The ’90s: Last Decade Before the Future — why this exhibit is a must for nostalgia nerds

If you can still hear the dial-up screech or remember rewinding a VHS with a pencil, the History Colorado Center’s exhibit The ’90s: Last Decade Before the Future is your happy place. It’s a floor-to-ceiling time capsule of music, movies, fashion, tech and sports—the decade where analog bumped into the internet and everything changed. 

• Pop culture you wore, watched, and blasted: stage outfits, screen-used wardrobe, and the styles that defined the decade.
• Hands-on nostalgia: the living-room look, the video-store feel, and the early-web energy that turned Friday night into an event.
• Tech leaps you can touch: cassettes to CDs to early MP3s, CRTs to flatscreens, pagers to the first cell phones.
• Sports and headline moments that played on loop through the ’90s—now gathered under one roof.

Planning a visit? Check dates, tickets, and hours on the official page: historycolorado.org/exhibit/the-90s.

• What you’ll geek out over

  • A legit piece of the Berlin Wall — yes, the one from your history class and every U2 montage.

  • Hillary Rodham Clinton’s iconic pantsuit and President Bill Clinton’s saxophone — the 90s political power combo.

  • Screen-used fits from mega stars: Whoopi Goldberg’s pink suit from Ghost and Tom Hanks’ combat uniform from Saving Private Ryan.

  • Stage-worn swagger from music titans: Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Jay-Z, The Notorious B.I.G., and the Backstreet Boys (tell us why you ain’t nothin’ but a—never mind).

  • Gear from era-defining legends: John Elway, Michael Jordan, Kristi Yamaguchi, Patrick Roy, Kerri Strug, Amy Van Dyken, Wayne Gretzky, and Vinny Castilla.

  • Vintage fashion, toys, and tech — walkmans to web pages, windbreakers to wow-that’s-bright.

  • And a bunch more that’ll have you pointing and going, “Oh man, I forgot about THAT.”

  Why it hits
  The 90s were a hard left turn: the Cold War fades, the internet logs on, and pop stars become brands. This exhibit doesn’t just say “remember?” — it lets you feel the switch from analog to online through the actual stuff that made the decade hum.

  Who should go (besides, uh, everyone)

  • Music collectors: Stage outfits with stories you’ll retell on the drive home.

  • Movie buffs: Oscar-era wardrobe up close — way better than a DVD bonus feature.

  • Sports fans: Jerseys and gear from bona fide GOATs.

  • Design nerds: A crash course in 90s color, type, packaging, and early wearable tech.

  Bring your inner time traveler. Then swing by Throwback Paradise to wear the vibe home.

What you’ll geek out over

• A legit piece of the Berlin Wall — yes, the one from your history class and every U2 montage.

• Hillary Rodham Clinton’s iconic pantsuit and President Bill Clinton’s saxophone — the 90s political power combo.

• Screen-used fits from mega stars: Whoopi Goldberg’s pink suit from Ghost and Tom Hanks’ combat uniform from Saving Private Ryan.

• Stage-worn swagger from music titans: Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Jay-Z, The Notorious B.I.G., and the Backstreet Boys (tell us why you ain’t nothin’ but a—never mind).

• Gear from era-defining legends: John Elway, Michael Jordan, Kristi Yamaguchi, Patrick Roy, Kerri Strug, Amy Van Dyken, Wayne Gretzky, and Vinny Castilla.

• Vintage fashion, toys, and tech — walkmans to web pages, windbreakers to wow-that’s-bright.

• And a bunch more that’ll have you pointing and going, “Oh man, I forgot about THAT.”

A legit piece of the Berlin Wall — yes, the one from your history class and every U2 montage.

Hillary Rodham Clinton’s iconic pantsuit and President Bill Clinton’s saxophone — the 90s political power combo.

Screen-used fits from mega stars: Whoopi Goldberg’s pink suit from Ghost and Tom Hanks’ combat uniform from Saving Private Ryan.

Stage-worn swagger from music titans: Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Jay-Z, The Notorious B.I.G., and the Backstreet Boys (tell us why you ain’t nothin’ but a—never mind).

Gear from era-defining legends: John Elway, Michael Jordan, Kristi Yamaguchi, Patrick Roy, Kerri Strug, Amy Van Dyken, Wayne Gretzky, and Vinny Castilla.

Vintage fashion, toys, and tech — walkmans to web pages, windbreakers to wow-that’s-bright.

And a bunch more that’ll have you pointing and going, “Oh man, I forgot about THAT.”

Why it hits
The 90s were a hard left turn: the Cold War fades, the internet logs on, and pop stars become brands. This exhibit doesn’t just say “remember?” — it lets you feel the switch from analog to online through the actual stuff that made the decade hum.

Who should go (besides, uh, everyone)

• Music collectors: Stage outfits with stories you’ll retell on the drive home.

• Movie buffs: Oscar-era wardrobe up close — way better than a DVD bonus feature.

• Sports fans: Jerseys and gear from bona fide GOATs.

• Design nerds: A crash course in 90s color, type, packaging, and early wearable tech.

Music collectors: Stage outfits with stories you’ll retell on the drive home.

Movie buffs: Oscar-era wardrobe up close — way better than a DVD bonus feature.

Sports fans: Jerseys and gear from bona fide GOATs.

Design nerds: A crash course in 90s color, type, packaging, and early wearable tech.

Bring your inner time traveler. Then swing by Throwback Paradise to wear the vibe home.