, we've painted the walls,” Daphne Rice-Allen, Black American West Museum Board Chair said.
A few years ago, the museum received a grant from a local pediatrician and a grant from American Express and National Geographic called Partners in Preservation, paving the way for preservation and renovations.
Rice-Allen said renovations inside the museum included moving around a few exhibits.
“Dr. Ford's exhibit was in smaller left hand side of the museum. We've now brought it to what would have been the Five Points room and moved the Five Points area to the smaller exhibit room,” Rice-Allen said.
Dr. Justina Ford was the first licensed Black female physician in Colorado. The museum is housed in Dr. Ford’s home where her medicines and tools are on display.
The museum also features stories about the neighborhood where the museum is located.
“It talks a little bit about how the main Five Points came to be and displays some of the businesses that are in the Five Points area at that time, pharmacies, cleaners… were all entities that we as African-Americans did not have traditional access to,” Rice-Allen said.
Rice-Allen said she hopes visitors come to the museum and explore.
“We are still always looking for visitors. We depend very heavily on grants and donations,” Rice-Allen said. "We have no staff, our board of directors wash windows, manage the museum visitors."
The museum is open on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., reservations are by appointment only.
