Sakura Square

Denver, like any other city, is made up of many diverse peoples from all over the world. Each of these people bring a little something to help make the city what it is today. If you head up Larimer Street in downtown Denver, you will find a small area that celebrates Denver's Japanese community known as Sakura Square.

Before 1940, Denver's Japanese community was quite small. This would change, though, during World War II. At a time when Japanese Americans on the west coast were being taken to internment camps, including Amache near Granada, Colorado, Governor Ralph Carr opposed the internment of American citizens. This stance may have cost Carr his political career, yet thousands of Japanese Americans came to Denver. A statue of Carr now stands in Sakura Square, recognizing his stand against injustice during the war years.

The square also features statues of two important Japanese Americans who made an impact on the Denver Community. The first is of attorney Minoru Yasui. Yasui fought against the discrimination of the war years and spent his later years in Denver. The second statue is of the Reverend Yoshitaka Tamai. He was a native of Japan who came to Denver in 1930 and served the Buddhist community of Colorado and the surrounding states for the next 53 years. Sakura Square is adjacent to the Denver Buddhist Temple, which dates back to 1916.

The square also features a small shopping center featuring a few shops and Japanese eating options. The square also hosts an annual Cherry Blossom Festival each summer. There is talk of some improvements being made to the Sakura Square site in the coming years. For now it's a quaint little spot that celebrates the history of one of Denver's many unique communities.

Riverboat Car Wash

Back in the 70's, when I was a kid, not every gas station had a car wash. In fact, they were pretty rare. You had to specifically go to a car wash, or do it yourself. My dad always did it himself and it was a blast for us as kids to help. Grandma and Grandpa, on the other hand, had moved beyond washing the car themselves, so it was always a treat to go with them to get the car washed. After all, when you're a kid, the simple things are extremely entertaining. So riding in Grandma's car while it gets suds upped and slapped with a bunch of big blue brushes, that's like the coolest thing ever. In Denver, though, there's an extra level to the coolness when you can have that experience in a car wash shaped like a giant riverboat!

It's called the Riverboat Car Wash, for obvious reasons. I mean, what else do you call a car wash that looks like a giant white, three-level riverboat? It's even got two big black smokestacks popping out of the top! It is an odd sight, for sure, to be driving down a busy Denver road and suddenly see a large riverboat parked just behind Grease Monkey.

I guess part of what makes it such a weird sight is that Colorado is not an area that is really known for that Mark Twain sort of river culture. Sure, the Platte River goes right through Denver, but it's not the sort of waterway that could handle a vessel this size. I'm not complaining, though. This is just the sort of roadside oddity that I love to experience. 

You'll find the Riverboat Car Wash about three-quarters of a mile east of I-25 on Hampden Technically, the address is 3480 S. Poplar in Denver.