2012 Site Listing (click on location for details)
Please note special days and/or hours for each site.
New locations this year are
indicated in blue
19th Street Bridge
Location Number: 10
Urban Adventures: B
19th & Platte Street
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 10AM - 4PM
Year Built: 1888
Photography Allowed: Yes
Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Company of Leavenworth as one of many replacements to bridges across the Platte that were damaged or threatened by flooding in 1878.
It is a steel, five-panel, two-span Pratt through-truss design (identifiable by the downward center-sloping diagonal members of its trusses) with an original cost of $25,000. Though built and first used as a road bridge for vehicular traffic, pedestrians now have full run of this crossing because motor vehicles travel on an adjacent 19th Street bridge to the northeast. The bridge has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since February 4, 1985.
American Woodmen Insurance/Humphries Poli Architects
Location Number: 23
Urban Adventures: C
2100 Downing St.
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: Gordon D. White, Humphries Poli Architects
www.hparch.com
Year Built: 1950
Photography Allowed: Yes
Services Provided: Partial disabled access, public restrooms, free parking
Public Transit: RTD Route #7
The American Woodmen Insurance Building stands as a quintessential example of Modern Style of architecture in Colorado.
The American Woodmen Insurance Building was designed by Denver architect Gordon White in 1950 for a fraternal organization involved in providing life insurance policies to the residents in the Five Points/City Park neighborhoods and northwest Denver. The cornerstone of the building references that building as being the “Supreme Camp of the American Woodmen”. At that point in time the building was an addition to their previous headquarters located to the immediate north (currently a parking lot) and connected by an underground tunnel.
The building is clad in terra cotta and features steel operable windows organized in a modern style of architect, unique to the neighborhood. An articulated entry and rounded corner are highly characteristic of the modern movement. The first floor of the building features the original interior finishes of wood paneling and terrazzo floors. The upper floor has been transformed into the studios of an acclaimed architectural firm.
The Building is one of the newest designated landmark by the Landmark Preservation Commission both in terms of age and time of designation. It truly represents a remarkable record of architectural styles that were prevalent in other parts of the US during this era.
The staff of Humphries Poli Architects, currently the occupant and responsible for the restoration will be available to give guided tours of the building in addition to illustrating their work on other preservation projects.
Art Students League of Denver / Sherman School
Location Number: 60
Urban Adventures: C
200 Grant St.
SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: Henry Dozier
www.asld.org
Year Built: 1883
Photography Allowed: Yes
Services Provided: Public restrooms; free parking
Serving since 1987 as one of our city’s premier schools of fine arts, the Art Students League of Denver is located in the historic Sherman School, an 1893 Richardsonian Romanesque sandstone.
The bungalow annex on the north side was added in 1920 to accommodate a kindergarten; today it serves as studio space. Recovered from blacktop and fencing, the gardens were landscaped in 2001 to include local plants. The prominent arched entry portico welcomes students today as it has for over 100 years. Today the Art Students League of Denver thrives within the Sherman School, providing year-round art classes for children and adults in a range of media and styles.
The Sherman School: Home to the Art Students League of Denver is located in the West Washington Park neighborhood. The Sherman School was just within the city limits when it was built between 1889-1892 as part of Mayor Speer’s “City Beautiful” movement. One of eight schools completed during this decade, it represents the grandeur and pride that was once part of the public school image.
The building is a Richardsonian Romanesque structure designed by Henry Dozier and characterized by a massive appearance with strong horizontal forms. The style was widely popular during the late 1800s for churches, university buildings, railway stations, and courthouses. The school is visually anchored by a rustic orange Manitou sandstone base. The prominent arched entry portico welcomes students today as it has for over 100 years. The Annex was built in 1920 in response to the city’s mandate to add classrooms for kindergarten age children. Note low drinking fountains and signage in front of studios. Fireplaces at end of each studio were used for heat. The main building houses art classroom space, two artists’ studios, gallery space and offices. The Annex building is now the home of the sculpture studios.
When the building was an elementary school, boys and girls entered second floor by separate staircases, hence the need for two. The double staircase constructed of oak has been restored to reveal its original beauty.
Interior Features:
1. Oak Staircase: Sets off charm and uniqueness of building.
2. Original Oak Wainscoting: Now painted
3. Windows with Transoms and Creaky floors: Original
4. Original hardware on some of the doors.
Gardens: Asphalt playground surrounded by chain link fence. Today, beautiful garden designed and maintained by volunteers that is used by students, and where the school holds music and dance festivals.
Black American West Museum / Justina Ford House
Location Number: 12
Urban Adventures: A, J
3091 California St.
SAT 10AM - 2PM SUN 1PM - 4PM
Architect: Unknown
www.BlackAmericanWestMuseum.com
Year Built: 1890
Photography Allowed: Yes
Services Provided: Partial disabled access; public restrooms
Public Transit: Light Rail D Line
The Museum tells the forgotten story of the African American pioneers who helped to shape the West and is housed in the former home of Dr. Justina Ford, Colorado’s first African American female doctor.
Born in 1871 and graduated from Chicago’s Hering Medical College in 1899, Justina Laurena Ford née Warren was Colorado’s first black female doctor. After becoming staff physician at Denver General, member of the AMA and recipient of Denver Cosmopolitan Club’s Human Rights Award, the beloved Dr. Ford died in 1952.
This Italianate house was her home for forty years on Arapahoe Street. It was moved here in 1983 to become the Black American West Museum, itself founded in 1971 to preserve the history of African Americans in the Old West.
Bosworth House / Assistance League of Denver
Location Number: 44
Urban Adventures: K
1400 Josephine St.
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: Varian & Sterner
www.Denver.AssistanceLeague.org
Year Built: 1889
Photography Allowed: Yes
Services Provided: Disabled access; public restrooms; food/beverage
Public Transit:
Housing the headquarters of the Assistance League of Denver, this is the Bosworth House, a Denver Landmark Historic House.
This home was built by Varian & Sterner in 1889 at a cost of $18,000. Its original owners were the Dunbars of Britain; Thomas helped to found Denver’s Chamber of Commerce and Carolina’s half-brother built the Pierce McAllister House. After the Dunbars’ divorce, the house was sold in 1903 to Lenora Bosworth, widow of the Denver Fire Brick Company’s founder and longest continuous resident of this address. Before her death in 1947, the highly educated Lenora willed the house to the American Association of University Women, who in the late 60’s sold it to the philanthropic nonprofit Assistance League. The porch was then rebuilt, the golden oak woodwork refinished and the leaded windows releaded. Interesting interior details include front parlor trim of bird’s eye maple, fireplaces in each major room, original built-in library cabinets, servant call buttons in the kitchen and maid’s stairway.
The Bosworth House was built in 1889 by Denver architects Ernest Varian and Frederick Sterner who also built the Tears McFarland House and the Pierce McAllister House. Built for Thomas and Carolina Dunbar the house cost $18,000. Since that time the 123 year old house has had only four owners: the original owners; Leonora Bosworth who lived there from 1903 until her death in 1947 at age 91; the American Association of University Women (AAUW); and the current owner, the Assistance League® which purchased the property in 1966. In January, 1975 the Denver Historical Landmark Commission granted the official historic designation to the house, making it Landmark #73. In 1976 it was included as a Heritage Project of the Centennial-Bicentennial Celebration.
In 1948 the AAUW built the auditorium that is at the south side of the residence where Mrs. Bosworth formerly had a rose garden. They also added a front interior stairway from the second to the third floors to accommodate the university students who were living there and who were receiving AAUW scholarships.
The Assistance League of Denver purchased the property in 1966 to use as a meeting place, to house many of its philanthropic programs and activities, and as a preservation project to help secure Denver’s architectural heritage. Over the years the Assistance League has maintained and improved the property while preserving its historical features. In 1974 an extensive restoration was done of the exterior. In 1991 the HELP Office was added and the auditorium and kitchen were remodeled.
For those interested in the Victorian period, The Bosworth House is a perfect example of architectural style and finishing. Throughout the house there is extensive use of golden oak for the woodwork and paneling. There are leaded glass windows and fireplaces in every major room. The house contains unique touches such as the curved window panes in the library, elaborate stamped metal grilles on the heating registers, and the use of electric lighting which was very progressive for the time period. From the paneled double entry to the third floor rooms for the servants, everything about The Bosworth House proclaims the elegance of the Victorian period.
Free tours of the house will be provided at 11:00 and 1:00 on Saturday and Sunday. Maximum number of tour participants is ten (10). Self-guided tours are also available.
Bryant/Webster School
Location Number: 5
Urban Adventures: L
3635 Quivas Street
SAT 10AM - 4PM
Year Built: 1931
Architect: G Meredith Music; tiles by San Ildefonso, Pueblo
Photography Allowed:
Services Provided:
Public Transit:
In 1931 Frank Anderson created this Art Deco school building of concrete, brick, and asphalt. The building has been listed in the national register of historic places since 1995.
Buffalo Bill Museum & Grave (Pahaska Tepee)/ Lookout Mountain
Location Number: 78
Urban Adventures: A, B, J
987 Lookout Mountain Rd.
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: Louis Spallone
www.BuffaloBill.org
Year Built: 1921
Photography allowed: Yes
Services Provided: Café, restrooms
Public Transit: None
Built in 1921 to house the Buffalo Bill Memorial Museum, Pahaska Tepee exemplified Rustic Mountain architecture. Tours will be offered at 11am, 1pm, 2pm and 3pm.
For over 50 years the building housed exhibits and amenities for the millions of pilgrims ascending Lookout Mountain to pay tribute to the grave of Buffalo Bill Cody.
We will feature Pahaska Tepee, which is a contributing structure to the National Register designation of Lookout Mountain and the Denver Mountain Parks. It was built in 1921 of local logs and stone with the intention of keeping it open only during the summer months. It has since been winterized and is open year round. It originally housed a gift shop, café and the Buffalo Bill Museum. In 1979 the Museum was moved into an adjacent building and Pahaska Tepee was devoted entirely to gift shop and café. Tours of Pahaska Tepee will be offered during Doors Open Denver. The Museum will also be open but a fee will be charged. The Buffalo Bill Museum was designated Western Museum of the Year in 2011 by “True West” magazine.
Byers-Evans House Museum
Location Number: 48
Urban Adventures: J
1310 Bannock St.
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: Unknown
www.ByersEvansHouseMuseum.org
Year Built: 1883
Photography Allowed: No flash photography allowed
Services Provided: Partial disabled access; food/beverage services; paid parking
The Byers-Evans House Museum, a Denver landmark, was built by the first publisher of the Rocky
Mountain News.
The museum was sold in 1889 to William Evans, an officer of the Denver Tramway Company and the son of Colorado’s second territorial governor, John Evans. The home is interpreted to the period of 1912–24 with furnishings original to the Evans family. Guides will give visitors a glimpse of the museum’s first floor.
The Byers-Evans House Museum at 1310 Bannock Street was home to two prominent families in Denver’s past. The home was built in 1883 by William N. Byers, founding editor of the Rocky Mountain News. Although the architect is unknown, this middle class home was built in the Italianate style of architecture, featuring wide eaves and a flat pitched roof. In 1889, the home was sold to William G. Evans, President of the Denver Tramway Company and the son of Colorado’s second Territorial Governor. The Evans family made five additions to the home prior to 1912, almost doubling the size of the original structure. The home remained in the Evans family for nearly 90 years and was given to History Colorado in 1981 along with its contents. A Denver landmark, the Byers-Evans House has been beautifully restored to the period between 1912 and 1924.
Polished wood finishes, brightly patterned wallpapers, ornate mantels, and period draperies form a backdrop for the rich variety of Evans family furnishings.
The Byers-Evans House Museum is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (1970) and has been designated a Denver Landmark (Number 5, 1963).
Byron White U.S. Courthouse
Location Number: 24 Urban Adventures: G
1823 Stout St.
SAT 10AM - 2PM SUN 10AM - 2PM
Architect: Tracy, Swartwout & Litchfield
www.gsa.gov
Year Built: 1916
Photography Allowed: No cameras or camera phones are permitted
Services Provided: Full disabled access; public restrooms
Renamed in 1994 for Ft. Collins native, CU All-American and valedictorian, Rhodes scholar, NFL player and Kennedy-appointed Supreme Court Associate Justice Byron “Whizzer” White, this Neoclassical marble federal courthouse was built with a Renaissance Revival interior featuring massive skylights.
Designed as the main Denver post office, the building was remodeled in 1983 and 1994 to become the current courthouse. Although a 1994 renovation covered the skylights, the building is brightened by exposure to the interior courtyard and recreations of the original cast bronze sconces. The same architects were hired to design the U.S. Post Office and Federal Courthouse. The courthouse occupies an entire city block and stands four stories in height, set above the street in its rusticated base. There are a series of grand stairs that lead to the main entrance and are marked by 16 three-story ionic columns adorned with eagles. On the frieze above the main entrance is inscribed the cities to the east and west of the building, symbolizing the flow of mail across the country. Inscribed on either side of the colonnade are the names of the U.S. Postmaster Generals. The main entry lobby spans the width of the building, with a terrazzo floor and vaulted ceilings. The notable artwork includes a pair of Rocky Mountain sheep and inscribed on wall piers are the Pony Express riders’ names, including Buffalo Bill Cody, an important part of the history of the postal service in the American West.
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) invites you to celebrate Denver’s unique architectural landscape by participating in Doors Open Denver 2012. Take a step back in time and visit a building that served as a model for other local building projects and its influence can still be seen in other governmental and public structures throughout downtown Denver. The Byron White U. S. Courthouse is located on 1823 Stout Street and it will be open for self-guided tours on April 14-15, from 10 am – 2 pm both days.
One of Denver’s first permanent post office and courthouse, the Byron White U.S. Courthouse reveals interesting clues that tell a long and rich Colorado history. You’ll find things like inscribed names on marble-faced walls with names like Buffalo Bill Cody, one of the best-known Pony Express riders, an important part of the history of the postal service in the American West. You can also satisfy the artist in you with a display of four murals by artist Herman T. Schaldermundt, completed in 1918 which were recently restored through GSA’s Fine Arts Program. Details will be available upon entering the building at a self-help station.
GSA’s Fine Arts Collection is one of our nation’s oldest and largest public art collections. It consists of permanently installed and moveable mural paintings, sculpture, architectural or environmental works of art, and works on paper dating from 1850 to the present. These civic works of art are in federal buildings and courthouses across the United States. Maintained by GSA as a part of our national and cultural heritage, the Fine Arts Collection serves as a reminder of the important tradition of individual creative expression.
Throughout history architectural works are often perceived as cultural and political symbols as well as works of art. Find one of Denver’s hidden historical treasures by participating in Doors Open Denver 2012.
Campbell House (Cook House)
Location Number: 53
Urban Adventures: E, K
940 Logan Street
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: Ernest Phillip Varian
www.RealEyes.com
Year Built: 1886
The Campbell House is in the Quality Hill Historic District and is one of six mansions within the district.
The Campbell House, also known as the Cook House, was built in 1886 and was designed by Ernest Phillip Varian also known for projects such as the Denver Athletic Club, University Club and Calvary Baptist Church. Its more than 6000 square feet contain original interior treasures like pocket doors, wooden archways and staircase, leaded glass windows, and multiple fireplaces, but the Campbell House is known better for its elegant façade, which presents a classically white-pillared front porch beneath a second-floor balcony with similar white balustrade. The Campbell House was added to the National Register in 1974 (#55). RealEyes Media, current owner, is in the process of renovating and restoring the property to its former glory.
Capitol Hill Mansion / Keating House
Location Number: 49
Urban Adventures: E, K
1207 Pennsylvania St.
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: Rieche, Carter & Smith
www.capitolhillmansion.com
Year Built: 1891
Photography Allowed: Yes
Serving as the Keating family mansion until becoming a hotel in 1923, it later served as an apartment and office building before restoration and conversion to a bed and breakfast.
This Richardsonian Romanesque ruby sandstone was designed by Rieche, Carter & Smith and built in 1891 by Jeffery and Mary Keating with money made in real estate and lumber. The exterior is decorated with turrets, balconies and a grand curving porch. Original interior highlights include an eight foot tall stained glass window and patterned plaster ceilings. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
The former Keating House is one of the last vintage homes built before the silver crash of 1893. Keating , a real estate investor and founder of McPhee & McGinnity Lumber Company, accumulated his wealth with the early expansion of Denver. In a neighborhood predominated by people of wealth and power such as Molly Brown, Boettcher, Cheesman, Keating, and Moffat, there were many finely crafted mansions. Today, the former Keating House remains a landmark of Colorado’s Victorian era with its period architecture and outstanding craftsmanship. The home remained a family mansion until 1923 when it became the Buena Vista Hotel, named for its “beautiful view” of Colorado’s majestic mountains. In 1994, the home was returned to its former majesty with its conversion to the Capitol Hill Mansion, one of Denver’s newest and most luxurious Bed & Breakfast Inns.
