Barney L. Ford Building
Denver County
Portions of the three-story brick commercial structure date from the 1860s. The building is important for its association with Barney L. Ford an early Denver businessman, civic leader, and politician. Ford opened the People’s Restaurant in the street level in August of 1863, along with a barber shop and hair salon in the basement and a bar on the second floor.
Barney L. Ford Building
Born a slave in Virginia, Ford escaped to Chicago via the Underground Railroad and arrived in Denver in 1860. The building is located adjacent the site of Ford’s original barber shop, which was destroyed in the Denver fires of 1863. Ford was active in the Republican Party and was the first Black nominated to the Territorial Legislature. He also worked for the admission of Colorado to statehood, with suffrage for its nonwhite residents.