History

Frederick W. Ameter, who at the time was a draftsman for the Denver Board of Park Commissioners, prepared a display plan of Montview Boulevard and water system for the district in 1907. It is probable that he was the landscape designer for Montview Boulevard. Ameter's document showed American Elms alternating with Poplars along the tree lawn. The fast growing Poplars acted as "nurse" trees and were typically cut down after the long-lived shade trees (in this case elms) were established. The initial irrigation system for Montview Boulevard included only surface pipes to deliver water to the trees. The tree lawn between the curb and the sidewalk was sown with dry land grasses so as to keep down the expense of watering. This was the first urban dryland grass planted in Denver.

Historic Evolution

The history of the one and one-half mile Montview Boulevard is good evidence that Denver parkways were a 19th century vision and did not necessarily await Mayor Speer's influence. As early as 1889, promoters of residential lot sales in Park Hill were touting the "coming boulevard" as an amenity worthy of note. The boulevard was laid out as a street in 1892. The 120' right of way ultimately developed was shown on the Rollandet map circa 1894. In 1902, the Montview Improvement District was formed to provide for the improvement of the right-of-way (a 48' roadway and very wide 36' tree lawns). This was the first such district of its kind in Denver. In 1903, sidewalks were provided within the tree lawn by a second improvement district. Between 1906 and 1911, trees were planted along the parkway, irrigation was provided, grass was planted and the roadway was paved with amasite.

Today, Montview Boulevard presents a very simple streetscape design, with a single row of elms on each side of the roadway. The original planting is nearly intact, although some of the canopy trees are missing near Colorado Boulevard. Ameter's surface water problem has since been replaced, first by a municipal sprinkler system and more recently by the watering systems of each adjoining residence. Once the elms reached maturity, the poplars were removed and lawn grasses and forming a strong green edge along the parkway. The sidewalks were not built the entire length as originally planned, but extended only from Colorado Boulevard to Kearney Street.