Cass Mansion
Location Number: 56
Urban Adventures: E, K
733 East 8th Avenue
SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: Willios A Marean & Albert Julius Stead Norton
Year Built: 1899
This 1899 combination of the Dutch Revival and Victorian styles was created by architects Willis Marean and Albert Norton, both of Frank E. Edbrooke’s firm.
Highly visible due to its conspicuous corner turret and Dutch crow-stepped gable (where the triangular gable-end’s top parapet extends above the roofline in a stair-step pattern), the 8,244 square foot Cass Mansion contains seven original fireplaces,
wood-trimmed archways, and a 19th century stained-glass foyer window imported from Glasgow.
After settling in Denver in 1860, Doctor Oscar Cass of New Hampshire earned enough from ventures in gold, banking, freight, and real estate to buy this prominent plot on 8th Avenue in 1891. Despite his death just three years later, his widow Emogene oversaw construction and ownership of the mansion until its 1918 sale to Juliet and Rabbi William S. Friedman of Temple Emanuel, Colorado’s oldest Jewish congregation. One other notable inhabitant of the Cass Mansion before its 2005 sale for $1.68 million and commercial use by a market research firm: Ann B. Davis, Emmy Award winner and portrayer of the aproned housekeeper “Alice” in television’s The Brady Bunch.
Even before completion, the press touted the Cass Mansion as “one of the most attractive of Denver’s attractive homes…” and “one of the handsomest in the vicinity…” One newspaper announced that the price would reach the staggering sum of $13,000, and the reporter justified that by commenting that the residence was to be “first class,” “modern in every particular,” with “no expense spared.”
The home was masterfully conceived from its design to its final details by two of the foremost architects in Denver’s history: Willis A. Marean and Albert Julius Stead Norton, whose work also includes The Brown Palace Hotel, the Colorado Governor’s (Boettcher) Mansion, and the Cheesman Park Pavilion. These prominent architects combined Dutch Revival style with contemporary Victorian features to create the Cass Mansion.
Today, the Cass Mansion still displays the details that placed it among the finest residences of its time. A 19th century Scottish stained glass window, brought from Glasgow, decorates the foyer, arched cabinets and moldings of golden oak provide a warm atmosphere, the main staircase has custom-designed oak railings and banisters, and seven beautiful fireplaces still heat the spacious rooms during the winter.
The Cass Mansion became home to the Friedman family from 1918 to 1939. Rabbi William S. Friedman joined with other Denver religious leaders to create Charity Organizations Society, an entity to raise funds in support of local health and welfare agencies. Today, his organization is known as United Way, America’s largest private charity. A few years after founding his ground breaking community group, the charitable spirit of Rabbi William S. Friedman would give birth to another enduring organization, the National Jewish Hospital for Consumptives, founded by Rabbi William S. Friedman on Sept. 10, 1890. This hospital became an imperative necessity by reason of the hundreds of penniless Jewish victims of tuberculosis who came to Colorado.”
Castle Marne Bed & Breakfast Inn
Location Number: 35
Urban Adventures: D, F
1572 Race St.
SAT 11:00AM – 4:00PM SUN 11:00AM – 4:00PM
Architect: William Lang
www.CastleMarne.com
Year Built: 1889
Photography Allowed: Yes
Services Provided: Partial disabled access; free parking
Public Transit: RTD Routes 15 & 20
Built for Wilbur Raymond, this famous mansion is celebrating its 122nd year, having been lovingly restored to its original splendor.
This is one of Denver’s truly great architectural legacies and contains all original woodwork, mantels and stained and leaded glass. The ceilings and friezes are hand painted, restored from original photographs (circa 1890). Castle Marne is furnished in antiques, period pieces and family heirlooms. Castle Marne is constructed of native Castle Rock rhyolite and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Known over the years as the Raymond House and/or The Marne, Wilbur Raymond commissioned the house to be built for $40,000. Raymond and his family lived in the house for less than a year, having lost the house to creditors in 1892. Colonel James Platt, president of the Denver Paper Mills Company, purchased the house and sold it to John Mason (founder and curator of the Denver Museum of Nature & Science) upon his death. Mason’s world-famous collection of 40,000 butterflies and moths was on display on the third floor of the house.
The house was purchased by Mrs. Edwin Van Cise in 1918, who converted the house into apartments. The house was sold upon her death to Lyle Holland, after which Louise & Richard Dice attempted unsuccessfully to convert the building into three condominiums. The building stood unoccupied and vandalized until 1988 when the Peiker family purchased, renovated and opened it for business as a bed & breakfast. It is generally considered to be the finest remaining example of William Lang’s exceptional eclectic architectural style, and you can see the only life-sized bronze bust of Mr. Lang at the inn.
Chamberlin Observatory – University of Denver
Location Number: 70
Urban Adventures: A
2930 E. Warren Ave.
SUN 1PM - 4PM
Architect: Robert S. Roeschlaub, FAIA
www.du.edu
Year Built: 1894
Architect: Robert S. Roeschlaub, FAIA
Photography Allowed: Yes
Services Provided: Public restrooms; free parking
Public Transit: RTD Light Rail-University Station; RTD Routes 21, 24, 79
This home to University of Denver astronomical and meteorological tools is named for Denver real estate magnate and financial donor Humphrey Chamberlin.
This Richardson Romaneque style building was modeled after the Carleton College Observatory in Northfield, Minnesota, and became a Denver landmark (#220) in 1994. Our tour for Doors Open Denver will feature an inside look at the building features that support the great telescope (the still-operational 25 foot classic refractor) in the main dome room, as well as information about ongoing public access programs and DU astronomy classes.
Cheesman Park Pavilion & Fountains
Location Number: 51
Urban Adventures: B
8th & Franklin Street
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 10AM - 4PM
Landscape Architect: Reinhard Scheutze
Visit the work of Denver’s first landscape architect here, currently on the National Register of Historic Places and noted as one the best designed urban public spaces in the country.
Year of Cheesman Memorial Pavilion Design: 1907
Architect: Marean & Norton, Denver CO
Landscape Architect: George W. Kessler, Kansas City MO
Cheesman Esplanade: 1912
Landscape Architect: Olmsted Brothers, Brookline MA
Construction Period: 1900-1904 (park); 1908-1910 (Cheesman Memorial pavilion & surrounding grounds); 1912-1914 (Cheesman Esplanade)
Most of the original park composition is visible today as a series of distinct spaces. Schuetze’s 1898 park plan envisioned two open meadows organized along a diagonal axis (extending SW to NE). The meadows were surrounded by an hour glass shaped park carriage road that connected to the surrounding neighborhoods with forested edges. The center connection of the roadway, along the highpoint of the open lawn, was removed in the 1970’s. Major park spaces include:
- A formal landscape with signature fountains surrounding the Cheesman Memorial pavilion sited at the park’s highpoint. Mountain views from this vantage point are noteworthy and reflect Denver’s tradition of locating parkland on promontories with views to the west. The Pavilion is constructed of Colorado marble.
- A naturalistic Lily Pond on the west side of the Park. The pond was never filled with water but a portion of this landform remains as a depression near the children’s playground.
- A double allee of linden trees designate the original location of Franklin Street on the west side of the park.
The Cheesman Esplanade was constructed as an entrance to Cheesman Park by the Olmsted Brothers in 1914 during construction of Denver’s parkway system. Much of the original planting design remains but the formal terraces and pathway design, as well as the sightline to the Cheesman Pavilion, have disappeared with passing time.
Overview of Cheesman Park
Cheesman Park, an 80 acre regional park in Denver’s Capital Hill neighborhood, is an historic designed landscape. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a component of the City’s historic park and parkway system. Cheesman Park’s early history is primarily associated with land acquisition, the site’s development as Denver’s first cemetery, followed by the transition of a portion of the cemetery grounds to park land. Initially known as Congress Park, the site officially became Denver parkland in 1890 following a decree by the United States Congress. The ‘original’ Congress Park was renamed Cheesman Park in 1907 after the City received a generous $100,000 donation from the heirs of Walter Cheesman’s for the construction of a memorial pavilion in the park.
Christ the King Chapel at The Gardens at St. Elizabeth
Location Number: 7
Urban Adventures: M
2835 W. 32nd Ave.
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 11AM - 4PM
Architect: Varian and Sterner
www.centuraseniors.com/thegardens
Year Built: 1890’s
Photography allowed: Yes
Services provided: Free parking, full access, restrooms
Public Transit: RTD #32
This Chapel’s architecture (described as Georgian or Colonial Revival) has been complimented for avoiding any Gothic gloom typical of Victorian-era sanitariums for the terminally ill.
Episcopalian minister Frederick W. Oakes was the founder, superintendent, and chaplain of the Oakes Home for Consumptives, one of Colorado’s and America’s earliest charitable refuges for tuberculosis patients. Englishman Frederick Sterner emigrated to America at age 16, and after drafting in the offices of famous Denver architect Franke Edbrooke he teamed with Ernest Phillip Varian to create the firm of Varian and Sterner. As a pair they designed the Oakes Home pavilions in the mid-1890s, but by the time in 1903 when the Chapel was designed, Varian had left and Sterner’s architecture was transitioning from medieval and Romanesque to Classical, balanced symmetrically and regularly proportioned according to mathematical ratios.
Although the Oakes Home closed in 1934 and several original buildings were demolished in 1975, the Chapel still exists as part of Saint Elizabeth: the complex was bought in 1943 by the Sisters of St. Francis, who moved the aged residents of their Mount Elizabeth Retreat at Morrison into the new location and renamed it Saint Elizabeth Retreat. Now called The Gardens at St. Elizabeth, it still functions as a seniors’ living facility.
The building was named a Denver landmark in 1975 and added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 24, 1976.
Phil Goodstein will be offering free 30 minute North Denver history talks on Sunday, April 15th at 12:00 noon, 1pm and 2pm. This free half-hour lecture is a chance to peak in the historic chapel and an overview of the neighborhood.
Church of the Epiphany
Location Number: 62
Urban Adventures: M
100 Colorado Blvd
SAT 10AM - 4PM
Architect: Arthur Axtens
www.EpiphanyDenver.org
Year Built: 1941
Services provided: Free parking, restrooms, partial access
The church was built in the Byzantine Style, with hand-painted ceiling panels and stained glass in the sanctuary. Built in 1941 with an addition in 1960, this Church became a Denver Landmark in 2008.
City Park Esplanade
Location Number: 33
Urban Adventures: B, F
1600 City Park Esplanade
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect:
Reinhard Schuetze
Year Built: 1907
An esplanade, like a promenade, is a long picturesque open space intended for pedestrian or
recreational use.
Originally created to keep empty areas beyond a city’s fortified walls open for the firing of cannon, formal European esplanades grew near bodies of water and caught on as popular public centers for milling socialites to be seen walking near but not upon the beach, much like today’s coastal resort boardwalks. This particular esplanade was planned in 1905 by Washington Park’s original designer Reinhard Schuetze, and planted from 1907 to 1918. As the formal Southern entry to City Park (Denver’s largest) and the exterior gateway to East High School (Denver’s first), the City Park Esplanade incorporates elegant classic landscape design elements to create a formal channel of flower beds and tree rows from 17th Avenue to Colfax.
At the north end is City Park’s Thatcher Memorial Fountain (a granite catch-basin surmounted by a bronze sculpted woman representing the state of Colorado, created by Illinois sculptor Lorado Z. Taft and donated by Colorado banker Joseph Thatcher in 1918). At the south end is the Renaissance-style Dennis Sullivan Gateway of 1917 (an honor to the recently deceased millionaire miner, banker, and onetime penniless emigrant from New York to Colorado Dennis Sullivan, by his fellow banker John Clark Mitchell at a cost of $35,000), comprising two 54 foot tall terra cotta piers (each of three Doric columns and a fourth square pillar, all created by Chicago’s Grant Park creator Edward Bennett) crested by figures (molded in Hoboken by Bolognese sculptor Leo Lentelli) representing Agriculture and Mining, plus a circular fountain inside the roundabout and sculpted lion’s heads spitting water from their mounts into basins along the perimeter wall.
The Esplanade is still used for its intended purposes of accessing and parking at both City Park and East High School, as well as newer community uses in housing farmer’s markets, arts festivals, and running events such as the Colfax Marathon. It has been on the National Register of Historic Places since September 17, 1986.
City Park Golf Course & Clubhouse
Location Number: 16
Urban Adventures: B, F
2500 York Street
SAT 10AM - 4PM
SUN 10AM - 4PM
www.DenverGov.org/Golf/DenverGolf/CityParkGolfCourse
Golf Course opened in 1913, designed by Thomas Bendelow, Landscape Architect
Clubhouse reconstructed in 2001, designed by Pahl-Pahl-Pahl Architecture
Photography allowed: Yes
Services provided: Free parking (subject to availability), restrooms, fully accessible, food & beverages
Public Transit: RTD #24, #32, #20, #40
This 18-hole regulation golf course dates from 1913 and exemplifies early municipal course design in landscaping and layout of its tight fairways.
In addition to its 1.5 acre lake, this public course located directly across 23rd Avenue from both Denver’s Zoo and Museum of Nature and Science has a new clubhouse, new irrigation system, and new tee boxes. At roughly 40 square city blocks immediately adjacent to Denver’s largest park, this course illustrates our city’s early commitment to preserving valuable central urban real estate as open spaces for public recreation, and because of its prime location offers golfers unrivaled views of the downtown skyline against its backdrop of mountains.
City Park Golf Course, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986 as part of Denver’s Park and Parkway System, is celebrating its 100-year anniversary this season!
City Park Golf Course, located directly north of City Park, is one of the oldest municipal golf courses in Denver. The idea of a golf course in North City Park was proposed in 1899. The 136-acre course designed by Landscape Architect Thomas Bendelow was built in 1912 and opened on September 6, 1913. Most of the golf course was built on land donated to the city by the City Park Dairy Farm, with another 50 acres rented from the state until a land swap decades later formalized the property transfer to the City of Denver. The original Pueblo Revival clubhouse, which was designed by Frederick Ameter and built in 1918, was furnished with mission furniture that was manufactured at the City Park Shops. The clubhouse was enlarged in 1923 to accommodate more players. The existing City Park Golf Course Clubhouse, constructed in 2001, was designed by Pahl-Pahl-Pahl Architects (now Pahl Architecture) in Spanish Mediterranean stucco reminiscent of the original clubhouse style. Housing the popular restaurant Bogey’s On the Park, the new clubhouse has an expansive view of the golf course and an outdoor patio.
From its early days, City Park Golf Course attracted middle-class players at a time when most courses served only the social elite. The golf course is also significant for its tradition of ethnic diversity, particularly during the 1940s - 1960s when the course hosted several ethnically diverse golf associations.
This 18-hole regulation Denver golf course is located in a beautiful urban setting with fantastic views of downtown Denver and the Rocky Mountains. Clusters of trees line various fairways and frame views of the skyline. Small sloping greens, unique bunkering, and tight fairways make City Park Golf Course deceivingly difficult. City Park Golf Course is also the home to The First Tee of Denver Program, which teaches young people life skills and character education through the game of golf.
One of the most conveniently located stops on your tour, City Park Golf Course is located across the street from the City Park, the Denver Zoo and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.
City Park Pavilion / Ferril Lake / Electric Fountain
Location Number: 29
Urban Adventures: B, F
17th & York Street
www.DenverGov.org
Year Built: 1886
SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: Reinhard Scheutze, Henry Meryweather
Photography Allowed: No photography or video for commercial purposes
Services Provided: Full disabled access, public restrooms, free parking
Over 120 years ago City Park was located on a windswept prairie when the notion of a public park was still considered a new idea.
Since its original development in 1886, the park serves not only the 8 neighborhoods immediately adjacent to it but the entire metropolitan area. The park is within a 5-mile radius to 85% of all Denver residents. City Park is home to the Denver Zoo, the Museum of Nature and Science and the City Park Golf Course. It encompasses 320 acres of developed parkland including 15 athletic fields, 14 tennis courts, 4 picnic areas, 5 ornamental fountains including the popular interactive water feature, 3 lakes and paddle boat rentals, 2 playgrounds, 5 formal gardens, over 3,500 trees representing over 40 different species, 9 historically significant monuments and structures including the Bandstand and the City Park Pavilion and spectacular panoramic views of the Rocky Mountain range.
Although Henry Meryweather prepared the original park layout plans in 1882, the park encompasses several generations of designers and planners through its history including Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr, Edward Bennett, George Kessler and S.R. DeBoer,
Electric Fountain:
The designer of the Electric Fountain No. 33 in City Park, Frederic W. Darlington, invented the concept of a fountain show in the early 1890s. By 1899 he held a patent for a color changing mechanism for illuminating fountains from below the pool of water.
