Overview:
"Big Dreams in Denver's Little Saigon," a new exhibition at History Colorado, pays tribute to the city's Vietnamese business district.
In April 1975, communist North Vietnamese soldiers informed affluent businessman Binh Quoc Luong that he had two days to gather his family and leave the country. Two days later, Luong and his 19 family members packed their valuables and clothes into one small backpack per person and boarded a cargo plane bound for Guam.
On the third day in Guam, their camp was robbed, and the Luong family’s gold and jewelry were stolen, leaving them with only $10 in a roll of quarters hidden in Binh Quoc’s son Thanh’s pocket. “They really lost everything at that point,” Thanh’s daughter Mimi said. “It was just one roll of quarters that he still kept as a thing to keep him having strength.”
Two days later, the Luongs were flown from Guam to Oklahoma, where they were immediately assigned to work on a farm. In early May 1975, the Luongs boarded a Greyhound bus for Denver, Colorado. The 19 family members lived in their cousin’s basement while working at King Soopers in and around Denver.
Despite the fact that they all worked in grocery stores, the food in Denver became monotonous quickly, and Thanh missed his native Vietnamese meals. Two years after moving to Denver, while Thanh was stocking groceries, he recognized an Asian sauce marked “Made in California.” Thanh and his two brothers decided to take a road trip to Westminster, California, to try and get a taste of home at an Asian supermarket.
“They drove over there and found the supermarket. My dad told me the first time he walked in there, he saw a bottle of fish sauce, which is just seasoning, but he held the bottle and cried,” Mimi said. “He said that moment was the first time he saw the flavors of his old hometown that he missed so much.”
Thanh and his brothers filled their car to the brim with Asian sauces, seasonings and delicacies that they missed so much in Denver. After a couple more trips to Westminster, Thanh decided to open up his own Vietnamese supermarket in Denver. This paved the way for the Little Saigon Business District, which now includes Vietnamese hair salons, restaurants and other businesses in Southwest Denver.
Thanh’s wife, Phung, moved to Denver in 1979 after her father saved up enough gold for the family to flee. Thanh and Phung hit it off right away when Phung arrived in Denver, and they married within six months. Phung opened her own Vietnamese gift shop, Truong An Gifts, which she still owns and operates with her daughter, Mimi.
50 years after the Luongs crammed onto that cargo plane, the History Colorado Center is now honoring the community with a year-long exhibit, “Big Dreams in Denver’s Little Saigon.”
“This year it’s the 50th anniversary, and finally we’re being seen,” Mimi said. “[My parents] feel like we’re finally being heard because all they knew back then was just to be quiet, just work hard, do whatever you can just to make a living and survive. We worked on this project, we saw it come together, but to actually see it in real life on the wall and all put together, it was that feeling of joy and feeling proud to be Asian, proud to be yourself and just that we’re being seen and heard.”
“Big Dreams in Denver’s Little Saigon” commemorates oral histories from the Little Saigon Business District. The exhibit opened on Oct. 21 with a celebration featuring a dragon dance and other performances by local Vietnamese artists and catering by local Vietnamese restaurants. The exhibit will remain open on the fourth-floor Mezzanine level of the History Colorado Center through October 2026.
“Within the Museum of Memory, we truly believe that we’re working with the community for them, by them, and with them,” Museum of Memory Director Yadira Solis said. “And so, part of our work is to co-build this relationship with Colorado residents and help them co-author narratives into an overall understanding of Colorado’s history.”
“Big Dreams in Denver’s Little Saigon” began with community workshops led by the Museum of Memory at the Far East Center, in collaboration with Colorado Asian Pacific United. The Museum of Memory emphasizes oral histories that come directly from the source. These oral histories were collected over nearly two years and are featured as interactive elements throughout the exhibition, allowing visitors to hear stories from Little Saigon pioneers.
“Through hearing the stories, we got a chance to learn that it’s not just an entrepreneurial hub, but it’s a place of belonging where people go to meet friends, where they come from out of town and find a place that they feel that they can belong to,” Solis said. “We got to learn the heart with the stories of the district.”
In addition to the exhibit, CAPU and the Museum of Memory are collaborating with Hannah Tran and Lionheart Narratives to create a documentary on the history of Little Saigon and its residents. As the founding members of the Little Saigon community age, CAPU and the Museum of Memory recognized the importance of preserving refugee stories and educating a larger audience about Little Saigon’s history and refugee experiences.
“In today’s political climate, I think there’s a lot of messaging about what it means to be a refugee, what a refugee looks like, what refugees mean for our country, and there’s a lot of negative rhetoric out there,” CAPU Programs and Communications Manager Jasmine Chu said. “We’re really showing the contributions that these folks are making as business owners, as artists, as neighbors and just people who really care about their families and are really doing their best to make a better life, which is what we all are trying to do.”
“Big Dream in Denver’s Little Saigon” is very bright and colorful. The walls are adorned with community stories told by Little Saigon pioneers, as well as family mementos such as traditional Vietnamese clothing, letters, photos, artwork, Hello Kitty notebooks and old VHS tapes of Vietnamese films.
“Having this at the History Colorado museum for one whole year is huge for us, and I’m just so proud of this project,” Mimi said. “It has a lot of heart and emotions. It’s not just like any other art gallery; everything has a piece of community in it.”
And, by all accounts, the exhibit has been a huge success in the Colorado community, with over 200 people attending the opening night celebration. The exhibit has also reached a larger audience through social media posts, and Little Saigon Los Angeles has expressed interest in launching a similar project there.
“I feel like we are just at the beginning,” Mimi said. “We would love to get more stories and share more photos and get more input from community members of what they think of when they think of Little Saigon. For me, I’m trying to continue sharing that culture and traditions. I’m a mom of two boys, and now I want my kids to never forget their roots.”
Contributing members of the Little Saigon district will have free access to the exhibit at History Colorado Center for the next year to celebrate their histories as they see fit.
“It is colorful and vibrant; that’s what we want people to think of when they come down here, as you see the beautiful lanterns,” Mimi said. “It’s a really proud moment not only for me and my family but also for the Asian community.”
“Big Dreams in Denver’s Little Saigon” will be on display through next October, giving locals and visitors ample time to check out the exhibition. The curatorial team hopes that after people visit the exhibit, they’ll want to learn more.
“I really hope that people are inspired to visit the Little Saigon neighborhood,” Chu said. “I hope they’re inspired to patronize some of these businesses, go and get some dim sum, go get some pho and go to Truong An and get your labubus. I really hope people are inspired to engage with the neighborhood and really feel like they’re part of that celebration, too.”
