Wheat Ridge’s 38th Street cultivates a creative community

38th Street in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, is a hub of local businesses and a place where locals congregate and spend most of their time. It is a sweet and convenient road; everything you are looking for is on it. The grocery, the dispensary, the best place to grab homemade meatballs, a bowling alley, local coffee shops, and vintage stores. Wheat Ridge is a relatively sleepy suburb of Denver. The two towns connect, but being in Wheat Ridge feels like a comfy home that is less city, less bustling, more rooted in community, and more connected. I work on 38th Street as an Art Teacher at Sweet Ridge Studios, a privately run art school for kids, teenagers, and adults alike. Sweet Ridge does a lot of outreach on this road, exhibiting tables at local outdoor festivals.

In this piece, I interview Charlotte Rica. She is another teacher at Sweet Ridge studios. We are sitting in our art studio above the school on 38th Street. Her home is also on 38th Street. Lots of things happen here. There’s always ample parking. Time goes slowly but purposefully.

What’s your earliest memory of 38th Street?

“It was my first interview with Melinda, my boss, who doesn’t like it when I call her my boss. It was mid-afternoon, in October, with an afternoon light. There was a lot of traffic on nearby Wadsworth because the construction was so crazy. It’s still there. It’s not as bad now. She asked me to bring some of my art, and I had a denim purse. I pulled out a bunch of artwork made on denim, over wax paper. She loved my art, and I hadn’t shown many people my art. I felt very seen. I really found mentorship in this community.”

How do you feel that it’s evolving in culture and business in the community?

“There have been a lot of successful collaborations between businesses lately, with putting on events that people actually want to go to. We are making 38th a good city center and hub. People are prioritizing third spaces.”

What places on 38th feel most iconic to you?

“The bowling alley, and The Green park, which just opened. It’s a big green park space where people can hang out. They have big instruments you can play like xylophones. They just showed a movie there a few days ago.”

Where should I go for food?

“Get Rights has the best pastries. They have cheesecake that's unlike any other cheesecake I've had. And pizza. Curry Kingdom has great saag paneer and sweet potato korma.”

I have had the pleasure of seeing this town grow through its passionate and loving community. The people here care about this place and seeing it grow and prosper. There is a budding art scene, and it’s easy to meet other like-minded people with the same values. There are lots of families raising their children here that I know through teaching, and seeing them grow and interact with this place makes it very special for me.

“It feels like the type of childhood that our parents had that we didn’t get to have. Like an ’80s childhood, kids can play outside and hang out with other kids.”

It is a wondrous thing to experience this observation of childhood as a young adult. It’s just another day in Wheat Ridge.