The controls for the City Park Electric Fountain were located in the north tower of the pavilion where an operator had full control of the water features and lights. Darlington’s fountains were constructed around the country as well as in London, Mexico City and Japan.
Due to its deterioration, the original fountain had to be demolished in 2006 and reconstructed in an historically accurate but modern version of Darlington’s pioneering work. The construction of the new concrete fountain vault in Ferril Lake was completed in May, 2007 along with a new water pipeline and electrical conduits running under the lakebed. The fountain ran for most of the summer and fall of 2007 with a single 90-foot tall column of water rising from a new custom-built nozzle.
In August, 2008 in time for its 100 year anniversary and the Democratic National Convention (DNC) the fountain reconstruction was complete with twelve individual water features, each creating a distinct shape. 28 incandescent lights (white) and 116 multi-color LED fixtures are used to create the great light displays for the fountain shows at night. The fountain shows are designed to last between 5 and 10 minutes and feature different parts of the fountain and lighting system. After the fountain’s center jet, which can reach above 100ft in height was hit by lightning in 2009, the Department of Parks and Recreation, in cooperation with the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, installed a lightning detection system that will shut down the fountain when there are lightning strikes in the vicinity of City Park.
Civic Center Park (Greek Theater, Voorhees Memorial, Broadway Terrace/Esplanade)
Location Number: 42
Urban Adventures: B
Colfax Avenue & Bannock Street
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 10AM - 4PM
www.DenverGov.org
Year Built: 1918
Architects: Charles Mumford Robinson, Frederick Olmsted, Jr. and Edward H. Bennett
Photography Allowed: No photography or video for commercial purposes
Services Provided: Full disabled access, public restrooms, free parking
Civic Center itself was originally conceived as an ideal of beauty that ultimately required merging of several design schemes to give it its final form.
At the turn of the century several renowned architects and planners had a hand in the developing plans for the park including Charles Mumford Robinson, Frederick Olmsted, Jr. and Edward H. Bennett. Bennett was a protégé of Daniel Burnham, the architect for the Chicago exposition that originally inspired Speer’s brainchild for a civic center in Denver. Bennett developed the final plans for Civic Center which included the Greek Theater and Colonnade as a monumental gateway for the southern end of the park, and selected the northern end for the site of the Voorhies Memorial. Finally constructed in 1918, the park continues to retain many of its original structures. The park also incorporated the 1907 Carnegie library building on the northwest corner that served as Denver’s first centralized public library. Civic Center developed to include an important public art collection including four murals by Allen True and two Alexander Phimster Proctor bronze sculptures.
Clayton Early Learning Campus
Location Number: 8
Urban Adventures: F, L
3801 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
SAT 11AM - 3PM
Architect: Maurice Biscoe
www.ClaytonEarlyLearning.org
Year Built: 1911
Architect: Maurice Biscoe
Photography Allowed: No
Services Provided: Disabled access; public restrooms; free parking
The original buildings of the Clayton Campus are elegant examples of the Mediterranean Revival style.
Colorado Heights University / Loretto Heights College & Loretto Heights Academy
Location Number: 76
Urban Adventures: L
3001 South Federal Blvd
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: F.E. Edbrooke
www.chu.edu
Year Built: 1891
Photography allowed: No photo of video for commercial use; no flash photography in Chapel
Services provided: Free parking, disabled access, restrooms
Public Transit: RTD #27, #21, #30, #31, #36
As one of premier Denver architect Frank E. Edbrooke’s surviving structures, this collegiate main building exemplifies his usual style in Romanesque design and heavy but graceful red sandstone.
Opened in November 1891 and built at a cost of $350,000, the three story administrative center boasts 86 rooms, a steep gabled roof with many dormers, and a prominent central bell tower of over 160 feet. The institution was founded by Mother Pancratia Bonfils’ Sisters of Loretto, who envisioned a private Catholic girls’ boarding school on one of Denver’s highest points: Loretto Heights Academy. With time the academy transitioned into a women’s parochial college, then Colorado’s first nursing school, then an independent college, and finally a coed campus in 1970.
Due to financial woes Loretto Heights was subsumed by its sister school Regis University in 1988, and is today part of the Teikyo Group, with partial main building leases to the Augustine Institute, focusing on international studies.
One notable alumnus of the university is Eustache Antoine Francois Joseph Louis Borno, President of Haiti from 1922 to 1930.
The main admistration building of Loretto Heights has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since September 18, 1975.
Mary Louise Bonfils, first cousin to Denver Post cofounder Frederick Bonfils, changed her name to Sister Pancratia upon entering the Sisters of Loretto, the first order of nuns founded in the US. One year later, in 1868, Bishop Machebeuf brought her to Denver to teach at St. Mary’s School. In 1890 she was instrumental in raising $18,250 for the sisters to buy B.M. Morse’s 45 acre hilltop, which as Denver’s highest southwestern point had been used strategically by Fort Logan and as military practice grounds by General Custer.
The sisters envisioned a private Catholic girls’ boarding school on that hill, and after laying the cornerstone on September 21, 1890, the Loretto Heights Academy was officially founded. Its central bell-tower rises ten stories above the foundation, and was once the tallest structure in Denver.
With time the academy transitioned into a women’s parochial college, then Colorado’s first nursing school, then an independent college, and finally a coed campus in 1970. Due to financial woes Loretto Heights was subsumed by its sister school Regis University in 1988, and is today part of the Teikyo Group, with partial main building leases to the Augustine Institute, focusing on international studies.
One notable alumnus of the university is Eustache Antoine Francois Joseph Louis Borno, President of Haiti from 1922 to 1930.
Confluence Park & Plaza
Location Number: 14
Urban Adventures: B
15th Street & Little Raven
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: Edward H. Bennett; Architerra (EDAW)
Year Built: 1918
www.DenverGov.org
Photography Allowed: No photography or video for commercial purposes
Services Provided: Full disabled access, public restrooms, free parking
At the nexus of Cherry Creek and the South Platte River stands Confluence Park. Hosting beautiful views of downtown Denver and the South Platte River’s premier kayak chutes, this park’s bluegrass amphitheater provides a wonderful panoramic point of reflection. Confluence Park is one of Denver’s greatest cultural, historic and natural resources in the downtown area. Over 150 years ago with the discovery of gold, the city was founded at this location where the South Platte River and Cherry Creek converge in the Central Platte Valley. The face of the confluence has changed considerably over time as adjacent land uses changed from the original mining settlements to industrial buildings and dumpsites.
In 1974, the City County of Denver and The Greenway Foundation formed a valuable public-private partnership to reclaim the South Platte River from a place of abuse and abandonment to a recreational and environmental amenity. The area now known as Confluence Park was the first and highest priority of the partnership to reclaim and revitalize it as a vibrant and inspiring place for Denver and its citizens. The park is the heart of an extensive 78-mile bike trail network throughout the City of Denver; and is surrounded by regional attractions, such as the REI Flagship store, Platte River Trolley, Elitch Gardens and the Downtown Aquarium. The park’s points provide many opportunities for people to enjoy summer concerts, picnic, relax on the “beach” and witness the best kayaking course along the South Platte River.
A favorite lunch spot for the surrounding residential community, home to the Greenway Foundation’s free July concert series and numerous events, Confluence Park remains today one of the most highly used parks along the river corridor.
The Denver Parks and Recreation Department is collaborating with local and regional stakeholders to develop a comprehensive vision for Confluence Park. The plan will address the park’s circulation, active and passive recreation programs, access to the Platte River and Cherry Creek, maintenance access, water quality, flood control and natural habitat. The plan will also include design guidelines and standards which will inform future improvements in the park, such as the reconstruction of the pedestrian / bicycle ramps in Shoemaker Plaza (scheduled to be complete in 2015).
Davis Partnership Architects
Location Number: 13
Urban Adventures: C, H
2301 Blake St.
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: Fisher & Fisher; Renovation: Davis Partnership Architects
www.DavisPartner.com
Year Built: 1919
Photography Allowed: Yes
Services Provided: Disabled access; public restrooms
The renovated historic structure was originally created for the McPhee and McGinnity Lumber Company, a booming Denver business that was once the largest manufacturer west of Chicago.
The building here was designed by the predecessor of the architectural firm that now makes its Denver headquarters within: Fisher & Fisher (creators of South High School and the Voorhees Memorial at Civic Center Park), which later became Fisher & Davis, then Davis & Associates, and finally Davis Partnership. In the early 1980’s the structure was remodeled to be a furniture showroom, and shortly after converted to the Twenty-Three Parish Nightclub. The building sat vacant until the Davis Partnership renovation in 2000.
Decker Branch Library - Denver Public Library
Location Number: 65
Urban Adventures: A
1501 South Logan
SAT 9AM - 5PM
www.DenverLibrary.org
Year Built: 1913
Architect: Marean and Norton
Photography Allowed: Yes (except of staff and customers)
Services Provided: Full disabled access, public restrooms
Public Transit: Bus Routes 0, 0L,11, 12. Light Rail EFH
Named a Denver Historic Landmark in 1984 by the Denver Landmark Preservation Commission, the tapestry bricks, terra cotta trim, and tile roof make this public library reminiscent of an English cottage.
The Sarah Platt Decker Branch Library opened on June 17, 1913, the second branch of the Denver Public Library system. It was one of four branches opened that summer as a result of an $80,000 grant from the Andrew Carnegie Corporation. The others were Warren, Woodbury and Dickinson. The building was designed by the architectural team of Marean and Norton. Together, the building and the land it sits on cost $22,000. The design is English cottage, highlighted by tapestry bricks, terracotta trim and a green tile roof. The 1912 cornerstone is located to the left of the northeast entrance. The branch was named after Sarah Platt Decker, a leader of the women’s suffrage movement, President of the Colorado Board of Charities, and President of the nearly one million member General Federation of Women’s Clubs. When Decker died in 1912, she was the first woman to lie in state at the Colorado State Capitol.
Inside, the high ceiling is graced with heavy oak beams. The main floor is L shaped, with the children’s area to the east. At the end of the children’s area is a great fireplace with chimney seats on either side. Mounted above the fireplace is one of three large murals in the library. Titled “The Pied Piper of Hamelin”, the 1913 mural is an oil on canvas painting by the Denver artist Dudley Carpenter and was inspired from Robert Browning’s famous poem. Neighborhood children posed for the painting.
Above the circulation desk to the southwest end is mounted a second Carpenter mural from 1913 titled “King Arthur Receiving the Magic Sword Excaliber”. The theme is taken from Sir Walter Scott’s popular story poem “The Lady of the Lake”.
At the north end, a charming bay window with seating is enhanced by leaded, diamond pane windows built in 1993 that are recreations of the original windows. During the 2009 renovation as part of Denver’s Better Bonds program, Oz Architecture enhanced the efficiency of the furnishings and fixtures while retaining Decker’s historical ambiance. The new antique-style lighting above the main floor demonstrates this concept.
In the basement, the meeting room hosts the third mural titled “There is No Frigate Like a Book” painted in 1910 by artist Marie L. Woodson and inspired by Emily Dickenson’s poem. The room also hosts a fireplace with side seating and a restored antique grand piano currently used for monthly chamber music concerts. Two murals by Dudley Carpenter adorn the interior which David Owen Tryba architects restored in 1993.
Dedisse Park / Evergreen Lake
Location Number: 79
Urban Adventures: B
29612 Upper Bear Creek Road
SAT 10AM - 2PM SUN 10AM - 4PM
Year Built: 1916 / 1992
Designers: E.J. Mann – N.P.S./ Murata Outland Assoc.
Photography Allowed: Yes
www.EvergreenRecreation.com
In 1920, when Evergreen was already a favorite summer retreat, the City & County of Denver acquired the ranchlands of Dedisse Ranch as a site for Evergreen Lake.
The city had begun this process in 1916 through a condemnation suit to acquire the ranch. (How Denver Acquired Her Mountain Parks, DMF March-April, 1931). These lands included the Bear Creek valley and spectacular views to the west towards Elephant Butte, Hicks Mountain, and Bergen Peak. These three peaks are protected as Denver Mountain Park Conservation/Wilderness Parks.
The completion of the Bear Creek road in 1915 preceded the acquisition and laid the foundation for building park facilities.
By 1925, the city had transformed the western valley of Dedisse Ranch into the 18-hole Evergreen Golf Course, complete with its Keys on the Greens clubhouse. By 1927, the eastern valley was flooded and the construction of the dam, the 65-acre Evergreen Lake, and the road surrounding the lake were completed. The beauty of the lake with its perfect reflection of the surrounding mountains was touted as enriching quaint downtown Evergreen.
Dedisse Park’s 420 acres are bisected by Upper Bear Creek road. Most of the acreage consists of forested ridges and open meadows in the foothills vegetation and habitat zone. The park is rich in ecological diversity and is dominated by mixed ponderosa pine forests with open grassy clearings and shrub lands on south-facing slopes. During the 1930s, the area north of Upper Bear Creek Road was completed as a recreational mountain park by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). Three picnicking sites and a stone and timber shelter were created. The sensitive siting of roads, structures, and overlooks was in keeping with the National Park Service’s rustic naturalistic design ethic.
The CCC stone shelter and overlook dominates the Park’s most interesting and breathtaking setting. The log and stone shelter is beautifully integrated into the hillside overlooking Evergreen Lake. Today, the shelter site is regularly used by groups through Denver’s reservation system.
Dedisse Park offers a broad mix of outdoor activities suited to all types of weather. Evergreen Parks and Recreation (EPRD) manages the lake’s multiple use lodge, the historic Warming House, and boardwalk. A concessionaire manages the Denver owned 18-hole golf course and restaurant.
In the northern section of the park, permitted and non-permitted picnic sites and twisting mountain roads offer opportunities to explore Dedisse Park’s ecological diversity and solitude. A multiple use trail extends through the park connecting to the Evergreen community, and looping around Evergreen Lake. The Dedisse Trail weaves through the western and northern portions of the park, connecting to multiple use trails in Alderfer-Three Sisters Park. Several social trails occur between the main trail and individual picnic areas.
Denver Children’s Home / Denver Orphans’ Home
Location Number: 38
Urban Adventures: F
1501 Albion St.
SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: Willis A. Marean & Albert J. Norton
www.DenverChildrensHome.org
Year Built: 1901
Photography allowed: No
Services provided: Free parking, full access, restrooms
Public Transit: RTD #15
Designed by Willis Marean and Albert Norton (who also teamed up to create the Cass Mansion as employees of famous Denver architect Frank E. Edbrooke), this sturdy red-brick Second Renaissance Revival of two and a half stories has been serving neglected children for over a hundred years.
The building was constructed in 1901, after the Denver Children’s Home Association had been operating for twenty years and its precursor, the Denver Ladies’ Relief Society, for nearly thirty.
Finally recognized for its important place in Denver’s social history, this building was formally added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 15, 1999. Denver Children’s Home is the first non-profit in the sate of Colorado. The building is owned by the same occupants since 1901 and still has the original furnishings.
Our building must be visited during 2012 because of the incredible changes that have been made over the past 14 months with our new Executive Director, Rebecca Hea. These additions include our new horticulture garden!! We will have the children’s art displayed during the tour and can open the kids entrepreneurial activity, the Wolf Pack Café, for visitors to sample some of their delicious coffee!
Denver City Cable Railway Bldg
Urban Adventures: G
1801 Lawrence
SAT 10AM - 4PM
Architect: Unknown
Website:
Year Built: 1889
Photography allowed:
Services provided: Paid parking, partial access, restrooms
Built in 1889, this historically significant structure marked Denver’s emergence as a major American city with its own Cable Car system.
The Cable Building sits at the crossroads of Lawrence & 18th Avenue in Denver’s most bustling area. The exterior provides some of the most beautiful brickwork of the significant downtown historic buildings while the interior lends itself to opportunity for creative, contemporary commercial space. Many downtown locations have been built and re-built while the Cable Building marks an era of sustainability through timeless downtown architecture.
The Cable Building was built to show Denver’s new sophistication and economic success through their own Cable Car system and building. The civic pride is evident in the quality of construction and the key central location of the Cable Building. This all-brick building was crafted by artisans that created intricate brick patterns, archways, and rounded brick detail. The building’s structure was built with heavy timber using Queen Post Truss systems to minimize columns. The building housed the power plant that ran the cable and also served as the garage and repair shop for the cable cars.
Denver City Hall Annex #1 (Wellington Webb Office Building)
Location Number: 39
Urban Adventures: G
201 W. Colfax Avenue
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: Hegner, Moore, Musick
www.DenverGov.org
Year Built: 1949
Public Transit: Light Rail
A current LEED Gold building, the existing Annex section was renovated and incorporated into addition of open atrium and tower section.
