Museum of Denver gets the support of five former mayors
Colorado Sun - 9/24/2025 - Who will tell Denver's story? With no museum dedicate to its history, the city stands virtually along. A recently created nonprofit, wielding support from the city's former mayors, has plans to fill that gap.
Denverite - 9/19/2025 - “DENVER, THE MILE HIGH CITY WHERE EVERYBODY IS SOMEBODY!!!”
9/16/2025 Press Release: Denver’s former mayors agree, Denver deserves its own museum.
Great cities deserve great museums dedicated to sharing their stories. As we celebrate milestones for our nation and our state, the time has come to create the Museum of Denver, a place to showcase and learn from generations of Denverites to help us appreciate how we got to now, celebrate how far we've come, grapple with legacies of injustice, and inspire us to create a brighter future together.All of Denver's living former mayors support the creation of the Museum of Denver at McNichols:
Mayor Michael B. Hancock: “Denver’s tradition of building on its past, while moving forward towards brighter horizons is our secret sauce. Creating a new Museum of Denver on the second floor of the McNichols building is a brilliant use of one of our iconic buildings.”
Senator John Hickenlooper: “The key to unlocking a better future is understanding the past. From a small cowtown to an international powerhouse, Denver’s rich story deserves its own home. A museum that truly captures our one-of-a-kind history would allow future generations of Denverites to stand face-to-face with the people and moments that built it, and leave inspired to shape its future.”
Mayor Federico Peña: “Millions of new residents enjoy the Denver of today but it is important that they know her history. The extraordinary history of Denver, shaped by thousands of bold thinkers and doers, is unique in our nation and we need the Museum of Denver to memorialize our past to inspire future generations to continue to make Denver a Great City.”
Mayor Guillermo “Bill” Vidal: “Denver has a vibrant multi-cultural history and it is important that we safeguard that history that we know so well. This is why having a Museum of Denver is so important to our community.”
Mayor Wellington Webb: “DENVER, THE MILE HIGH CITY WHERE EVERYBODY IS SOMEBODY!!! The Denver museum is where these stories will be told!”
Whether we trace our ancestry back many generations or we are recent arrivals to Denver, we have stories to share. Inclusive, insightful, and inspiring stories that reveal our shared history, help us understand how we got to now, and guide us toward creating a brighter future for Denver together.
Most cities in Colorado and around the country have their own history museum, including Aurora, Lakewood, Fort Collins, Boulder, Colorado Springs, New York City, Seattle, Omaha, and so many more.
Passionate community members came together in 2022 to begin advocating for the creation of a Denver history museum. Under a new non-profit, the Museum of Denver (MOD), museum advocates have been sharing this vision with community members, and learning that Denverites agree with our former mayors: Denver should have our own museum dedicated to sharing our stories.
Last summer, the Museum of Denver responded when Mayor Johnston announced interest in creating a Denver history museum on the second floor of Denver’s McNichols Building in Civic Center Park. MOD are now waiting for the next step in the process, a request from the City for a formal proposal. We are hopeful that Denver’s first history museum can plant its roots in the historic McNichols Building and help to invigorate downtown.
Please join all of Denver’s living former mayors in supporting the creation of the Museum of Denver. Share why you support the Museum of Denver on our website and with your City Council Representative and the Mayor. Visit the website to learn more about these efforts including our supporters, some of our stories, and frequently asked questions. You can also find the Museum of Denver on Facebook and Instagram. Contact MOD board chair Kendra Black for more information: kendrablackdenver@gmail.comAmerica's 150 and Colorado's 150
Denverites are invited to share their ideas on how to celebrate and commemorate
America's 150 and Colorado's 150
Your Hub - 8/19/24 - Denverites are invited to join the statewide America 250 – Colorado 150 Commission in a discussion about
how they can get involved in these anniversaries at two upcoming meetings:
Aug. 22, 3-5 p.m. at Commons on Champa, 1245 Champa St.
Sept. 4, 6-7 p.m. at Denver Museum of Nature & Science, 2001 Colorado Blvd.
Westword - 9/3/24 - Free Things to Do in Denver (and Beyond) This Week Celebrate the past, present and future of Colorado!
250/150 Community Discussion, Wednesday, September 4, 6 to 7 p.m.Denver Museum of Nature & Science, 2001 Colorado Boulevard
Join Museum of Denver leaders for a community conversation about how Denver, can celebrate and commemorate our country's 250th anniversary and our state's 150th in 2026. Admission is free.
Denver’s getting its own history museum in a fittingly historic building
Denverite - 6/12/24 - It’s yet another chapter in the long history of the McNichols building.
Best Possible Celebration of Denver
Westword Magazine's Best of Denver 2024 Award Winner
Should Denver Have a Museum of Its Own? Some City Leaders Think So
History Colorado's Jason Hanson and former city council member Kendra Black
are pairing up for a new passion project: creating a Museum of Denver.
What if There Was a Museum of Denver?
Many cities have a museum solely dedicated to telling their own story, and many of those museums are a source of civic pride and profit. So why not Denver? Westword editor Patty Calhoun has been reporting on the very real new effort to answer that question. Host Bree Davies and producer Paul Karolyi sit down with Patty to debate what would absolutely have to be in that museum, where it could be, and most important of all, what are we serving in that food court?
