Aug. 09, 2005 - 19:01 MDT

RESUME SPEED How memories intertwine and mingle. One memory reminds me of another, and another. Also, I seem to learn a bit about the things I never knew in my memories.

Friday, August 5th in the Rocky Mountain News there was an article by Janet Forgrieve � headlined, Davis & Shaw goes out in style after 106 years

However, perhaps thinking back it is explained why this article stirs my heart and memories.

When I dropped out of school I went to work for the old American Furniture Store at 16th Street and Lawrence Street in downtown Denver. Right across from Daniels and Fisher�s store which was the very ritzy department store in town then.

The American Furniture building was in an old theater building and ideally suited to be a store it was. Four stories in the main building and using the building next door too which was six stories. (Not part of the sales floors there). The store had covered bridges for four stories across the alley into the Nassau Building, one of H. A. W. Tabor�s building from his �rich� days. The main floor of that had an electrical appliances store. In the Nassau building on the second floor the old stairway was still there, with its plush carpets and fancy bannister. Closed off and not in use, just forgotten.

I was a �floor boy� who dusted, swept and singly or helped pull items off the floor to send to the shipping department on the first floor. Most of the time I spent dusting, sweeping was quick, dusting tedious. I formed a great love for good furniture there, The bedroom sets with headboards one could almost figure the grain of the wood was visible for an unimaginable depth, dining room sets table tops the same way. Exotic woods were used too. Workmanship on the furniture was immaculate.

They were closely competitive to Daniels & Fisher�s in that venue. A class shop across the street from the place the elite would meet to eat, shop or schmooze.

Anyhow, I did my work happily, was allowed to help clean out the air conditioning system with the maintenance man, sent out to do gofer work with the interior decorator, hanging out with the commercial artist who made the art that was seen in the pages of the Denver Papers. Back then ad pages were mostly drawings of things and I was fascinated with his work, where I first began to understand perspective and a glimmering of drafting type things.

So along with my work, my pleasure was at my disposal, I could choose to dust in the Nassau building and dream of the gold rush days when it was in use along with admiring the solid Maple Cushman furniture there, or dust the beautiful furniture in the main building.

That was an era when I knew what was on every floor of every building in our downtown. A time that I would spend at the Tabor Theater, another of H.A.W. Tabor�s grandiosities, ornate, super plush even in my time but in my time it was just a movie house, originally it was an opera house. I would roam the building in out of the way corners and try to suck up the gold rush times there too. I was steeped in Downtown Denver, both Mom and Dad worked there and filled me in on a lot of how it was back in the old days. I would read what I could too.

Now Jake Jabs has built the American Furniture into a little empire but far different than Sammy Cohen�s old store. His stores are out on the edges of towns now.

Much of the Denver I loved was wiped out through Urban Renewal, the old gold rush buildings, the old Windsor Hotel, the Manhattan Restaurant all wiped out. The only thing left of Daniels and Fisher�s is the clock tower which is in use yet as offices.

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Now back to Janet Forgrieve�s article, in part, mostly touching on things I didn�t know about Davis & Shaw:

�Jan and Cindy Jessup would have kept on selling furniture in downtown Denver if a developer hadn�t made them an offer that was too good to turn down.�

�The store opened at 15th and Larimer Streets in 1889, when Cindy�s grandfather Richard E. Pate financed Peter Shaw�s store in front and Fred Davis furniture store in back.�

� In 1926, after Shaw�s death, Pate bought out Davis interest and paid $50,000 for the land at Champa and 14th Streets. A year later, the business reopened in a brand new five-story building. A sixth floor was added in 1938, bringing the building to about 33,000 square feet. Pate�s son Richard Jr., succeeded his dad and ran the business for 60 years.�

Richard Pate Jr. Lived through the Great Depression, Jon said, and based some of his advice on those experiences.�

�He said, �Jonny, don�t forget, if you have to, you can do everything here.�

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Mom and Dad moved us to the new house in 1937 and some of the furniture in our new house was from Fred Davis. Made me wonder why they bought there when I was working at The American Furniture . . . . . later Mom told me that the prices were better there.

I had been shopping there with Mom before I quit school and was impressed with the sales force, the atmosphere and the beautiful furniture. In the 1950's the store went to high end stuff more less exclusively. They must have had a good artist too because their ads were just as good as The American Furniture Store�s were.

The downtown Denver I once knew has pretty well disappeared, other buildings, other businesses. One thing that has also disappeared is the view of the mountains, since the old restrictions on building height in the downtown area disappeared long ago.

After almost a week�s hiatus and rest, perhaps I can get right down to it, welcome Heather home when she gets here tonight and RESUME SPEED . . . . . . .

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