In 1965, a flood devastated the Auraria neighborhood in Denver, which had a largely-Latino population at the time. Because of the flood damage, the City of Denver began looking into redeveloping the site, which led to the establishment of Metropolitan State College, and ultimately the clearing out of Denver’s oldest neighborhood to transform it into a modern urban campus.
The federal government put up funds, which were matched by a bond approved by Denver voters, to buy the land and relocate Auraria’s residents. Many Aurarians tried resisting the displacement, however, they ultimately failed and were forced to move from the neighborhood they called home. Relocations were completed by 1972, and the new campus was completed in 1976. When you walk through the modern-day Auraria campus, you’ll see a few buildings still standing from the original neighborhood.
In collaboration with History Colorado, the “I Am Auraria” Museum of Memory exhibit opened August 23, 2023 at the Auraria Campus Library. Through this exhibit, hundreds of families who were displaced from the original Auraria neighborhood told their stories on their terms.
As a former graduate of Metro State, I was honored to be a small part of this project. I’m thankful to the families I was able to photograph for putting their trust in me for the short time we were able to spend together.
Below are images (which were included in the exhibit) from one of the workshops where I was able to photograph several families from the original Auraria neighborhood, along with photos from the exhibit opening.