Judge Gary Jackson has lived every one of his 80 years in what is now called Cherry Creek North, which was called simply Cherry Creek when he was born. Jackson considers himself somewhat of a historian of the Denver neighborhood that surrounds Cherry Creek Shopping Center.
“My family has lived on Third and Garfield Street for 100 years,” Jackson says.
“Oh my gosh. I’ve lived on Third and Garfield Street now, uh, 80 years.”
The very first house belonging to the Jackson family was built on Garfield Street in 1926 by Jackson’s great-grandfather. The second rendition came in 1955, by his grandmother. His house, that Jackson and his wife Regina built, came in 1994.
“I think it’s probably one of the most prosperous neighborhood districts in the United States,” Jackson says. “I read an article a couple weekends ago that the vacancy rate for commercial buildings is lower than any other place in the Denver metropolitan area.
“It has billion dollar-type companies that are moving into Cherry Creek. My granddaughter, who’s 17 years of age, loves to go shopping in Cherry Creek Mall, so I know it’s still an attraction.
“It was an attraction back in the 60s. I had friends that lived over in Park Hill, and they would on a Saturday or Sunday, catch the bus and come over to the Cherry Creek Mall to go shopping when they were teenagers.
“Things have not changed. It’s just a new rendition of the mall and a new area of excitement for young and old.”
How did all of this success of the commercial/residential mix, over multiple generations, come to pass?
“I know there were Latino people who lived in Cherry Creek. I know there were French people who lived in Cherry Creek. All kinds of immigrants came to Cherry Creek because the property was cheap. That was at the time when the city dump was there, and people did not want to live in the area.
“And then, of course, I’m not focusing on the indigenous people who were there hundreds of years before settlers came in from across the United States.”
Last month, Jackson and other collaborators hosted “Cherry Creek 150 and the Untold Story, A Colorado Sesquicentennial Chronicle,” a presentation at The Daniels Fund Bldg.
Panelists included Jackson and Gerard Rudofsky, whose family has lived in Cherry Creek North.
Prominent businesses owned by members of the Jewish community dating back to the 1950s included Soren’s Restaurant, the Squire Shop (which operated until 1998) and Straus Health Foods.
In the 1930s, Esther and Jack Bugdanowitz opened Depend-able Cleaners, which is still a vibrant business today, including a location in Cherry Creek.
Minnie S. Harris, mother of the the late IJN editor and publisher Miriam Goldberg, lived with her mother Amelia Shibko, in Cherry Creek from the 1930s to the 1970s.
“From the very beginning of when Colorado was a state, the Jewish community was here,” says Jackson.
“One of the untold stories that I’ve just learned is that the Colorado State Constitution was signed in Central City sometime around 1876, when Colorado became a state. And the mayor of Central City (Benjamin Wisebart) was Jewish. You’d have to say that there were Jewish settlers in Colorado from the beginning of being a territory.
“If you just look at the names of people who have been part of the Cherry Creek community, you think of the Robinsons, with their milk and dairy business. Dependable Cleaners was there in the 1930s when everything began. There were plenty of Jewish merchants since the beginning of Colorado’s statehood.”
Jackson, who retired as judge of the Denver County Court in 2020, is devoted to Cherry Creek North. His wife Regina Jackson is in the real estate business, and Gary is involved in that venture, too.
You’ve heard the adage, “Location, location, location.” That’s how Jackson feels about his neighborhood. The Jacksons are currently working with a home seller on Third and Monroe Street.
“Location is very important because the property continues to appreciate in Cherry Creek.”
“My mother (Nancelia Elizabeth Scott Jackson) lived in Cherry Creek from 1926 until 2024. She was publicized as the ‘Grand Dame of Cherry Creek.’ All I’m doing is just carrying her torch.”
The judge is asked if he could ever conceive of living somewhere else.
“No, no,” says Jackson. “I don’t intend to move. It’s just now coming into its own.”
© IJN 2026
