First Unitarian Society of Denver
1400 Lafayette St. | 14th Avenue & Lafayette Street | Cheesman Park Neighborhood
The First Unitarian Society initially occupied the building at the corner of 14th and Lafayette Streets in 1958. Prior to that, the 1890 structure housed the Plymouth Congregational Church.
Beginning in the 1950s, the church offered meeting space for the Denver chapter of the Mattachine Society, one of the earliest gay rights groups in the nation. In the 1970s and 1980s, the building also served as an early meeting place for the Gay Coalition of Denver.
In 2016, the Denver City Council designated the First Unitarian Society of Denver building as a local historic landmark.
1400 Lafayette St. is the first building in Colorado to be recognized at any level for its role in the history of LGBTQ+ rights.
The church has also played a significant role as an ally to other social justice and civil rights movements in Denver, including housing the first Denver chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality. It has also provided asylum to immigrants seeking to avoid deportation.
Additional Resources
Listen to an interview with Wendell Sayers, the first Black attorney hired by the Colorado state attorney’s office, who also attended meetings of the Mattachine Society in Denver.