How do you get into Retrograde?
We have not confirmed it. Retrograde is in the directory because it a concealed way in, and that is the whole of what we can stand behind about its door.
Drinks of the era
We have not seen this venue’s own list, so what follows is the period rather than the bar: Sidecar, Boulevardier, and Vieux Carré are all drinks of this era, and each links to its origin and its build.
Where Retrograde sits
Retrograde is in Denver, Colorado, in the county of the same name, in the West of the United States.
Our directory currently lists eleven speakeasies and hidden bars in Denver. The full list is on our guide to hidden bars in Denver.
Measured from the map pins, the closest of those to Retrograde are Trybal African Speakeasy, about 1.1 km away, Denver Speakeasy, about 1.3 km away, and Speakeasy / Secret Spot, about 1.5 km away.
Colorado holds 37 listed venues in this directory. See them all on our Colorado speakeasy guide.
Prohibition in Colorado
Colorado did not wait for the federal government. Statewide prohibition took effect here in 1916, four years before the Eighteenth Amendment came into force nationally on 17 January 1920. By the time the Volstead Act was being enforced across the country, Colorado already had an established illegal trade and the habits that went with it.
More on the period in our history of Prohibition in Colorado.
What the newspapers recorded in Denver
Searching the Library of Congress run of Colorado newspapers for speakeasy, blind pig and bootlegger across 1920 to 1933 returns dated pages anyone can open. These are from Denver:
- The Denver Jewish news, January 4, 1922 — read the page at the Library of Congress
- The Colorado statesman, October 20, 1923 — read the page at the Library of Congress
- The Denver Jewish news, May 25, 1921 — read the page at the Library of Congress
- The Colorado statesman, March 15, 1924 — read the page at the Library of Congress
Planning a visit
You can reach Retrograde by phone on (720) 994-5210, through its own website, and on Facebook.
The address is 530 East 19th Avenue, Denver, CO 80203. Open in Google Maps.
What we have confirmed
For Retrograde we hold street address, telephone number, official website, and social accounts. We do not yet hold opening hours, a published drinks list, an online booking link, or a listed-building record.
It is in the directory because the map tags on the record mark it a cocktail bar.
Two independent open datasets, OpenStreetMap and Overture Maps, both carry this venue at this location. Agreement between them is the strongest existence check we can make without visiting.
The source data classifies the premises as a bar.