John Schoenwalter, Denver’s bohemian photographer of Capitol Hill, passed away Oct. 8, 2019. A celebration of life service took place Oct. 27 at the Mercury Café. Feldman Mortuary made the arrangements.
Mr. Schoenwalter’s camera chronicled a changing city, particularly Capitol Hill. He focused on the people, communities, statuary, buildings and wildlife, and his stint at the Colorado Statesman gave him access to the Denver’s leading politicians.
He was born Nov. 13, 1942, in New York to a cultured Jewish family that fled the Nazis, and grew up in a multilingual home in Queens.
Mr. Schoenwalter attended Yeshiva University. He was always willing to help people with their Hebrew pronunciation and also served as a translator.
Owner of an art gallery in the 1970s in Aspen, he returned to Denver and settled in Capital Hill where he lived for many years at the Artists in Action Building, 1450 Logan St., and learned photography.
Mr. Schoenwalter freelanced for local newspapers, including Westword, throughout the 1980s. Some of his photographs were featured on postcards.
He also mentored students in the photographic arts.
Mr. Schoenwalter is survived by his cousin Leonard Wildes of New York.
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