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DENVER NEIGHBORHOODS
Denver, like any city, is made up of neighborhoods that are diverse and unique.
Brief information and histories about some of those neighborhoods are presented here,
having originally been displayed in the left-hand margin of many DenverGov pages as
one of our "spotlight" series highlighting areas in Denver like parks and public art
locations.
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Barnum -----
The Barnum neighborhood, annexed to the city in September 1896, stretches from
West 6th Avenue to Alameda Avenue and from Federal Boulevard to Sheridan Boulevard.
The area is named after P.T Barnum of the Barnum and Bailey Circus. He purchased
760 acres in 1882 as an off-season winter respite for his show, and originally named
many of the streets in the area after famous people. Several historic buildings
remain, such as the 1910 Bowman house at King Street and West Fourth Avenue, and
the 1890s retail building at West First Avenue and Hooker Street.
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Belcaro -----
Exposition Avenue, Colorado Boulevard, Tennessee Avenue and Steele Street border
the Belcaro neighborhood, just south of Cherry Creek. Five acres within this region
are home to the grand historic Phipps House at 3400 Belcaro Drive. Lawrence C.
Phipps, treasurer of Carnegie Steel and U.S. Senator, spent $310,063 in 1932,
having Charles A. Platt and sons design the spacious 33,123-square-foot, 54-room
red brick Georgian mansion. Called "Belcaro" by Phipps (Italian for "beautiful dear
one"), the mansion was donated to the University of Denver in 1964 and now serves
as a museum and conference center.
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Cherry Creek -----
Centered by the fashionable Cherry Creek mall and surrounded by nearby luxury
housing, the upscale Cherry Creek neighborhood is a thriving, self-contained
oasis for residents. Between Colorado Boulevard to University and 6th Avenue to
Exposition, several hundred stores, boutiques, art galleries, salons, restaurants
and cafes provide endless entertainment opportunities. At all times of the year,
the 22-mile Cherry Creek path is a haven for biking, running, walking, in-line
skating and similar sports. In summer, the Cherry Creek Arts Festival brings
thousands to the area to celebrate artistic and musical work by artists and
performers from all over the world.
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Clement's Addition -----
The Clement's Addition Historic District is one of Denver's oldest intact residential
areas, located southeast of Lower Downtown between 20th and 22nd Streets, from
Tremont Place to Glenarm Place. 1880s structures like the Clement's Row House on
2201-2217 Glenarm remain as unique family housing. Nearby, the Zion Baptist
church at 933 E. 24th Avenue is a historic landmark for locals. Established by
former slaves in 1865, the popular church is home to Colorado's first black
congregation and was led for 50 years between 1941 and 1991 by Reverend Wendell
T. Liggins, a Denver civic activist.
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Cole -----
The Cole neighborhood, which became part of the city in 1874, stretches from 32nd
Avenue to 40th Avenue and from York Street to Downing Street. Cole Junior High
School and the neighborhood itself are named after Carlos M. Cole, a superintendent
of Denver's Public Schools who was instrumental in establishing junior high
schools in Denver. More than half of the residential blocks were developed
prior to 1900. Several historic buildings remain, like the cleanly designed red
brick and sandstone Wyatt School on 3620 Franklin Street, built in 1887 and named
after its former principal George W. Wyatt.
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Country Club -----
The Country Club Historic District begins north of the Denver Country Club at 1st
Avenue and extends to 4th Avenue, to 6th Avenue along Circle Drive, and from
University Boulevard to Downing Street. William and Arthur Fisher, in collaboration
with prominent Boston architect, Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., designed the exclusive
Country Club Place subdivision between Franklin and Race Streets in 1909.
Architecturally fascinating mansions and grand houses designed for Denver's social
and political elite define the 380-home neighborhood.
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Hampden Heights -----
Hampden Heights, northwest of the Cherry Creek Reservoir, lies in the far southeast
portion of Denver and extends from East Cornell Avenue to East Girard Avenue and
from South Geneva Street to Ulster Court. The neighborhood is a golfer's paradise,
adjacent to three large golf courses and two country clubs: John F. Kennedy, Meadow
Hills, Heather Gardens (course and club) and Los Verdes. The area is rich with
shopping and entertainment attractions. Nearby parks offer condo-dwelling
residents an invitation to stretch out under a tree or toss a ball.
