Guiry’s Color Source is a Denver-based business started in 1899 by the Guiry Brother’s as a Paint and Wallpaper store. Today, it has grown to eight locations in the greater Denver area, and has expanded to include paint, wallpapers, window coverings, home décor, furniture, faux painting supplies and fine art supplies. Currently it is headed by a third generation Guiry, Dick, and fourth generation son, Sean.
Back when the Guiry Brothers were starting their venture In 1899, Denver was just a burgeoning city of the west. Drive-by shootings "in which teenage boys galloped down the street on horses and started randomly shooting at houses, carriages, or anything else that caught their fancy" were an ongoing problem in Denver and other cities in the West. Only 8% of the homes in the US had a telephone. A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost eleven dollars. The American flag had 45 stars. Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Hawaii and Alaska hadn't been admitted to the Union yet.
It was in this climate that the Guiry brothers realized a demand for home improvement supplies, and set themselves up to supply this demand. Houses and buildings began going up in earnest, and the city began growing as a trade center. With all this activity, there existed a need for paint, wallpaper, cleaning supplies as the main source of heat was coal, leaving a sooty residue. A year after the company’s origination, in 1900, founder Joseph P. Guiry, along with his brother Herb, started their retail paint and decorating business, known as "Guiry Brothers", in the Ernst and Cranmer building, located at 17th & Curtis Streets. The business, under the direction of the brothers, who had immigrated to Denver from Ireland, prospered, and moved in 1910 to a retail facility at 1435 Court Place. That year's Denver Business Directory listed Guiry Bros. as "the source for foreign and domestic wall papers, tekko, grass-cloth, leather, lincrusta, burlaps, paints, oils and glass, painting and paperhanging and interior decoration, with churches and public buildings a specialty!"
After World War II, keeping the business in the family, Joseph's sons, Leonard and Joseph, Jr., took over the company. Leonard became responsible for the retail stores, while Joe, Jr. headed up the paint contracting side of the business. Another brother, Frank, became a general contractor, building homes in Denver's post-war boom. In the early 1950s, as Denver began spreading out, Frank opened two new retail locations, with one store in the JCRS Shopping Center in Lakewood, and another in Aurora. In 1962, the company opened a new store in the University Hills Shopping Center. Starting out in a 1500 square foot space, that store has grown to a 20,000 square foot retail outlet, now located at 2121 South Colorado Boulevard. Sadly, 1962 was also the year when Leonard passed away from a heart attack, and his son, Richard "Dick" Guiry took over as president of the company.
The year 1999 marked a century in business for Guiry's Color Source. To celebrate this achievement, Dick Guiry, along with son Sean, opened a store in Parker. They also acquired and renovated a 25,000 square foot building just north of Coors Field in lower downtown on the corner of Market Street and 23rd. Now known as the "LoDo" location, it serves as a state-of-the-art retail/wholesale outlet and distribution center. The opening of that store not only coincided with the 100th anniversary of Guiry's Color Source, but also marked a return to the company's roots - in downtown Denver, where it all began!
Dick & Sean Guiry still continue on the family tradition. In June 2006, they opened store number seven in Westminster, on 88th Avenue across from Westminster Mall. With the help of a dedicated and professional staff and a loyal customer following, the Colorado tradition of Guiry’s Color Source continues to grow with yet another store adding to the legacy, this time a partnership in Conifer, with Aspen Park Paint.
Guiry’s Color Source is proud to be the store of choice for the loyal retail customers they serve and also is the provider of choice for many large commercial projects in the Denver area. Guiry’s Color Source is still a retailer of quality house paints, featuring Benjamin Moore, Ralph Lauren, Sikkens, Cabot, Coronado, Gemini Coatings and many more. We also carry fine art supplies, designer furniture, accessories, and many interior design resources including Hunter Douglas window coverings and Denver's largest selection of wallpaper sample books. We take our business and long-term commitment to the community seriously, and we are proud of the professional products and services we provide. We've been around over 100 years - and we'll be here in the future when you need us again. Call on us for your next design project!