The building was designed to be more of a one stop service for the public. The towers design is unique and more of a ship type shape. The artwork is predominant in the atrium along the back wall behind the information desk, it rises from the 1st floor to the 4th floor and is designed to recognize the construction industry. Each elevator lobby of the tower has unique art work on the back wall as well. Workforce was 200 in August of 2001, 410 at peak in Winter of 2001-02.
Completed in August of 2002 at a cost of $131 million
.
Denver Fire Station #3
Location Number: 17
Urban Adventures: A
2500 Washington
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: C. Francis Pillsbury
www.DenverGov.org/FireDepartment
Year Built: 1931
Photography allowed: Yes
Firehouse 3 is located in the historic Five Points neighborhood of East Denver and is the oldest operating firehouse in Denver.
Opened in 1931, it is also the smallest Denver firehouse. C. Francis Pillsbury designed the firehouse like a home in Spanish bungalow style. Fire Company 3 was established March 16, 1882 and originally located at 2600 Curtis. In 1885 Hose #3 moved to 2563 Lincoln (Glenarm Pl). This building still stands across from the present day Firehouse #3.
After meeting with community leaders and businessmen who helped carry state-wide election, the City of Denver hired DFD’s first African American firefighters on March 13, 1892. They were stationed at 3’s with a white officer until August of 1897, when Lieutenant Silas Johnson was promoted to Captain and Driver McGruder was promoted to Lieutenant. These historic promotions occurred while Station 3 and the DFD were mourning the deaths of the entire Engine 3 crew who died in the line of duty when a floor collapsed into the basement at the infamous St. James Hotel Fire of March 23, 1895. On July 17th, 1938, Engine 3 was covering into Station 5’s area for an emergency call. They collided with Truck 4 who was responding to the Elitch’s fire, killing Captain George Brooks and Firefighter James Simspon.
Station 3 was integrated in 1957 when Lieutenant Carl Rose was promoted and transferred into the Firehouse, ending the 60 years of an all African American fire company.
The Firehouse is reported to be haunted. There are many unexplainable events experienced by members working at Station 3. Last year “ghost hunters” visited the Firehouse after hearing of its haunted history. They left with some argue as credible photos.
Engine 3 responds to over 3200 calls a year. In addition to participating in fire and emergency medical training, and public education programs the members conduct almost 500 fire inspections a year. Fire Station 3’s motto is “Pride of the Points”. It has been a valued center piece for the historic neighborhood. We look forward to sharing this historic landmark and its rich history during your visit.
Denver Fire Station #11
Location Number: 61
Urban Adventures: A
30 West 2nd Ave
.
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 10AM - 4PM
www.DenverGov.org/FireDepartment
Year Built: 1936
Photography allowed: Yes
Denver Fire Station #11 is one of Denver’s few remaining historic fire houses.
Located in the Historic Baker Neighborhood and built in 1936 in the Art Deco style, this fire station is a two-story building with three vehicle bays. Note the brick work on the front façade.
Denver Firefighters Museum / Fire House #1
Location Number: 40
Urban Adventures: A, J
1326 Tremont Pl.
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: Glen Wood Huntington
www.denverfirefightersmuseum.org
Year Built: 1909
Photography Allowed: Yes
Services Provided: Partial disabled access; public restrooms
Built in 1909, the building served as a working fire station until 1974. It was saved from demolition in 1975 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Built by G.W. Huntington & Co. for $20,000, this Romanesque structure once called Denver Fire Station #1 still contains its original molding detail and six fire poles for easy descent in emergencies. It now serves as a museum commemorating Denver’s entire firefighting history, from Colorado territory’s first volunteer hook and ladder companies using hand-pumps in the 1860s to Hazmat capabilities added for the Democratic National Convention in 2008. The two-story brick building was designed to accommodate fire engines and horses. Over the years various modifications, mostly exterior, were made but both the interior and exterior retain high levels of integrity. Interior spaces, including first floor engine bays and the second floor firemen’s locker room, dormitories, men’s shower room and officer’s quarters all still exist and are interpreted as such. Also still existing are four original skylights. The building was opened as a museum in 1980 and contains displays of artifacts dating from 1867 to the present.
Denver Mayor Michael Hancock will open the first Black Denver firefighters exhibit at the Denver Firefighters Museum. This will be the first exhibit dedicated to the history of black firefighters in Denver. This exhibit will display the past 100 plus years of notable moments about the men who served this city as African-American firefighters.
Denver Turnverein (Dance & Cultural Center) / German House
Location Number: 36
Urban Adventures: E, I
1570 Clarkson St.
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect:
George L. Bettcher
Website: www.DenverTurnverein.org
Year Built: 1921
Photography Allowed: Yes
Services Provided: Free limited parking
Public Transit: RTD #15
The Turnverein is a German club devoted to community service, fraternity, and physical fitness through gymnastics: the word itself is from the German “turnen” (to practice gymnastics) and “verein” (union).
This Mediterranean-style building was originally built in 1921 as the Coronado Club dance house by architect George Louis Bettcher, who moved from New Jersey to Denver in 1895 and designed many local structures in the 1910’s and 20’s, most famously the Stedman school. The dance house underwent minor modifications for its new purpose, including the additions of stage, locker rooms, bar, murals, and gym apparatus. Zang Brewery founder Philip Zang was involved in the Turn Verein, Kriger Verein, and Bavarian Verein; the building is still used as a dance and cultural center.
The Spanish revival style building has a shaped parapet, towers, arched windows with wrought iron grilles, lanterns and a red tile roof. Concrete steps lead up to a segmentally arched entrance with double full-length casement doors and a transom light. A curved metal sign over the door reads: "German House." Attached to the top of the metal sign is a neon sign that reads: "Denver Turnverein." There is a cast concrete plaque above the signs, which depicts a scene from Greek mythology of Pan playing a pipe for a dancing woman. There is a beautiful ballroom on the main level and a recently updated Rathkeller (basement) that features murals created by artists Carstens and Timm.
The unique building is the home of The Turnverein Dance and Cultural Center, Inc. hosting community dances, competitions and workshops for Swing (Lindy and West Coast), Argentine Tango, Salsa, ballroom and more. The Center is also home to a Blues music and dancing on Thursday nights. The highlight of the building is the charming yet functional 5000 square foot ballroom. The center has over 1500 members who use the facility each week for community dances, educational activities and special events. The Center also hosts ongoing art shows in the ballroom that are open to members and the community.
The Rocky Mountain Swing Dance Championship will take place April 14-15 at the Turnverein. Board members and volunteers will offer 10 minute architectural tours for small group tours of the facility from 10 am – 4 pm.
Short History
In German, Turner means gymnast, and Verein means club—thus Denver Turnverein means Denver Gymnastic Club.
In the early 1800's, in Germany, German Turners gathered to practice their sport and discuss politics. After the German Revolution of 1848, thousands of Germans immigrated to the United States. Many came to Colorado because of the Gold Rush. The first meetings & founding took place in the spring of 1865 when 19 German men met in City Bakery at 15 & Blake St & formed the 1st Turnverein. With the motto of "Mens Sana in Corpore Sana" a Sound Mind within a Sound body." It wasn't until June of 1890 when the Denver Turnverein moved into the building on 21st & Arapahoe St. However, due to negative German sentiments during World War I, memberships dwindled, and the Arapahoe location was foreclosed on.
The group did persevere and in the early 1920's, the Denver Turnverein moved to its current location in the north
Capitol Hill neighborhood of Uptown. "After looking over many potential locations the hall committee of the Denver Turnverein heard of a beautiful society dancing -club house in foreclosure at 16th & Clarkson. 10 members pledged $100 ea. for the down payment and the "Coronado Club" became the new home of the Denver Turnverein on Dec.1, 1922.
Turnverein membership was strong throughout the years but eventually did drop off and the group became inactive in the 1970’s. It’s interesting to note that for many years Denver's Oktoberfest was held at the Denver Turnverein until the festival moved to Larimer Square.
By the 1980's, the Denver Turnverein was used more as a rental facility and less for Turner activities. Today, many dance clubs use the Denver Turnverein as a home base. In 2008 the Denver Turnverein changed its name to the Turnverein Dance and Cultural Center. The new name better reflects the function of the organization as a center of dance, arts, community and more…in the heart of Denver.
Denver Woman’s Press Club / Burr House
Location Number: 46
Urban Adventures: G
1325 Logan St.
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: Varian & Varian; George Elbert Burr
www.dwpconline.org
Year Built: 1910
Architect: Varian & Varian
Photography Allowed: Yes
Services Provided: Public restroom; free parking
Built as a residence and artist studio for George Elbert Burr, the DWPC purchased the building in 1924 and it has been used ever since as a meeting place for writers and other members of the media.
The DWPC Clubhouse, known as the Burr House, was built in 1910 in the architectural style of a 20th Century English Craftsman cottage by famous American etching artist, George Elbert Burr (1859-1939). Burr built this house as a combination art studio, salon and home. He designed much of the house working with the architectural firm Varian and Varian. He lived here with his wife until he sold it to the Denver Woman’s Press Club in 1924. The Burrs left 12 of the artist’s etchings to the club which are on display as well as interior features. In a 1930 letter to DWPC members in 1930, Mrs. Burr described these features: “…the brass globes in the dining room (are) made from Benares bowls. The Japanese candle lantern in the hall, and outside, under the hood of the door, the shade which Craftwood made for us…The hood of the front door is from a sketch Mr. Burr made when we were walking one day…on Lake Geneva.” The house also boasts the original dumbwaiter that carries food from the tiny 1st Floor kitchen to the larger kitchen in the basement, brass fixtures, the original wood banisters, bookcase and wall coverings, the original skylight, the A.B. Chase piano purchased by DWPC in 1935, a large portrait of Mary Elitch Long hanging on the north wall.
The tiny 2nd Floor space that served as the Burrs’ bedrooms, are now the offices and archives of DWPC. Photos of members from the turn of the century to the present, documents including Letters of Incorporation and essays written by early members, line the walls.
The Denver Woman’s Press Club (DWPC) was founded in 1898 by nineteen charter members, including organizer and first president Minnie J. Reynolds. Reynolds was an influential suffrage leader, serving as “Press Secretary” in the victorious 1893 Colorado campaign, and later as a national suffrage organizer. She was one of the first woman political writers for the Rocky Mountain News, and an early woman stump speaker and activist in the Populist Party.
The Club’s membership, throughout its history, has included numerous women leaders. Among them:
- Mary Elizabeth Bates, one of the first women doctors in Denver;
- Mary Florence Lathrop, one of Denver’s first women lawyers;
- Helen Ring Robinson, Colorado’s first woman state senator;
- Helen Marie Black, first woman business manager of a major symphony orchestra (she was instrumental in the founding of the Denver Symphony);
- Mary Coyle Chase, Pulitzer Prize winning author of the play “Harvey”
DWPC members would be happy to give tours of the house, describing its history and features during the Doors Open Denver event. We would not need assistance.
In 2012, as every year, DWPC members love to show off their house to the public. The house contains not only the history of famous 20th Century artist etcher, George Elbert Burr, whose works appear in galleries and museums across the U.S., including the Denver Art Museum, but the history of the Denver Woman’s Press Club, an important and ground-cutting Denver institution since 1898. We would welcome the opportunity to relate these proud histories to members of the Denver public.
Dora Moore Elementary School
Location Number: 5
Urban Adventures: E, L
846 Corona St.
SAT 10AM - 4PM
Architect: Robert S. Roeschlaub, FAIA
www.dpsk12.org
Year Built: 1889
Opening as the Corona School, one could see all the way to Broadway and the west. Indian campers and their campsites could also be seen!
East High School
Location Number: 34
Urban Adventures: E, L
1600 City Park Esplanade
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: George H. Williamson, FAIA
www.DPSK12.org
Year Built: 1925
Photography Allowed: Yes
Services Provided: Full disabled access, public restrooms, free parking
Public Transit: RTD Colfax route
Designed by an East High alumnus (class of 1893), the East Angels’ Jacobean building of red brick and white terra cotta bears a 162-foot tall clocktower fashioned after Independence Hall.
Designed by an East High alumnus (class of 1893), the East Angels’ Jacobean building of red brick and white terra cotta bears a 162-foot tall clocktower fashioned after Independence Hall. Also noteworthy are its oak library with Elizabethan ceiling and Depression-era murals, its statue-capped columns, sculpted lionheads, fountains and esplanade, and relics of past buildings: a sculpted angel’s face opposite the main office, and a former keystone in the south lawn’s rock garden.
The architectural style of the building is known as Jacobean and is associated with the early 17th century British halls of learning, as well as the American colonial period. The most visible feature of the East High building is its clock tower. At its highest point, the East Tower is 162 feet high and is visible from over a mile away. In 1992 the building was declared an official Denver Historic Landmark by the Denver Landmark Commission and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.
Echo Lake & Lodge
Location Number: 80
Urban Adventures: B
13261 State Highway 103
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 10AM - 4PM (INTERIOR BEING OPEN IS SUBJECT TO A CHANGEABLE SPRING OPENING DATE)
Designers: Benedict, Jules Jacques Benoit; Olmsted Brothers; E.J. Mann – N.P.S.
www.DenverGov.org
Year Built: 1927
The 616-acre Echo Lake Park has a natural lake at 10,600 feet in the valley at the base of Goliath Peak surrounded by a thick spruce-fir forest. A steep portion of the park lies across Highway 103.
When Denver began building the Squaw Pass Road in 1918, they envisioned connecting to a ‘skyline drive to the summit of Mount Evans’. The City also acquired Echo and summit Lakes in hopes that this ‘scenic wonderland without peer’ would become the gateway to a new national park that the city was proposing to Congress. ‘The Denver National Park’ was never designated, but the United States Forest Service and Denver continued their efforts to build the highway to the peak.
Echo Lake is the only Mountain Park within the subalpine zone. Its eastern edges are characterized by a large complex of subalpine wetland and shrub riparian vegetation. Portions of this wetland may be a 10,000-year-old fen – a sensitive and irreplaceable resource. The lake is part of the Echo Lake Potential Conservation Area and has high biodiversity significance for its rare and globally vulnerable subalpine plants, including reflected moonwart, Mingan’s moonwart, and western moonwart.
The Municipal Lodge at Echo Lake, a log building completed in 1927, sits majestically on the eastern shore of the lake, overlooking a spectacular subalpine setting. Echo Lake Lodge was designed for visiting overnight guests, complete with sleeping rooms, a fireplace lounge, and dining room. Today, the lodge serves as a seasonal gift shop and restaurant with lodging only for the concessionaire and employees.
The Echo Lake Shelter, a granite rubble stone structure, was built in 1924 to face the lake and future lodge. To the north of the shelter is the Echo Lake Concession Stand of similar construction built in 1924 to rent skates and sell food. There are also areas with an understory of shrubs such as willow thickets, shrubby cinquefoil, red-berried elder, bush honeysuckle, and thimbleberry.
Echo Lake Park attracts a broad cultural cross-section of visitors picnicking, fishing, sightseeing, walking, and hiking. An accessible trail loops around Echo Lake and connects to the lodge and its parking lot. Trails from the parking lot and back side of the lake lead to backcountry access into the Chicago Lakes area with a rout up Mount Evans.
Park size: 616 acres (Echo Lake 24 acres)
Structures: Echo Lake Lodge (1926-27- Benedict, Jules Jacques Benoit); Echo Lake Shelter (1924); Concession House (1924)
Eisenhower Chapel at Lowry
Location Number: 73
Urban Adventures: M
3rd & Roslyn
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: Art Hoy (restoration)
www.EisenhowerChapel.com
Year Built: 1941
Photography Allowed: Yes
Services Provided: Partial disabled access; public restrooms; free parking
Public Transit: RTD #6, #65, #73
The Chapel is of exceptional historical and architectural importance.
It was the first permanent chapel built at Lowry Air Force Base (dedicated just 14 days before the attack on Pearl Harbor) and is one of the last surviving examples of structures built to support the mobilization of American forces during World War II. The Chapel gained distinction in the mid 1950’s when President Eisenhower established his “summer White House” at Lowry. The President and Mrs. Eisenhower worshipped at the Chapel and it remains virtually unchanged form its original design. The trusses supporting the ceiling, the pews and lights are all original and well preserved, and the Chapel is a designated Denver landmark.
Elitch Gardens Theatre
Location Number: 4
Urban Adventures: I
4655 West 37th Avenue
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: Charles Herbert Lee & Rudolph Liden
www.HistoricElitchTheatre.org
Year Built: 1890
Photography Allowed: Yes
Services Provided: Partial disabled access; free parking
Public Transit: RTD #38
The Historic Elitch Gardens Theatre is the oldest standing summer stock theatre and the first woman-owned theatre in the country.
The Theatre was built in the shingle style reminiscent of the Globe Theatre and added to the National Resister of Historic Places in 1978. Built by John and Mary Elitch, it housed the first screen projected motion picture in Denver. The park, which was open 7am-7pm, was an immediate success earning $35,000 in profit its first year. Not to see Elitch Gardens is not to see Denver! The Historic Elitch Theatre Foundation has received a $500,000 grant to renovate the interior: this year may be the last time to see it in its original condition.
