As you drive on the highway out of Denver, away from the city towards the towns surrounding, you may find yourself on US-85 heading towards a town called Brighton, Colorado. Just a hop, skip and jump away from Denver, or about a thirty minute drive, this small town has a lot of character as well as a lot of history. First established as a city back in the 1860’s, Brighton first possessed the name Hughes Station because of the Hughes Stagecoach Station that was built as well as the Boulder Valley Railroad. During that time, Hughes Station was a place for the railroad and fur traders to stop as everything was expanding west. In 1881, the City of Brighton was born, named after the birthplace of the founder Daniel Carmichael’s wife. From that point on, Brighton continued to grow and thrive as a city as it continues to do to this day.
When you first exit the highway into Brighton, you may take notice of a church nestled quaintly at the edge of town. Built back in 1938, the Buddhist church was first the idea of a Japanese man named Shunpei Momii. The church took two years to finish and was dedicated on February 18th, 1940 as the Brighton Buddhist Church with 160 members. From there, the church continued to grow and flourish but as the years passed, the membership started to decline as most of the members were in their 70s and 80s and many of their children and the generation below that married into other religions or left the area. Eventually when there was just not enough to keep the church going, it was sold to the Tri-State Buddhist Temple in Denver.
So here we are today with this beautiful Temple and some amazing plans. On August 4th of this year, the Temple was designated “Historic” by the city of Brighton. Because of that, Carolin Corogin with C2 Studio US, LLC ( Developer) and I are working hard to preserve and reserve this special space. We are a group of women investors who strive to help nurture the city of Denver as well as the surrounding cities with the intention of keeping Colorado beautiful and preserving some of the great historic monuments. Additionally, we will be working with the BJAA Brighton Japanese American Association and other former members of the church to possibly have a ceremony prior to its rehabilitation. We are sensitive to their culture, what they built and admire the beautiful building they hand-crafted, so we want to make sure they are involved if they would like to be.
Our plans for the church are simple; we want to make this a gathering place for all people, a spot where family and friends can enjoy time together. We are currently looking to put a brewpub in the location so if you know of anyone who is looking for a great location have them come check out the space on September 24th between 3-7 for our open house. We are going to have Dave Tamkin Singer/Songwriter from Boulder playing at the event along with Orange Crunch Food Truck serving the food. We will also be serving some Colorado craft beers (Currently Seeking out Sponsors) at the event. Bring your friends and family and see this building before we start a major renovation!