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Harvey Park -----
The suburban West Denver Harvey Park neighborhood stretches from Jewell Avenue to
Hampden Avenue, and from Sheridan Boulevard to Lowell Boulevard. Harvey Park at
Evans Avenue and Paxton Court is former farmland, donated to the City and County of
Denver for parks and recreation use by the Harvey family. Built in 1949, the Fort
Logan National Cemetery defines the southern boundary of the area. Further south
and sharing 550 acres with the cemetery is the Fort Logan Mental Health Center, a
former Army post named after John A. Logan, a Union Army Civil War general.
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Highland -----
The Highland region originated in 1858 when Denver founder William H. Larimer, Jr.,
waded across the Platte River to stake out high ground on the bluffs northwest of
Denver. Bought and later sold by Reverend Walter M. Potter, the 320-acre area
bordered by West 38th Avenue, Zuni Street, West 32nd Avenue and Federal Boulevard
became home to many Scottish, German, Italian and English immigrants in the 1890s.
Some of Denver's most architecturally diverse buildings exist here.
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Lower Downtown -----
With over 100 restaurants, 30 art galleries, numerous loft apartments, clubs and
boutiques, the neighborhood bordered by the Platte River, Speer Boulevard, 23rd
Street and Lawrence Street has been transformed unlike any other in Denver.
Former early frontier town, 1920s Market Street red-light district and 1970s
warehouse center, LoDo now epitomizes ideal urban living. Wooden buildings
destroyed by fire in 1863 resulted in LoDo's characteristic simple designs with
red brick and arched windows. Once a robust transportation hub, stagecoaches
carrying gold left the Wells Fargo Depot at 1338 15th Street and Union Station
trafficked over 80 trains a day.
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Park Hill -----
Three miles from the Central Business District and primarily residential, Denver's
Park Hill neighborhood begins just east of the Denver Museum of Nature and
Science on Colorado Boulevard to Quebec Street and from Colfax Avenue to as far
north as 52nd Avenue. Montview Boulevard, developed in 1882, and Monaco Parkway
are main thoroughfares and typify the wide, tree-lined neighborhood streets. Park
Hill's nationally recognized neighborhood organization sponsors an annual tour of
the many historic homes in this welcoming community.
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Platt Park -----
Part of the original Town of South Denver, the Platt Park neighborhood ranges
from Downing Street to South Broadway Street and from Mississippi Avenue to
Evans Avenue. James Fleming, the town's only mayor, built his historic estate
in 1882 at 1510 South Grant Street. The house, with its smooth stone walls and
rotundas, was sold by Fleming in 1891 and served as the town hall, jail and
library until annexed by the City of Denver in 1894. The neighborhood, just
west of the University of Denver's campus, is a popular location for students
and local businesses.
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Sloan Lake -----
Two connected lakes, Cooper and Sloan, comprise Sloan Lake's 177 acres and are a
focal point of the Sloan Lake neighborhood, bordered by West 29th Avenue, West
10th Avenue, Federal Boulevard and Sheridan Boulevard. Primarily residential
with the majority of homes built in the 1930s, pockets of 1800s structures
exist in nearby historic districts, including the eclectic mix of houses on
14th Avenue and Stuart Street. Each unique in design, the 1890 Voorhees House,
the 1888 Spangler House, the 1890 Smith House, the 1892 McNulty House and the
1892 Bliss House reflect beautiful architectural styles of the era.
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Washington Park -----
Built in 1899, the 162-acre Washington Park, with Smith and Grasmere lakes each
ending the long grassy meadow, is a local recreational haven. The three-story
red brick 1926 South High School, complete with griffins perched on its roof,
overlooks Washington Park from the southeast corner. From I-25 to Cherry Creek
and from University Boulevard to Downing Street, the neighborhood is rich with
entertainment, like the cluster of small shops and restaurants on South Gaylord
and South Pearl Streets.
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Wellshire -----
The residential Wellshire neighborhood, with its meandering and curvy streets,
extends from Colorado Boulevard to University Boulevard and from Yale Avenue to
Hampden Avenue. One-fourth of the southeast area is home to the 18-hole Wellshire
Golf Course designed in 1926 by Donald Ross. The 13.4-acre Skeel Reservoir and
mature cottonwood trees make an attractive landscape for golfers. The former
clubhouse for the Wellshire Country Club was remodeled in 1976 as the Wellshire
Inn at 3333 South Colorado Boulevard.
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