Ellie Caulkins Opera House / Auditorium Theater
Location Number: 1 (Event Headquarters)
Urban Adventures: G, I
1400 Curtis Street
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: Robert O. Wilson (1908); Semple Brown Roberts (2004)
www.ArtsComplex.com
Year Built: 1908
Photography Allowed: No
Services Provided: Full disabled access, public restrooms, paid parking
Public Transit: Light Rail to Theatre District/Convention Center stop
Built for Denver’s first Democratic National Convention, the Quigg Newton Municipal Auditorium was renovated in 2005.
The Auditorium is now home to a state-of-the-art lyric opera house, colloquially referred to as “The Ellie” and the sophisticated Chambers Grant Salon. Two incredible original works of art are on display in the Ellie Caulkins Opera House as part of Denver’s 1% For The Arts Program, which dedicates 1% of the cost of all Denver capital improvement projects to funding artwork specifically for the project. The life-like sculpture titled “Maria Mosina and Igor Vassine” by artist John DeAndrea stands in the lobby on the north side of the building, and a fascinating mural titled “Rehearsal” by artist Stephen Batura hangs on the south side of the lobby.
In the Chambers Grant Salon, three of the largest paintings Colorado artist Vance Kirkland ever created grace the walls, side-by-side, as a tribute to the performing arts showcased in the building. The paintings, titled Vibrations of Scarlet on Crimson, Space Mysteries and Explosions in Unknown Space were contributed by the Kirkland Museum.
A series of seven fine art tapestries by internationally renowned artist Herbert Bayer (1900 - 1985) are on display in the hallways of the opera house. The tapestries were contributed to the Ellie by long-time Denver art collectors, Jamie White and Andrew Sirotnak.
A dazzling chandelier, created by celebrated artist Dale Chihuly, hangs in the foyer of the Ellie. Overall, the chandelier in the Ellie incorporates 500 separate glass pieces and took about two and a half days to assemble and light correctly. Amazingly, there are no lights attached to the chandelier itself – it’s the way the light reflects off of the glass that creates a magnificent glow. Chihuly chandeliers are suspended from ceilings of the most celebrated spaces in the world.
Emerson School
Location Number: 43
Urban Adventures: E, L
1420 Ogden Street
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: Robert Roeschlaub
www.preservationnation.org/issues/sustainability/emerson-school-project
Year Built: 1885
Services provided: Free parking, full access, restrooms
Public Transit: RTD #15
Completed in 1885, the Emerson School is the oldest remaining Roeschlaub-designed school in Colorado.
The Emerson School was designed by Robert Roeschlaub (1843 – 1923), who is widely recognized as Colorado’s first master architect. Surviving Roeschlaub buildings include the Chamberlain Observatory at the University of Denver, Trinity United Methodist Church in Denver, the Central City Opera House, Dora Moore School and Wyatt School. The large limestone sundial on the south façade is believed to be the first example of the use of a sundial on a Colorado building. It was included as a reminder to students to be on time.
Closed in 1979, the Emerson School was adapted in the 1980s to create a senior center and medical clinic and was renamed the Frank B. McGlone Center. In 2010, the entire property was donated to the National Trust for Historic Preservation by Capitol Hill Senior Resources, Inc. The National Trust is now wrapping up a $3.2 million rehabilitation to create a new center for preservation in Colorado, housing the National Trust’s Denver Office, Colorado Preservation, Inc., Historic Denver, Inc., Downtown Colorado, Inc, and other nonprofits. The rehabilitation demonstrates numerous strategies for “greening” historic buildings, including restoration of all original window sash, the re-use of a historic ventilation system and the installation of a ground-source geothermal heating and cooling system. Major landscape improvements are also included.
Project partners include the St. Charles Town Company, SLATERPAULL Architects, Inc. and Spectrum General Contractors. The rehabilitation is supported in part by a grant from the Colorado Historical Society's State Historical Fund as well as numerous foundations and private donors and a loan from the Colorado Historical Foundation. The Emerson School is about to become the home for Historic Denver, Colorado Preservation, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Equitable Building
Location Number: 27
Urban Adventures: G
730 17th Street
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: Andrews, Jaques & Rantoul
www.sopracommunities.com
Year Built: 1892
Photography Allowed: Yes
Services Provided: Full disabled access
Public Transit: Light Rail Lines D, E, F, H; RTD #30, 16th Street Mall Shuttle
15th & 16th Streets were the heart of Denver’s business activity when the Equitable Life Insurance Company constructed the first “high-rise” on 17th Street.
At a cost of $1.5 million, this was Denver’s most expensive, and with nine stories, Denver’s tallest building. The intricate carvings on the exterior arches show finely detailed laurel leaves, acanthus leaves and great wreaths. Carved by Andrew Garbutt of Boston, they exemplify the Greco-Roman style of the building. The stately stone exterior, with an interior lobby of Byzantine mosaics, Tiffany glass and brass fixtures, grace what is still Denver’s grandest office building.
The Equitable Building was designed by Andrews, Jacques, and Rantoul of Boston for the Equitable Life Assurance Company. Built at a cost of $1.5 million, this nine story commercial building was the showpiece of Denver’s thriving financial district when it was completed in 1892, as well as the city’s tallest building. The 173,000 square foot structure represented Denver’s status as commercial and financial center of the Rocky Mountain region. It was one of several large commercial buildings built in Denver during the economic boom of the 1880s and early 1890s. The building was designed in the Italianate or Renaissance Revival style, characterized by symmetry and classical architectural details. The stone and brick construction is accentuated by pale terra cotta string courses.
The first two stories are clad in pink granite, with pale pressed brick used for the floors above. A boxed cornice is supported by elaborate modillions. Street level entrances and window openings on the first two levels are round-arched. The 17th Street façade features a large Palladian window at the third-and fourth-story levels. Round-arched windows with elaborate hoodmolds distinguish the fifth and eighth stories. The Equitable Life Assurance Company’s initial “E” appears throughout the building as a decorative motif. Other decorative features include Tiffany stained glass windows and a lobby rich with marble and mosaic vaulted ceilings. Early Equitable tenants were leaders in the Denver and Colorado business community.
Mining and railroad tycoon David Moffatt moved his First National Bank into the building, and the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad was headquartered there as well. During 1892 and 1892, it served as State executive offices while the state capitol was under construction. The Equitable also contained legal offices of many of Denver’s leading attorneys. These included Mary Lathrop, the first woman admitted to the Bar in the United States. The Silver Panic of 1892 devastated Denver soon after the Equitable opened its doors so that despite its prestigious tenants, lease rates failed to regain their original level until 1902.
The building was owned William Barth, president of the D&RG Railroad, then by his heirs from 1910 through 1956. It passed through a series of owners and renovations before a Canadian firm bought it in 1977 for $1.5 million. The building received a $2 million refurbishment in the early 1990s. In 2000 the Equitable was converted into condominiums, with upkeep of the common areas overseen by the Equitable Building Condominium Association’s Board of Directors. In 2010, major restoration of the stone and brickwork was begun. Since the early 1980s, street-level businesses have included various banks and stock brokerage firms and the clothing store Molly’s of Denver.
Evans Memorial Chapel - University of Denver
Location Number: 69
Urban Adventures: M
2199 South Vine Street
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: John Evans
www.du.edu/events/weddings.html
Year Built: 1878
Photography Allowed: Yes
Services Provided: Full disabled access, paid parking
Public Transit: Light Rail-University Station; RTD #21, #24
Built by Colorado’s first territorial governor and founder of Colorado Seminary (now University of Denver) John Evans in memory of his daughter Josephine, whose name graces an offshoot of the University Boulevard which passes the school.
The Gothic Revival chapel was located downtown but disassembled and rebuilt brick by brick on campus in 1961. The nearby Humanities Garden is shaded by a pin oak planted by Lady Bird Johnson in 1965, marked by a plaque.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, look for faint numbering on some of the stones –
a numbering system was used to ensure that the building was reconstructed exactly as it had originally stood. The Chapel is currently used for worship, weddings and baptisms.
Fairmount Cemetery: Gate Lodge & Ivy Chapel
Location Number: 74
Urban Adventures: B
430 So. Quebec St.
SAT 10AM - 4PM
Architect: Harry Ten Eyck Wendell
www.FairmountHeritageFoundation.org
Year Built: 1890
The Gate Lodge served as the superintendent’s quarters and cemetery office with the roadway into the cemetery passing through the center of the building under an arch which reached a height of 20 ft. at its crown.
The Gate Lodge is constructed of blue-white sandstone, patterned after the Richardson Library architectural style. The Gate Lodge, designated as a Denver Landmark in 1976, was designed by Harry T. E. Wendell and built in 1890 as the entrance to Fairmount Cemetery. In addition to the buildings at Fairmount visitors will also see:
- Numerous family mausoleums, each with a very distinct architectural style.
- Historic photo, archival and artifact displays.
- Fairmount Community Mausoleum, home to the largest collection of stained glass art in Colorado
FREE Walking Tours at: 10:00, 12:00 and 2:00; meet at the Little Ivy Chapel.Tours last about 90 min and cover about 1 1⁄2 to 2 miles walking. Hat, sunscreen, water bottle and good walking shoes highly recommended.
The Ivy Chapel, designated as a Denver Landmark in 1976, was designed by Harry T. E. Wendell and built in 1890 as the center piece of Fairmount Cemetery. Constructed of gray sandstone, in the style of 13th century Ecclesiastical French Gothic, the Ivy Chapel also features: flying buttresses, barbed finials, and gargoyles with along with a pierced gable roof, topped by a 90 ft steeple.
Fitzroy Place Mansion
Location Number: 67
Urban Adventures: K
2160 So Cook St
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: Fuller & Wheeler
www.acceleratedschools.org
Year Built: 1893
Services provided: Free parking, partial access, restrooms
Public Transit: Light Rail; RTD #21
This red stone mansion included such futuristic extravagancies as an elevator, central vacuum system, air conditioning, and basement refrigeration.
After cattle baron and local philanthropist John Wesley Iliff died in 1878, his widow Elizabeth continued work on the seminary he dreamed of creating for training the Colorado Territory’s ministers. Years later she became the wife of Bishop Henry White Warren of New England, and together they co-founded the Iliff School of Theology at DU, named for John.
Elizabeth and Henry’s 13-room home located near the Chamberlin Observatory just east of DU was designed by Fuller & Wheeler of Albany; it is a two and a half story Richardsonian Romanesque dating from 1893, with many bays creating a complicated floor plan and roofline. It also included such futuristic extravagancies as an elevator, central vacuum system, air conditioning, and basement refrigeration. Elizabeth named the red stone mansion Fitzroy Place after her hometown in Ontario.
A 1910 fire damaged the mansion but it was restored within a decade; since the late 1960’s the building has been used as a school.
The mansion was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 20, 1975.
Fort Logan Field Officer’s Quarters
Location Number: 77
Urban Adventures: A
3742 W Princeton Circle
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: Frank J Grodavent, FAIA
www.FriendsofHistoricFortLogan.org
Year Built: 1889
Photography allowed:
Services provided: Free parking, partial access, restrooms
Public Transit: Light Rail; RTD #51, #36
Originally called “The camp near the City of Denver”, Ft Logan was named for General John Logan who established May 30th (Memorial Day) as a day to honor the war dead.
Although America’s frontier forts were falling by the wayside in the late 19th century due to both decreased perception of threat from Indians and increased army mobility on railroads, the people of Denver (via Senator Henry Teller) asked for and received an Army post dedicated to their city. Originally called “The camp near the city of Denver,” it was officially named Fort Logan in August 1889 to honor General John Logan, the commander of Union volunteer forces during the Civil War who established May 30 as a day to honor the war dead, which later became Memorial Day. Since the World Wars, Fort Logan has seen less action and been used as a recruiting depot, a state mental health hospital, and most famously, a national cemetery and veterans’ memorial.
As an army post Fort Logan needed parade grounds and housing for soldiers and officers; Officer’s Row, enclosing the western end of the parade grounds, housed officers. This 1888 two-story Queen Anne in red brick trimmed with granite was designed specifically for Fort Logan by local architect Frank J. Godavent. It has been on the State Register of Historic Places since May 12, 1993, and the National Register since 1989.
A Denver Landmark since 1990. The 1889 Field Officer’s Quarters includes a three-storey red brick Queen Anne-style building with granite trim, a rhyolite stone foundation, tall chimneys, a three-sided projecting bay with a recessed second-floor porch, and a main floor wrap-around front porch that looks out onto the pine trees and parade ground of Fort Logan. Its civilian architect, Frank J. Grodavent, FAIA, planned 22 buildings at Fort Logan for the U.S. Army between 1887 and 1892. He then went on to supervise similar construction projects at six other forts in the West and the Philippines. Most of the original military residences still stand around Officers’ Row on Princeton Circle, but are in use and not open for viewing. A self-guided walking tour brochure is available. Grodavent was considered a “practical” architect who endeavored to design housing that could be easily replicated. The Fort Logan Field Officer’s Quarters plan became standardized and four identical residences were built at West Point in 1897.
Highlights at the Field Officer’s Quarters include ornate oak woodwork and trim throughout the main level and the front and back stairways; beautiful handcrafted tiles that are different for each fireplace; original window glass in the restored double-hung windows; a large plain leaded glass window; sliding pocket doors more than eight feet tall; a butler’s pantry with a pass-through; a combination warming oven-radiator; period lighting and bathroom fixtures. There also are uniform and clothing displays and photographic exhibits. Both self-guided and guided tours for groups of up to 6 are available throughout the day.
Four Mile House / Historic Park
Location Number: 75
Urban Adventures: A
715 South Forest Street
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: Brantner Brothers / Levi Booth
www.FourMileHistoricPark.org
Year Built: 1859/1883
Photography Allowed: No photos of any kind allowed inside the House Museum
Services Provided: Partial disabled access, public restrooms, free parking
Public Transit:
Built on the Cherokee Trail by Cherry Creek to accommodate travelers near Denver City, this clapboard-sided log cabin is the city’s oldest standing structure.
This clapboard-sided log cabin (with 1883 brick Victorian addition by Levi Booth) will be 150 years old at the end of 2008. The first portion is a two story log cabin with basement, all sided in clapboards. Restoration work was completed in the 1970’s by Edward White, Jr. It is the oldest structure in the Denver metro area and one of the oldest in the State.
Four Mile House was built starting in 1859 by the Brantner Brothers. (not architects, they were coopers). This is the oldest standing structure in the Denver metropolitan area, still in its original location. It is one of the oldest in the state. The oldest section is a log home with clapboard siding constructed of hand hewn pine logs from the Pinery near present day Parker. It also contains cottonwood supporting beams. As a two story structure log structure with a basement it was one of the largest to be found in those early years when most of the new City of Denver was made up of tents and log cabins.
In 1883 a brick Victorian style addition was added by then present owners Levi and Millie Booth. They also made use of a 1870s frame structure to add an additional room on the first floor and a second floor attic area for the main bedroom.
In 1934 Four Mile House was the first residential structure in Colorado to be recorded in the Historic American Building Survey. The HABS drawings are on file at the National Archives. Four Mile House was honored in 1941 with the dedication as a historical monument by the Peace Pipe Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1941. On December 20, 1968, Four Mile House was designated a Denver Landmark; and on December 2, 1969, it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It was purchased by the City and County of Denver Parks and Recreation department in the 1970s and designated as a Park May 1, 1978. Restoration work on the house began and it was first opened as a museum to the public in August 1978. The restoration of the historic structure was led by preservation Architect Edward White Jr.
Doors open Denver weekend is a unique opportunity to come to the Park for a free guided tour of the house museum. Tours are limited to 10 people (the house is small) and tours will be conducted on the ½ hour from 10:30 – with the last tour at 2:30 pm both days. These tours are 45 minutes each. There will also be tours of the grounds available. The schedule for this is TBD.
Governor’s Residence at the Boettcher Mansion
Location Number: 57
Urban Adventures: E
400 East 8th Ave.
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: Marean & Norton
www.Colorado.gov/governor/residence
Year Built: 1908
Photography Allowed: Yes
Services Provided: Disabled access; free parking
Public Transit: RTD Routes 0, 6 & 2
This three-story mansion was designed by Denver business mogul Walter Cheesman as his family’s residence, completed a year after his death, then owned by the rich and benevolent Boettchers who bequeathed it to the State of Colorado in 1959 as the home to the sitting Governor.
