DENVER — The efforts to preserve the history of Little Saigon in southwest Denver have come to fruition in a new exhibit being showcased at History Colorado.
The exhibit is based on a series of thoughtful conversations with the people who made the community the safe haven it was back then, and the celebrated culture center it is today.
"One thing about the Asian community is that people can be pretty reticent and resistant to sharing their stories," said Jasmine Chu, the programs and communications manager for Colorado Asian Pacific United (CAPU). "It was really important to us to kind of come up with a methodology to make people feel comfortable. So that included finding community navigators and history takers within the community, actually, to both be taking the histories and giving their own oral histories."
More than 30 oral histories were gathered as the initial part of the project, leading to the discovery of photos, artifacts, and stories of resilience.
"They shared stories of how they all collaborated together to start a business. They shared stories of how they met each other and found love. And really it is, it's a community in which they found belonging," said Yadira Solis, director of the Museum of Memory with History Colorado.
Those stories are on display along with original art from local artists like Jane Ly.
"It was really eye-opening as a second-generation to understand the hardships that they have to overcome to be able to make it in the United States," Ly said.
CAPU hopes the exhibit showcases the families who came to Colorado with big dreams.
"The history of the neighborhood really starts with refugees and immigrants coming from multiple countries in Southeast Asia, looking for better opportunities or fleeing conflict from their home countries," said Chu. "They set up this wonderful space where they could kind of feel the comforts of home."
Ly remembers the impact Little Saigon had on her parents.
"My family also immigrated from Vietnam, but they came to the United States with nothing, and it was very hard for them to find a community here that they felt safe at. So areas like Little Saigon, like just having the grocery stores and having areas where they can speak the language fluently and easily and not be afraid, or they can embrace their cultural identity more," she said.
Her art in the exhibit reflects some of those quintessential Little Saigon locations she grew up visiting.
Visitors will be able to use interactive media to walk through time and hear for themselves the voices of people who shaped Little Saigon.
The exhibit launches October 20, 2025, and runs through October 2026.
For more information on the exhibit and how to get tickets, click here.
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