Holly Square is different now. Originally known as the Park Hill Shopping Center in the 1950s and 60s, Holly Square has long served as a main hub in Denver’s Northeast Park Hill neighborhood. But much like any landmark with such an extensive history, it’s seen its fair share of changes — both good and bad.
By the 1980s, the Holly had become ground zero for Denver’s first set of the Bloods gang, and the resulting disputes with local rivals culminated in the shopping center being firebombed and burned down in 2008. Thankfully, a new community center was built on the site, with reform at the forefront of everyone’s minds. There were additional efforts to quell the ongoing violence and unite the neighborhood. But those hit a large speed bump after a 2013 shooting of a Bloods gang member by a local activist made national news.
Julian Rubinstein, writer and director of the Emmy Award-winning documentary The Holly, grew up in Denver, and while he was living in New York at the time he conceived the project, he recognized the potential for a story that ran much deeper than the headline. “I had always wanted to do a story about Denver, but had never found one,” Rubinstein said. “Reading about the shooting in The New York Times, I quickly realized that there were more questions than answers.”…