Noteworthy are the portico with Ionic colonnade, upper terrace with Italianate balustrade, large windows with a view of Pike’s Peak and resplendent interior. For nearly 100 years this mansion has stood atop a neighborhood once referred to as Quality Hill. Interior features of note: Colorado Yule marble floor in the Palm Room; cross-cut inlaid oak paneling on the walls of the Library; leaded glass windows in the Bar & Palm Room, designed by Claude Boettcher; Waterford crystal chandelier in the Drawing Room; 18th century French chandeliers in the Grand Hallway; 9th century Tang Dynasty Funeral Horses displayed in the Library; 16th-19th century European and Asian artwork and furnishings throughout the first floor.
Grant-Humphreys Mansion
Location Number: 58
Urban Adventures: E, K
770 Pennsylvania St.
SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: Theodore Davis Boal and F.L. Harnois
www.GrantHumphreysMansion.org
Year Built: 1902
Photography Allowed: Yes
Services Provided: Disabled access; public restrooms; free parking
This grand terra cotta Beaux-Arts 30-room palace with a projecting façade of 30-foot columns and balustraded balconies was named for owners James Grant, Colorado’s third governor, and Albert Humphreys, entrepreneur.
Albert Humphreys was shot dead on the top floor and buried in Mount Prospect Graveyard, now known as Cheesman Park. The Mansion is as important for its architecture as for its association with these two prominent names in Colorado history. The mansion combines grandiose proportions, detailed terra cotta finishes and a projecting façade supported by 30-foot columns.
The 30-room mansion was completed at a cost of $35,000.
The Grant-Humphreys Mansion at 770 Pennsylvania Street is as important for its architecture as for
its association with two prominent names in Colorado History, James B. Grant and Albert E. Humphreys. When James Grant, Colorado’s third Governor, commissioned architects Theodore Davis Boal and F. I. Harnois to design his new home on “Quality Hill,” Americans had begun building in the Beaux-Arts style, borrowing elements from the high architectural periods of the ancient world and Renaissance Europe. The Grant’s Beaux-Arts mansion is an exuberant mixture of elements, combining a brick facade with terra cotta balustrades, projecting balconies, and 20 foot columns. The thirty room mansion was completed in 1902 at a cost of $35,000.
Grant died in 1911, and his widow sold the mansion in 1917 to Albert E. Humphreys. Humphreys was a determined entrepreneur who had acquired – and lost – two fortunes in logging and mining before amassing a third through successful wildcat oil speculations in Oklahoma, Wyoming, and Texas. Memebrs of the Humphreys family lived in the home until 1976, when it was given to History Colorado.
The Grant-Humphreys Mansion is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (1970) and has been designated a Denver Landmark (Number 95, 1976).
Iliff Hall
Location Number: 71
Urban Adventures: L
2201 South University Blvd
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: Fuller & Wheeler (Albany)
www.Iliff.edu
Year Built: 1892
Photography Allowed: Yes
Services Provided: Full disabled access, public restrooms, free parking
Public Transit: Light Rail DU station
The building is an important example of the Richardsonian Romanesque style with influences from the Gothic Revival.
This late Victorian/Richardsonian Romanesque building exhibits such character defining features as rock-faced granite and sandstone, decorated moldings on the face of the Gothic arches, clustered arches with masonry mullions and transom bars, steeply pitched hipped roof, narrow eaves, finials, wall dormers, one-over-one sash in deeply recessed window openings, and a deeply set main entry behind a massive stone arch. Semicircular arches are a defining feature of this style and the architects may have used Gothic Revival style arches to highlight the ecclesiastical status of the building. The Hall is home to a seminary which trains clergy of many Methodist and Lutheran denominations, and 60% of its students are female.
Iliff Hall was completed in 1893. The designers/architects were from Fuller & Wheeler of Albany, New York. It exhibits the character-defining features of rock-faced granite and red sandstone, decorative moldings on the face of the arches, clustered arches with masonry mullions and transom bars, a steeply pitched hipped roof, narrow eaves, finials, wall dormers, one-over-one sash in deeply recessed window openings and a massive main entry stone arch. The building features a simple yet beautiful 3rd floor chapel with the original organ.
Iliff Hall was added to the National Registry of Historic Places in 2006.
A visit to Iliff Hall is a step back to pre-1900s and a view of a lovely building that is still used for its original purpose – theological education. An historical display featuring early photos of the building, news clippings, and personal artifacts of the founders, will be offered on both day of Doors Open Denver. Visitors can enjoy self-guided tours with knowledgeable volunteers from the school available to answer questions.
Inspiration Point Park
Location Number: 3
Urban Adventures: B, D
4901 North Sheridan Blvd
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: Unknown
www.DenverGov.org
The panoramic view from the point is spectacular, extending along nearly 200 miles of the front range of the Rocky Mountains. A view of the city of Denver, including the downtown skyline, is visible toward the east.
Inspiration Point Park is an Historic Landmark in the City of Denver. The 25.5-acre park is roughly designed in the shape of a finger pointing west. The 200 miles of panoramic views of the front range of the Rocky Mountains from this park are breath taking. In addition to the foot hills, the view includes the Clear Creek Valley (now filled with residential, commercial, and industrial development) below. A superb view of the city of Denver, including the downtown skyline, is visible toward the east. At the entrance to Inspiration Point Park many formal beds brighten the large expanse of grass, which may be easily seen along Sheridan Boulevard. At the top of the bluff, there is a stone-walled courtyard which provides an area for picnicking. Nearby are plantings of linden, silver maple, hackberry, and honey locust trees. The drop to the north and west is steep, and planted with native grasses and other drought resistant plant material this is a tribute to the prairie setting that once dominated the area. At the top of the bluff parallel forest of ponderosa pine are planted. The many pines extend from the eastern picnic court to the western promenade, sheltering a meandering footpath. At the west end and highest point of the bluff, there is a walled cul-de-sac and promenade.
Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art
Location Number: 47
Urban Adventures: C, E, J
1311 Pearl St.
SAT 10AM - 5PM SUN 10AM - 5PM
Architect: Maurice Biscoe & Henry Hewitt (1910-11); Chip Melick, AIA, Rachel Lawrence, Sarah Boulet (1998-99)
www.KirklandMuseum.org
Photography Allowed: Yes, without flash
Please note: due to the fragile nature of the collection, no children under 13 are admitted
The architects were commissioned to create the original Arts & Crafts studio by Henry Read, one of the 13 founders of the Artists’ Club, precursor to the Denver Art Museum. It is now the oldest commercial art building in Denver. NOTE: No children under the age of 13 are allowed.
This building was first used for Henry Read’s “Students’ School of Art.” The Arts & Crafts style was adventurous for the time. The location also served as a meeting place for the fledgling Denver Art Museum until 1922. Kirkland Museum is a National Trust Associate Site in the Historic Artists’ Homes & Studios Group, the only one in the eight-state Mountain/Plains region. In 2002 a brick addition provided for more space, disabled accessibility and Frank Lloyd Wright windows while preserving a view of the original studio’s exterior wall and roof tiles. This museum displays an extensive international decorative arts collection with over 3,300 examples of Arts & Crafts, Bauhaus, Art Deco, Modern and Pop Art on view. A modernistic collection of regional painters, sculptors, ceramists, furniture designers and a retrospective of Colorado painter Vance Kirkland (1904-1981) are also featured.
Larimer Square - The Granite Building
Location Number: 26
Urban Adventures: H
1228 15th St.
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 12PM - 4PM
Architect: George W. and William N. Clayton
www.LarimerSquare.com
Year Built: 1882
Photography Allowed: Yes
Services Provided: Full disabled access
Public Transit: 16th Street Mall Shuttle
The corner of 15th & Larimer is the location of the very first house built in Denver.
General William Larimer Jr., the self-proclaimed founder of Denver, built a 16’ x 20’ cabin in 1858. The current four-story building, The Clayton Building, was erected in 1882 and housed the MacNamara Dry Goods store, predecessor of the Denver Dry Goods Company. The building was constructed entirely of Colorado materials except for the glass and hardware. During the 1860’s, William served as Mayor of Denver and George as a City Councilman. Their names still remain in the corner roof pediment of the building. It became The Granite Hotel at the turn of the century. Its restoration uncovered huge plate glass and stained glass windows, cast iron pillars stamped “Colorado Iron Works” and a grand staircase. There will be historic walking tour brochures available for those wishing to explore Larimer Square further. There will also be building information posted on all the buildings.
The Granite Building is the beautiful cornerstone of Larimer Square, which was designated a public historic landmark in 1973 and is one of the most ornate buildings on the block. The corner of 15th and Larimer Street where the Granite Building is located, is the location of the very first house built in Denver. General William Larimer Jr., the self-proclaimed founder of Denver, built a 16’ by 20’ cabin in 1858. In 1882, George W. and William N. Clayton erected the current four-story building (The Clayton Building) at 1460 Larimer Square. It housed the MacNamara Dry Goods store, predecessor of the Denver Dry Goods Company. During the 1860’s, William served as mayor of Denver and George served as a city councilman. Their names still stand in the corner roof pediment of the building. After the turn of the century, it became the Granite Hotel (lending to its current name of The Granite Building). The building was constructed entirely of Colorado materials except for the glass and hardware. Its restoration uncovered huge plate glass and stained glass windows, cast iron pillars stamped “Colorado Iron Works,” and a grand staircase that had been boxed in. The cornice of the building was repainted in 2005 and the building is now home to Comedy Works and several office tenants, There is currently a vacant space on the main floor which is being marketed to local, chef-driven restaurant concepts.
Margery Reed Mayo Day Nursery
Location Number: 11
Urban Adventures: H
1128 28th Street
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: Harry J Manning
www.ccDenver.org
Year Built: 1898
Photography allowed: Yes
Services provided: Free parking, partial access, restrooms
Public Transit: Light Rail (D Line to Welton); RTD #44
The center evolved from a nursery started in 1898 by Johanna Breusch who opened her home to children of working and ill mothers.
This Five Points nursery dates back to 1898, when Johanna Breusch opened her own home at 1929 Wewatta Street to care for underprivileged children. She had to close the day care facility in 1906, while caring for twelve of her own children and 17 others besides; several concerned Denver women rented a house at 2746 Lawrence to keep it going, and funded it by creating a rummage shop and charging the children’s working mothers five cents per day. Soon Denver’s society belles were contributing, including Helen Bonfils and Margery Reed. The nursery was incorporated as a nonprofit charitable organization in 1911, briefly closed in 1914 with the advent of WWI, and reopened in 1915 with a new board of directors. For Margery’s persistent support of the nursery, Mrs. Vernor Reed paid over a half million dollars to fund the building on 28th Street of a Margery Reed Mayo Day Nursery named for her daughter who died in 1925. The three-story 1926 brick and stucco building with tiled hipped roof carried on the humanitarian mission, passing in ownership to a convent in 1944, expanding onto adjacent lots in 1952 due to the generous flexibility of a neighborhood housing commission and local contributions, and benefiting from the Reed trust until inclusion in the Mile High United Fund, which lasted until 1995. Catholic Charities renovated and reopened the facility in 1998, and now serves 75 children as a child care preschool.
Masonic Temple
Location Number: 30
Urban Adventures: G
1614 Welton Street
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect:
Frank E. Edbrooke
Year Built: 1890
Photography Allowed: Yes
Services Provided: Disabled access; public restrooms
Public Transit: 16th Street Mall Shuttle
This site was completed and dedicated on July 3rd, one day before the July 4th dedication of the State Capitol.
Built by Brown Palace Hotel architect and 33rd degree mason Frank E. Edbrooke, this Romanesque building built 1890 is known to its club-members as Oriental Lodge number 87. It was formally granted approval to serve as Colorado’s Lodge on June 15, 1891, and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. 2009 marks the 150th anniversary of the first Masonic meeting in Colorado.
The interior of the building was destroyed by fire on March 4, 1983 and a modern building rebuilt inside the historic façade. The 4th and 5th floors are owned by a non-profit fraternal group (Freemasons) and the remainder is owned and operated by a commercial real estate company.
Montclair Civic Building – Molkerie
Location Number: 72
Urban Adventures: K
6820 E 12th Ave.
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: Alexander Cazin (original); Fred W. Ameter (1909 remodel); Slater Paul (2004 restoration)
www.DenverGov.org/parksandrecreation
Year Built: 1888
Photography Allowed: Yes
Services Provided: Disabled access; public restrooms; free parking
Completed as the Molkery of Baron Walter von Richthofen, this sanitarium resort for tuberculosis patients offered fresh-air verandas, therapeutic fumes and the “Swiss milk cure” of unpasteurized dairy.
Purchased when Denver annexed Montclair Park, this oldest community center of Denver’s parks was not always a City building. The cupola and rhyolite bearing walls are original; the Neoclassical columns on brick pilasters were added when the failed sanitarium expanded to accommodate civic function. Baron Walter von Richthofen constructed the building as part of the Montclair subdivision, which he had hoped to market as a suburban resort town. Over the years this cornerstone of the Montclair Neighborhood has served as a polling station, community center and branch library. It is now used as a special events facility and administrative office for Denver Parks & Recreation.
During DOD, the Molkery will offer building tours and historic presentations.
The Montclair Civic Building, also known as the Molkery, was originally designed by Alexander Cazin and opened on September 15, 1888 as a tuberculosis sanatorium. Baron Walter von Richthofen constructed the building as part of the Montclair subdivision, which he had hoped to market as a suburban resort town.
The building includes several historically significant features, including a large cupola, a wraparound veranda, and a now-closed tunnel linking the Molkery to the former Richthofen residence two blocks to the east. In addition the tennis court to the west of the building is one of the first public courts to be opened in the city.
Over the years, the Montclair Civic Building has been a cornerstone of the Historic Montclair Neighborhood, and has served as a polling station, community center, and branch library in addition to its current use as a special event facility and administrative office for Denver Parks and Recreation. Now recognized as an historic landmark, the Molkery is available to host private events such as weddings, work retreats, family reunions and holiday parties in a beautifully restored facility.
North High School
Location Number: 9
Urban Adventures: L
2960 N Speer Blvd.
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 10AM - 4PM
www.DPSK12.org
Year Built: 1908
Architect: David W. Dryden
Photography Allowed: Yes
Services Provided: Full disabled access, public restrooms, free parking
Public Transit: RTD #32 to West 32nd & Eliot
Denver’s best example of Beaux Arts style, with its grand entry combined in recessed arched portals, Ionic columns, broken pediments and finials. The highly ornate façade culminates in a rooftop balustrade.
Overland Cotton Mill (Hercules Industries)
Location Number: 68
Urban Adventures: A
1314 W Evans Ave
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: C.R. Makepeace & Co
Year Built: 1890
Photography allowed:
Services provided: Free parking, partial access
Public Transit: Light Rail; RTD Federal/Evans Hub
This late Victorian 1891 cotton mill (rare in our state) was designed by renowned industrial architecture firm
C.R. Makepeace & Co. of Providence, Rhode Island.
Called Colorado’s only successful cotton mill, peak production here was twelve million yards of cloth per year. The red brick and load-bearing piers between window banks are typical for mills and warehouses of the era. Because of its service as a WWII munitions factory, this plant was quickly restored to functionality after a fire in 1942. Today it is used by a locally-founded HVAC manufacturer and distributor.
The mill was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 3, 2001.
This structure, which is in very good condition, is a good example of the late 1800’s massive industrial buildings. Built in 1890, it was the home of the Overland Cotton Mill Company, Colorado’s first cotton mill. Rail cars of cotton were delivered from the southern United States for processing. The mill was powered by its own generators driven by a coal fired boiler as evidenced by the 147 foot smoke stack still existing on the property. The stack is a Denver Landmark today. The plant was shut down mostly due to a coal strike in 1903; several child labor law violations also led to its demise.
The property was purchased in 1920 by the Pittsburgh Radium Company. In this plant the company processed radium radium ore mined in the local mountains and shipped to the plant by railcars. The year the company moved from the Overland Mills to the old Neff Brewery at 12th and Quivas is unknown.
In 1939 the Overland Mill site was purchased by the Colorado Builders Supply Company (COBUSCO). The cotton mill building was converted to a projectile manufacturing plant for war time purposes. The interior of the original cotton mill was gutted by fire from an explosion in 1942. The interior of the building was rebuilt and projectile manufacturing continued through the Korean war until the mi-1950’s. The Klu Klux Klan, for several years during its prominence in Denver, met in what is now the office section.
COBUSCO continued to utilize the plant manufacturing steel mining cars as well as other structural steel products used in the booming construction industry. The building fell into a state of disrepair from the early 1970’s through the mid 1990’s. It was purchased by Hercules Industries, a Denver family-owned manufacturing and distribution company in the mid 1990’s. Several million dollars were invested in the plant to make the facility the unique and efficient manufacturing plant it is today. The building was placed on the National Historic Register of Historic Places in 1997.
