Guiry's

General information

Guiry’s is a Denver-based business started in 1899 by the Guiry Brother’s as a Paint and Wallpaper store. Today it has grown to 10 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. It is still a family owned company and is currently headed by 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; and 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, and cleaning supplies, as the main source of heat was coal, which left a sooty residue.

A year after the company’s creation founder Joseph P. Guiry alongside 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 prospered under the direction of the brothers who had immigrated to Denver from Ireland and moved in 1910 to a retail facility at 1435 Court Place. That year the 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 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 Richard "Dick" Guiry took over as President of the company and opened a new store in the University Hills Shopping Center. Starting out in a 1500 square foot location, that store has since grown to a 20,000 square foot retail outlet now located at 2121 South Colorado Boulevard.

The year 1999 marked a century in business for Guiry’s. To celebrate this achievement Dick Guiry, along with son Sean, opened the Parker store. 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. Known as the “LoDo” location this unique store exhibits the charm and history Denver residents have come to appreciate about the LoDo disctrict. The opening of that store not only coincided with the 100th anniversary of Guiry’s but also marked a return to the company’s roots – in downtown Denver where it all began!

Dick & Sean Guiry still continue in the family tradition of running and growing the company, and in June 2006 they opened store number seven in Westminster on 88th Avenue across from Westminster Mall. After the closing of the Westminster Mall this store was relocated close to the corner of Wadsworth and 88th Avenue across from the Burlington Coat Factory.

Guiry’s 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 is still a retailer of quality house paints with lines featuring Benjamin Moore, Coronado and our private label Guiry's Select brand. We also carry an extensive selection of stains from Sikkens, Cabot, Benjamin Moore and Messmers, as well as several specialty finishes lines.

In addition to paint and stain, we employ in-house Design Consultants at every location, offer custom color and design consultations, have Denver's largest selection of wallpaper books (over 400 to choose from) and offer Hunter Douglas custom window shadings products at every location. Our on-staff designers are available to help you with answers or suggestions on your next project and can even come to you!

For the beginner and professional artist we are proud to carry fine art supplies including canvas, acrylic, oil, watercolor paints, artist's tools and furniture all with our price match guarantee!

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.