For anyone who’s visited the many shops, businesses and restaurants in the South Federal strip that’s become known as Little Saigon, the district is a much-loved destination as an ethnic enclave for the Vietnamese community. Just off Alameda Avenue, a classic Asian tori gate welcomes people to the Far East Center strip mall, which was named to Colorado’s registry of historic places in 2024, and the mall and its parking lot has become home to annual festivals that showcase Southeast Asian food and culture.
But Little Saigon stretched for many blocks beyond the intersection of Alameda and Federal Boulevard, south to Mississippi Avenue. And the district is a diverse mix of Asian mom-and-pop shops, with a wealth of Latino-owned businesses, too. The district also includes the neighboring Asian businesses along West Alameda down to the Alameda Square Shopping Center anchored by Great Wall Supermarket.
The legacy of the Southeast Asian community, which was designated by Denver City Council as the Little Saigon Business District in 2014, is being celebrated in a new exhibit, Big Dreams in Denver’s Little Saigon, running Tuesday, October 21, all the way through October 5, 2026, at History Colorado Center…