Much care and attention to the original 1890 construction was taken through the renovation process. While the facility serves as an important manufacturing center for the company in which approximately 100 people are employed, it utilizes many modern manufacturing features yet still maintains the charm of a century old manufacturing building. The 36 foot tall traditional manufacturing building is a late Victorian / Romanesque design reminiscent of many older buildings in the Eastern United States. Denver’s colorful industrial history has been preserved in this unique and historic structure. Although the site location is in Central Denver, because of its location off of main streets, many are unaware of this important piece of Denver history.
Oxford Hotel
Location Number: 19
Urban Adventures: D, H
1600 17th Street
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 10AM - 4PM
www.TheOxfordHotel.com
Year Built: 1891
Architect: Frank E. Edbrooke, Gilbert Charles Joka
Photography Allowed: Permission must be obtained
Services Provided: Paid parking
Public Transit: 16th Street Mall Shuttle
Rated “One of the 50 Best Hotels in the World” by Hemispheres Magazine, the Oxford Hotel was designed in a U-shape with an interior light well.
In 1912 a 200-room annex of white terra cotta was added by Robert Willison and Montana Fallis. Denver’s oldest hotel sits a block from Union Station, anchoring a revitalized LoDo. Be sure to visit the Cruise Room Lounge to see the art deco detailing.
Paramount Theatre
Location Number: 31
Urban Adventures: H, I
1621 Glenarm Place
SUN 10AM - 2PM
www.paramountdenver.com
Year Built: 1930
Architect: Temple Buell & George Rapp
Photography Allowed:
Services Provided: Public restrooms
Originally designed for the silent movies of the time, this theatre houses a one-of-a-kind Wurlitzer twin-console organ. Buell claimed the Paramount as the finest example of his work.
This theatre is not only an excellent illustration of Art Deco design and craftsmanship but a tribute to an architect who made considerable contributions to Denver. Originally designed for the silent movies of the time, this theatre houses a one-of-a-kind Wurlitzer twin-console organ, designed to produce varied sound effects in accompaniment with the picture show. The organ remains one of the largest ever installed in the region and is joined by its sister in New York City’s Radio Cty Music Hall as one of only two remaining in the US. An estimated crowd of 20,000 gathered on Opening Night to celebrate the Grand Opening of “Let’s Go Native.” The rave reviews and public awe immediately established the Paramount as the foremost movie house in Denver. The façade is pre-cast concrete blocks enhanced by glazed terra cotta moldings, a striking contract to the surrounding buildings. Terra cotta decorative elements create the illusion of extra height for the three-story building. The ornate details above the windows and on the sills showcase a recurrent interior motif of rosettes, leaves, feather and fiddle-head ferns. The interior represents an excellent example of “Zig Zag Art Deco” design, the fanciful and ornamental architectural expression popularized in the Jazz Age. The building was also equipped with luxuries consistent with the golden age of film: an ornamented lobby, indirect lighting, vaulted sunburst ceiling, cut-glass chandeliers, Egyptian lights, Italian marble and a neon marquee. The colorful and dramatic falst gold leafing, as well as copper and bronzing in the auditorium, frame silk murals created by renowned artist Vincent Mondo. The Paramount was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 and was declared a historic landmark in 1988.
Patterson Hotel / Croke Patterson Campbell Mansion
Location Number: 50
Urban Adventures: E
420 East 11th Avenue
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: Isaac Hodgson
www.ThePattersonHotel.com
Year Built: 1892
This red sandstone three-story mansion, built for merchant and teacher Thomas Croke, was designed based on a French Chateau.
This late Victorian 1890 mansion in red sandstone has been called Châteauesque for its likeness to the architectural style of grandiose French Renaissance country homes, from which the ornamented building derives its steeply-pitched sleigh roof and broken roof line, spired tower, and asymmetrical floorplan.
It was created for local merchant, experimental plant breeder, and State Senator Thomas Croke, who later sold the home to Colorado’s territorial delegate, US Congressman, eventual US Senator, and finally editor and publisher of the Rocky Mountain News Thomas Patterson. Patterson’s daughter’s marriage to Richard Campbell accounts for the three-part name of this building. The walls of the mansion are decorated elaborately and include ornate wood detail, consistent with the wealth of the family. On top of the high, hipped slate roof sits a tower on the main house, with two more towers on the adjoining carriage house. This mansion established the “Quality Hill” part of Capitol Hill, featuring many such homes as opposed to the single family dwellings and multi-family homes in other areas of Capitol Hill.
Ghostly rumors linger in the imposing mansion’s history: sourceless sounds of typing reportedly plague the newspaperman’s old abode, and during its use as apartments the building was supposedly the sight of an infant’s disappearance, the mother’s suicide, and terrified guard dogs leaping to their deaths through a third-story window. Now the mansion is full of happier uses and improved roof and plumbing, in its rebirth. It has been on the National Register of Historic Places since September 19, 1973.
Pearce/McAllister Cottage / Denver Museum of Miniatures, Dolls & Toys
Location Number: 28
Urban Adventures: A, F
1880 Gaylord St.
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: Frederick J. Sterner
www.DMMDT.org
Year Built: 1899
Photography Allowed: No photography allowed
Services Provided: Partial disabled access; public restrooms; free parking; hands-on children’s activities
Public Transit: RTD Routs 24 & 20
The cottage currently houses over 10,000 items and is an outstanding example of the Dutch-Colonial Revival movement, which shaped America’s taste in architecture and interior furnishings between 1876 and the 1930’s.
This Dutch-Colonial Revival cottage with gambrel roof was built for the Pearces, who wanted “a perfect colonial cottage such as one sees in the older districts of the eastern states of America.” Interior decoration was later furnished by the home’s second owners, the McAllisters, during the 1920’s. The house was built for Harold Pearce and his wife Cara Rowena Bell Pearce. The interior spaces, though somewhat changed by Phebe McAllister in the late 1920’s, reflect the lifestyle of upper middle class families from 1890 through World War I and into the Roaring Twenties. In cooperation with the Colorado Historical Society, the cottage currently houses the Museum of Miniatures, Dolls & Toys, whose unique exhibits will capture your imagination and bring back childhood memories.
Platte Park / Fleming House
Location Number: 66
Urban Adventures: B
1500 South Grant Street
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: James Fleming
www.DenverGov.org
Year Built: 1882
Photography allowed:
Services provided:
Public Transit:
This historic house is the landmark of the Platt Park neighborhood and was the City Hall for the City of South Denver before it was annexed.
The James Fleming House is a historic stone house situated in Platt Park on South Grant Street. This lovely former home built by James Fleming in 1882 is the landmark of the Platt Park neighborhood and was the city hall for the City of South Denver before it was annexed by its neighbor to the north. Over the years, the house has been used as a library, as a meeting space for the South Side Women's Club and other nonprofits, and as a recreation center. The house has been underutilized in recent years. A few pool tables sit in the main room, and another room on the main floor was at one time converted to a wood working shop that is rarely used and is something of a hazard. The upstairs is mostly used for storage and is only accessed by an existing servants' stair. The interior is in desperate need of repair and refurbishment, something that will not happen given the budget constraints on the Parks and Recreation Department.
The Park People is working to rehabilitate the Fleming House. The first floor will be upgraded into a beautiful community space, available for a variety of meetings, events, and special gatherings. A reconstructed central staircase to the second floor will be installed where the original existed years ago; a bearing wall that was removed circa 1914 will be relocated to its original location.
The second floor will be renovated for use by The Park People as our headquarters. Offices, work spaces, a break room, and a bathroom will all be updated using the existing layout of the top floor. Throughout the house, the floors and windows will be replaced and refurbished, along with updated electrical and plumbing to allow for the building’s expanded use. Where ever possible, fixtures and finishes will reflect the idea of a modern use for a historic structure. This project will breathe new life into this building, creating a public amenity for the Platt Park neighborhood and giving The Park People a larger home for its growing list of activities. The renovation will preserve this important historical structure going into the future, and The Park People’s presence will ensure that the Fleming House will receive the tender loving care that it deserves.
Riverside Cemetery
Location Number: 2
Urban Adventures: B
5201 Brighton Blvd.
SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: Frank E. Edbrooke
www.FairmountHeritageFoundation.org
Year Built: 1903
Photography Allowed: No
Services Provided: Partial disabled access; public restrooms; free parking
Even at its founding these 77 acres stood out as being uniquely rural and park-like. Now as Denver’s oldest operating cemetery the land has earned pastoral designation as a National Historic District.
Riverside Cemetery was founded in 1876 and became a National Historic District in 1994. The current Office/Chapel/ Crematory (all one building) was designed by Frank Edbrooke in 1903, in the Mission style and is the 3rd office at Riverside. It was the 1st crematory in Colorado and was last used in the 1980’s. Today Riverside is Denver’s oldest operating cemetery.The building that served as the 2nd office for the cemetery, known as the Stone House, is still on site. It was constructed in the early 1880’s in the Victorian style; the architect is unknown.
In addition to the buildings at Riverside there are also:
· 3 family mausoleums, each with a very distinct architectural style.
· Four Colorado State University Plant Select Demonstration Gardens; a horticulturist will be on hand to answer questions about the sustainable plan for Riverside and the plants used.
· The largest collection of zinc monuments in the US, as well as one very rare zinc monument recently restored by the Fairmount Heritage Foundation
· Birdbox Trail that offers the opportunity to safely view a variety of bird habitats, along with the various materials and construction styles each species uses for its nests. Ornithologists will be on hand to answer questions.
· Historic photo, archival and artifact displays.
· FREE Guided Walking Tours - Tours last about 90 min and cover about 1 1⁄to 2 miles walking. Hat, sunscreen, water bottle and good walking shoes highly recommended.
o The Civil War at Riverside Cemetery Tour – Riverside has over 1200 Civil War Veterans, more than any other cemetery in Colorado including three Medal of Honor recipients; hear the stories of those that fought in the most horrible war in American history. At 10:00 and 2:00, meet at the Chapel.
Well Behaved Women Seldom Make History - Learn about the
Distinguished Women of Colorado at Riverside that shaped our City
Rockmount Ranch Wear
Location Number: 21
Urban Adventures: A, H
1626 Wazee Street
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 10AM - 4PM
www.Rockmount.com
Year Built: 1909
Architect: Fisher & Fisher
Photography Allowed: Yes
Services Provided: Public restrooms, paid parking
Public Transit: 16th Street Mall Shuttle
At Rockmount you will hear the story of this 16th & Wazee block dating to 1859 and the site’s colorful history.
The building is a significant example of Prairie School design in the vein of Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright. Rockmount’s archive includes city founders David Moffat, Frederick J Ebert and Amos Steck. Meet Steve Weil, 3rd generation to run Rockmount Ranch Wear, LoDo’s last surviving early wholesale business. This renovated historic landmark (with a 35,000 square foot interior) now includes retail and a museum. Rockmount is famous for originating snap Western shirts. Rockmount’s products have adorned Elvis, Clapton, Springsteen, Dylan, Redford and Reagan. At anytime you may view the collection of photos, documents and maps dating from 1859, depicting the history of the neighborhood, this site and the building.
Scottish Rite Masonic Center / Denver Consistory
Location Number: 45
Urban Adventures: E
1370 Grant St.
SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: William H. Bowman
www.DenverConsistory.org
Year Built: 1925
Photography Allowed: Yes
Services Provided: Disabled access; public restrooms
Designed by William Bowman in 1923 and completed two years later, this historic Capitol Hill building with domed roof and restored Kimbal pipe organ was created as a Masonic Temple.
Concerts are held here every month, and the auditorium and dining room now house public functions.
Sloan’s Lake Marina
Location Number: 20
Urban Adventures: B
Sheridan & West 17th Avenue
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: Olmsted Brothers
www.DenverGov.org
Year Built: 1914
Photography Allowed: No photography or video for commercial purposes
Services Provided: Full disabled access, public restrooms, free parking
Created in 1861 after Thomas Sloan dug above an aquifer beneath his farm, Sloane’s Lake housed Colorado’s only steamship of the 1870’s.
Its banks soon boasted an amusement park and in 1906 Denver’s Mayor Speer bought the land. A jetty was built for boats and bathhouse for swimmers, but Polio epidemics of the 1950’s and municipal swimming pools of the 1960’s reduced lake use to its present recreational purposes.
Sloan’s Lake Park has a storied history, starting with how the lake was originally created: Thomas Sloan, who was homesteading on the land back in the 1860’s, was digging a well when he hit a shallow aquifer. The waters quickly flooded his land and there’s been a lake ever since. Soon thereafter, Sloan’s Lake shows up on the Sopris “hour-glass” plan as the western counterpart to City Park on the east, with both parks connected by a grand parkway, possibly Colfax Avenue. Sloan’s Lake was the site for early steamboat rides, as well as a series of amusement parks, most prominently Manhattan Beach near the northwest corner of the present-day park. The City did not begin to purchase land for park development until 1906, and the park continued to expand to its current 295-acre size as recently as 1985.
Smith’s Chapel (Denver Inner City Parish)
Location Number: 54
Urban Adventures: M
910 Galapago St.
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: Unknown
Year Built: 1882
Photography Allowed: Yes
Services Provided: Partial disabled access, public restrooms, free parking
Public Transit: Light Rail, RTD #1, #8, #9, #16, #52
The structure at 9th and Galapago (formerly called Buffalo St. and South Water St.) is a striking example of Victorian Gothic or Gothic Revival ecclesiastical architecture.
Despite the replacement of its original doors, removal of stained glass windows, and loss of interior furnishings, this 1882 chapel is celebrated on Colorado’s register of historic places for three important reasons.
The structure at 9th and Galapago (formerly called Buffalo St. and South Water St.) is a striking example of Victorian Gothic or Gothic Revival ecclesiastical architecture. Though the interior has had to accommodate modern uses by installing intrusive HVAC and electrical systems and converting its worship space into a recreational multi-purpose room, the exterior still shows off a steeply-pitched gable roof and, above the entrance vestibule, a 70-foot tall steeple with 8-sided spire, lancet windows, oculus windows, and engaged buttresses that all remain from the original 1882 building.
Aside from its display of the Gothic Revival style popular from the 1870s to the 1930s, this chapel is made of native Colorado stone. For over 125 years, railroads have been supplying Denver with rhyolite from a quarry in Castle Rock, where a 30 foot layer of volcanic ash spewed by mountains in the Sawatch range settled 37 million years ago and began fusing into tan stone. Many of Denver’s best-known historic buildings were built using Castle Rock rhyolite for both structure and decorative accent.
The building also anchors one of Denver’s oldest neighborhoods, called La Alma/Lincoln Park. Most residential blocks here were developed in the 1800s, and this chapel, with its multiple additions and renovations, has reflected our city’s societal and religious history from the first. After being gifted by Denver businessman John W. Smith, it served as the United Brethren Church’s sanctuary until they disbanded and moved to the suburbs in 1960, then became the interdenominational Denver Inner City Parish which functioned as a social agency or neighborhood rec center before such organizations were recognized as necessary in urban areas.
It has been listed on Colorado’s Register of Historic Places since December 8, 2004.
Smith’s Chapel was built in 1882 for the United Brethren Church on land that was donated by prominent Denver businessman, John W. Smith. Although the architect is unknown, the original building is a great example of the Victorian Gothic style of architecture in Denver and uses Castle Rock’s own rhyolite sandstone.
In 1923 a flat-roofed brick addition was built on the eastern side of the original church, doubling the building’s size. Although the material and shape are in sharp contrast to those of the church, the detailing of the second floor windows as pointed, arched window openings together with engaged brick buttresses along the south elevation, make an attempt to blend with the existing architecture of the church. A front porch on the south side of the church and addition as well as an emergency exit ramp and stair were added later.
As found in several historic documents, Smith’s Chapel has always had some connection to the community as a place where education and community specific activities take place. United Brethren Church held special artistic and athletic offerings until their disbanding in 1960. At that time the Denver Inner City Parish moved in and has continued to offer community driven programming, such as a middle and high school, a food bank, seniors program among many others.
We will be offering building tours throughout the day on Saturday April 14th and Sunday April 15th.
South High School
Location Number: 64
Urban Adventures: L
1700 East Louisiana Ave
SAT 10AM - 4PM
www.DPSK12.org
Year Built: 1926
Architect: We & Aa Fisher
Photography Allowed: Yes
Services Provided: Full disabled access, public restrooms, free parking
The building was designed following the decade’s Romanesque trend and (like Rockefeller Center) is adorned by local sculptor Robert Garrison.
Intended to last a century, the building cost $1,252,000. The architect favored the use of painting and sculpture in Denver’s public buildings, influenced the use of statues and terracotta figures as adornment. The entrance gargoyle was inspired by the Spoleto Cathedral’s; also Italian in design is the clocktower, similar to Rome’s tallest medieval belfry at Santa Maria in Cosmedin.
