Iconic Nuggets mural crumbling apart less than two years after championship win

The mural on Colfax Avenue near High Street has visible graffiti and chunks of wall missing.

DENVER — Less than two years after being finished, a mural honoring the Denver Nuggets championship win is beginning to fall apart.

The mural on East Colfax Avenue near High Street was widely celebrated and drew huge crowds after its unveiling in May last year.

“It was amazing to see so many people come out in mass and take pictures and record music videos,” said Omen Cross. “This is probably one of the most beautiful spots on this road.”

But that beauty is beginning to fade, with the faces of former and current Nuggets players now defaced with graffiti. Large portions of the wall are also crumbling off.

“It’s only a matter of time before these little pieces of damage become big holes in the mural that everybody loves so much,” Cross said.

At the time the mural was painted, Cross said, the building was vacant. Cricket Wireless now occupies the space but did not immediately return requests for comment from 9NEWS.

“My concern with Cricket is if they try to repair the building, they’ll probably try to tear down the mural right along with it, and then there will be no mural at all,” Cross said. “So, what’s the better course of option? Not fix the building and let the mural rot slowly, or fix the bur building and tear it down completely?”

He said the area has become a gathering place for people seeking shelter, and he says he regularly sees people drawing on the wall and chipping pieces of it away.

“I speak to all my neighbors, and we do the best we can, but we don’t have the means the manpower or the ability to control an issue,” Cross said. “That’s far out of control.”

The mural was painted by Thomas Evans, who goes by “Detour.” Cross hoped he might be able to salvage the mural before it’s too late.

Emails to Evans by 9NEWS were also not immediately returned.