South High School held its first classes in 1893 in the two rooms of the old Grant building, which is now the rebuilt Grant Middle School on Washington Street at Mexico Avenue. By 1924, enrollment neared 800, and more space was desperately needed. Funds for a new school were raised, and a cornerstone for the new building — today’s South High — was laid on October 31, 1924 (it’s to the left of the main entrance). During the school’s dedication ceremony, items were placed in the cornerstone: a Bible, an American flag, a copy of the Constitution, a book of South High, signatures of the first students and teachers, and Denver’s city charter. After the cornerstone was sealed, corn, wine, and oil were scattered over the stone, representing nourishment, refreshment, and joy.
Many of the building’s interior and exterior designs were copied from well-known Italian structures; South’s versions were created by artist Robert Garrison. On the rooftop over the main west entrance is a three-and-a-half foot-tall gargoyle, the symbolic protector of South, inspired by one on Italy’s Spoleto Cathedral. Saint Ambrogio in Milan, Italy, served as the model for the five arched loggia beneath the gargoyle. Topping the striped poles on either side of the front entrance are figures of faculty members holding creatures representing final exams. The creatures are about to devour the students whose heads are resting on piles of books. The two friezes above the main west door are entitled “Faculty Row” and “Animal Spirits.” The first, on the exterior of the building, shows the principal in the center of a line of the entire faculty. On his right is the assistant principal, and the now nonexistent dean of girls is on his left. The second frieze, directly above the doors, depicts creatures that symbolize unscholarly behavior such as rubber-band shooting and gum chewing.
The ornate door frame at the northwest entrance to the school bears a frieze that shows students going to school — some eagerly and others by force. The school’s North Court is guarded by four winged lions, or griffins, which have since been overgrown by vines. South’s notable clock tower is thought to be a replica of Italy’s Santa Maria Cosmedin, although there are some differences. This clock displays the zodiac around the dial, beginning with Aries at one o’clock and running counterclockwise.
South has gone through many changes since its construction in 1925. The front of the fourth floor was first designated a teachers’ lunchroom, and then served as a study hall before being divided into three classrooms. An athlete study hall and a girl’s lounge have evolved into the second-floor faculty lounge and the Community Room, respectively. The Boy’s Gym, or North Gym, originally had a balcony allowing for spectator basketball games. Math, science, and English classrooms were added in a southwest wing in 1964, and a new gym was built in 1989. In 1992, South High School was designated as a National Historic Landmark.
St Andrew’s Episcopal Church
Location Number: 25
Urban Adventures: M
2015 Glenarm Place
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 1PM - 3PM
Architect: Ralph Adams Cram
www.standrewdenver.org
Year Built: 1908
Photography allowed: No photography or video for commercial purposes
Services provided: Full disabled access, restrooms, free parking
Public Transit: Light Rail, RTD #32, #20
Designed by Ralph Adams Cram (the premier architect of Gothic Revival in early 20th century America), Cram’s important works include the Cadet Chapel at West Point Military Academy, St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue, and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City.
St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, founded in 1872, is the second oldest Episcopal parish in the City of Denver. The 1908 brick church at 2015 Glenarm Place was designed by Ralph Adams Cram (1863-1942), the premier architect of Gothic Revival in early 20th century America.
At the time of construction, the congregation had the financial means to build only half of Cram's vision. The church remained unfinished, with a temporary, low-ceilinged structure over the altar for nearly a century. In recent decades, the parish has revived as a worshiping community of 175 people on an average Sunday. In 2006, with the assistance of Historic Denver, Inc., and a grant from the Colorado State Historical Fund, the slate roof was replaced and repairs were made to the masonry and windows to preserve the fabric of the historic structure. In July 2008 the parish broke ground on a $2.3 million project to enlarge the building for additional worship seating and classroom space. The project included a four-level elevator and accessible restrooms. Architect Ethan Anthony of Cram and Ferguson, Boston, was retained to extend Cram's original aesthetic vision into the new portion of the building.
The church building was designated as a Denver Landmark in 1974 and is a contributing structure in the Clements Historic District, created in 1975. We are delighted to welcome you to tour our church building during Doors Open Denver 2012.
Saint Andrew’s most prominent work of art is the five-panel reredos painting by Albert Byron Olson (1884-1940), depicting scenes from the life of Christ. The work was originally intended for St. Martin’s Chapel at St. John’s Cathedral. Olson was a founding member of the Denver Artists Guild. He shared space in the studio of Vance Kirkland and, after Olson’s death, his widow became Kirkland’s wife.
Denver artist Marion Buchan (1875-1971) created St. Andrew’s Byzantine-influenced Mother and Child sculpture in plaster. Buchan received her formal art education in her native Liverpool, England, before emigrating to Denver in 1918. Perhaps more characteristic of Buchan’s work are the powerful, stylized figures of her bronze Stations of the Cross. Artistically, Buchan was influenced by abstract cubism. Politically and religiously, she identified with socialism and the Catholic Worker’s Movement. The liturgical art collection includes a saltire cross with the figure of St. Andrew in metal and a baptismal font cover by Don F. Allen, another member of the University of Denver Art faculty.
The embroideries collected and framed in the undercroft served as decorative devices for festival vestments used at St. Andrew’s. These works in silk are attributed to Delphine Schmidt.
Needlepoint kneelers in wool were crafted by parishioners in 1990. St. Andrew’s has a growing collection of hand-embroidered vestments by the Colorado Vestment Guild.
The parish house, south of the church, is also an important historic structure, but not yet been designated as a Landmark. This rectory, now used as parish offices, was designed in the 1920s by the flamboyant and eccentric Colorado architect Jules Jacques Benoit Benedict (1879-1948). Trained at l’Ecole des Beaux Artes in Paris, Benedict was sought after by Denver’s cultural elite to build elegant, well-proportioned homes, using traditional European design elements. Other J.J.B. Benedict public buildings in the Denver Area include St. Thomas Seminary, Holy Ghost Catholic Church, the Woodbury Library, and Chief Hosa Lodge.
We plan to provide informal tours of the buildings and artwork by volunteer tour guides during the visiting hours. There will be brief organ and choral music presentations offered, along with a display of hand-embroidered vestments
.
St. Patrick’s Mission Church
Location Number: 6
Urban Adventures: M
3325 Pecos Street
SUN 1PM - 4PM
Year Built: 1907-1910
Architect: Wagner & Manning
Photography Allowed: Yes
Services Provided: Disabled access; public restrooms
The interior, with its heavy wooden ceiling beams, picturesque stained glass windows, and hand-carved Italian marble stations of the cross was spruced up to shine again as one of Denver's first and finest examples of mission revival architecture.
The St. Patrick Mission Church complex is constructed of smooth- dressed buff stone. Reflecting the Mission style, the roof is covered with red barrel tiles, and the domes which cap the towers are of painted sheet metal. The complex, designed by the Denver architectural firm of Wagner and Manning, was begun in 1907 and completed in 1910. At the time of its construction, the Mission style was considered unusual in the city of Denver, although reflective of its western character. In 1977, St. Patrick's was designated a Denver Landmark by the City Council. In 1979, the parish plant was put on the National Register of Historic Places.
Tattered Cover Book Store - Colfax Avenue (Lowenstein Theater)
Location Number: 41
Urban Adventures: A
2526 E. Colfax Ave.
SAT 9AM - 9PM SUN 10AM - 6PM
Architect: John K. Monroe
www.TatteredCover.com
Year Built: 1953
Photography Allowed: No
Services Provided: Full disabled access; public restrooms; food/beverage services; free & paid parking
Public Transit: RTD #15
The Bonfils Memorial Theater housed the Denver Civic Theater Company beginning in its 25th season. The St. Charles Town Company restored and developed the property to house a different type of theater – a theater of ideas – inviting the Tattered Cover to bring it once again to life.
Henry Lowenstein, for whom it was briefly named, was the theater’s final artistic director. After Miss Bonfils’ death, the theater was closed and fell into disrepair, remaining boarded up for twenty years. The theater’s unique glass windows facing Colfax (with their classic cartouche designs, punctuated with etched panels on which the characters of the commedia dell’arte and the Civic Theater’s signature symbol of a galleon in full sail) and the art deco grand theater lobby are just two of the unique features visitors will enjoy while browsing.
Built in 1953, the Bonfils Memorial Theater housed the Denver Civic Theater company beginning in its 25th season. Henry Lowenstein, for whom it was briefly named, was the theater’s final artistic director. After Miss Bonfils’ death, the theater was closed and fell into disrepair, remaining boarded up for twenty years. The St. Charles Town Company decided to restore and develop the property to house a different type of theater—a theater of ideas—inviting the Tattered Cover to bring it once again to life. The theater’s unique glass windows facing Colfax—with their classic cartouche designs, punctuated with etched panels on which the characters of the commedia dell’arte and the Civic Theater’s signature symbol of a galleon in full sail—and the art deco grand theater lobby are just two of the unique features visitors will enjoy while browsing.
Unity Temple of Denver / Chappell House
Location Number: 37
Urban Adventures: M
1555 Race St.
SAT 10AM - 4PM
Architect: Frank Snell
www.unitytempleofdenver.org
Year Built: 1895
Photography allowed: Yes
Services provided: Restrooms, free parking
Public Transit: RTD #15
The interior of the house was used as the rectory in the filming of the TV series “The Father Dowling Mysteries.”
The significance of this house is found in its association with Delos Allen Chappell, one of the most prominent and wealthy citizens in Denver at the turn of the century.
Chappell was a direct descendant of Ethan Allen. He was founder of the Victor Fuel Company and was closely identified with the development of the coal and coke industry in Colorado. This was the first house owned by Chappell who later sold it and purchased the Horace W. Bennett house at 1304 Logan Street, later to be known as Chappell House. Chappell House was donated to the Denver Art Association in 1922 by Chappell’s heirs.
The Race Street house is believed to have been a speculation house designed by Frank S. Snell, a real estate man turned architect. 1555 Race and its sister house to the north were contructed by the Burleigh Building Company. Construction started only two years after the Silver Crash of 1893 while Denver’s economy was still in recession. It was finished and occupied by the Chappell Family in 1899. Subsequent owners of the house were Luella Lewis, Margaret Wilson, William Dickson, the Iliff School of Theology, Dorothy Lee & William Minton. The last owner (Charles Davis) rented the house to the Temple of Practical Christianity from 1935-1941. Mr Davis sold the house to its current owner in 1941.
The design of the house represents the trend to break away from the flamboyance of the Victorian period and the move toward the restraint of the Neoclassical. The house is surrounded by houses designed by William Lange, the premier Denver Victorian architect.
Washington Park Boathouse
Location Number: 63
Urban Adventures: B
Exposition & Downing
SUN 10AM - 4PM
www.DenverGov.org
Year Built: 1913
Architect: J. J. B. Benedict
Photography Allowed: No photography or video for commercial purposes
Services Provided: Public restrooms, free parking
Constructed on the south shore of Smith Lake, this mix of Prarie style, Italianate, and Arts and Crafts was restored in 1987 by Anthony Pellechia Associates.
It still offers a two-story facade overlooking the lake; open pavilion on top and boat storage below. The facility can accommodate 150 people and is available for rent.
Photography Allowed: No photography or video for commercial purposes
Wazee Exchange / Roth + Sheppard Architects
Location Number: 15
Urban Adventures: C, H
1900 Blake St.
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: Unknown
www.RothSheppard.com
Year Built: 1890
Photography allowed: Yes
Services provided: Paid parking, full disability access
This is the finest and most intact example of Renaissance Revival architecture in LoDo.
The Carter Rice Paper Company built this brick, limestone and timber warehouse among the many other commercial structures occupying LoDo. Before the building’s storage spaces were all finally renovated to accommodate new tenants (including an architectural firm quartered in the repurposed third floor with exposed structural elements), it housed two paper companies and a sporting goods business. This Second Renaissance Revival building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. The structure provided Carter Rice with a building that reflected the optimism and returning prosperity of turn-of-the-century Denver following the devastation of the Panic of 1892 due to the collapse of silver prices. The site today hosts a variety of tenants, including Roth + Sheppard Architects on the 3rd floor. The storage space was transformed from a dark and uninviting environment into a contemporary, open and day lighted suite which includes indirect fluorescent and low v lighting, low voc paints, recycled building materials and carpet tiles, and an on-site recycle process.
Constructed in the 1880’s of solid masonry wrapped around a Douglas-fir timber frame, Wazee Exchange was originally the Colorado headquarters for highly respected grocers C. S. Morley Mercantile Company, Sprague Warner & Company of Chicago, Colorado Coffee & Spice Mills, and William R. Harp Company. The mercantile use evolved over time into primarily warehousing sice a railway line terminated at the rear of the building.
In 1936 the Rodelle family moved to Denver from the south of France. They founded Rodelle Laboratories at Wazee Exchange, where they manufactured their famous gourmet Rodelle Vanilla Extract. From 1930 to the late 1950’s, Safeway Grocers took advantage of the railway access and became the biggest and longest occupancy tenant in the building’s history.
In 1979, market analysis revealed that a strong demand for office space existed in the LoDo area of Denver. The conversion of Wazee Exchange from warehouse to office was completed in 1980, and the renovation earned a Colorado Society of Architect Award of Honor for innovative design.
When MAVDevelopment purchased the Wazee Exchange Building in 2007, they did so with a commitment to its past. After extensive research on the history of the 1880’s era building, it was decided that restoring the building’s original design elements was appropriate. The entire façade was cleaned, revealing historical painted billboards. The 19th Street elevation was re-clad with details matching its original design. Originally used as a warehouse and manufacturing facility, certain upgrades and modernization were required to allow it to be used as an office building.
Because of the age of the building, the 3.5 million dollar restoration includes extensive structural, electrical and mechanical upgrades. On October 21, 2009, MAVDevelopment Company received the Historic Denver Community Preservation Award for their preservation efforts on the Wazee Exchange Building.
West High School
Location Number: 51
Urban Adventures: L
951 Elati Street
SAT 10AM - 4PM
www.dpsk12.org
Year Built: 1925
Architect: W. Harry Edwards
Photography Allowed: Yes
Services Provided: Full disabled access, public restrooms, food/beverage services, free parking
This English Gothic structure in light brick with buff terra cotta trimmings opened to accommodate a thousand students in the overcrowded west district of Denver’s recently merged public school system.
Home to the orange and black Cowboys, West features auditorium seating for 1500 and a gymnasium for 2000. Located in the La Alma/Lincoln Park neighborhood, one of Denver’s oldest neighborhoods, this is where many gold-seekers came to find fortune when Denver was first settled. The homes here still reflect the rich culture and beautiful attention to architectural detail from that time period.
William G. Fisher Mansion / Tryba Architects
Location Number: 32
Urban Adventures: C, E
1600 Logan Street
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: Frank E. Edbrooke
www.trybaarchitects.com
Year Built: 1896
Photography allowed:
Services provided:
Public Transit:
Originally built for William Garrett Fisher, the mansion was designed by Frank E. Edbrooke, the architect who designed the Brown Palace and many other Denver landmarks.
The renovation converted the ballroom on the north side of the structure into a 10,500 sf, four-story architectural studio. David Owen Tryba and his family live in the mansion. Located at 16th Avenue and Logan Street, two blocks from the State Capitol and downtown Denver, the complex represents a pioneering development in an important but long-neglected and blighted area. It also reflects the long standing-involvement of the firm in historic rehabilitation, adaptive re-use and urban new infill work–incorporating all three within a landmark project.
David Owen Tryba purchased the Fisher mansion in 1997 and after two years of painstaking renovation and restoration, the historic Fisher Mansion became the architects’ new home and studio. The project—a juxtaposition of Beaux Arts and modern design—dramatically illustrates one of the firm's core skills: the blending of old and new in successful compositions that respect and enhance the historic fabric of a site while exploring progressive, modernist strategies to promote its evolution.
Zang Brewmaster’s House / George Schmidt House
Location Number: 18
Urban Adventures: K
2345 7th Street
SAT 10AM - 2PM
Architect: William Quayle
Year Built: 1885
The Zang Brewery was opened in 1870, three years before the Coors Brewery, and at one point it was the largest brewery west of the Mississippi and supplied half of Colorado’s beer.
The original resident of this High Victorian Queen Anne was George Schmidt, brewmaster of the Zang Brewery that, along with Coors and Tivoli, supplied the Old West with beer during Denver’s early years. The two-story 1885 house of red brick and rusticated stone was designed by
William Quayle, and features exquisite interior woodwork in the stairway, doors, mantels, and built-in cabinets.
The Zang Brewmaster’s house was added to the National Register of Historic Places two days before Halloween in 1976.
The Zang Brewery was opened in 1870, three years before the Coors Brewery. At one point it was the largest brewery west of the Mississippi and supplied half of Colorado’s beer. It peaked in 1910 with 175 employees working to create 140,000 barrels that year, but prohibition permanently capped the operation.
Zang Mansion
Location Number: 59
Urban Adventures: E, K
709 Clarkson St.
SAT 10AM - 4PM SUN 10AM - 4PM
Architect: Fredrick C. Eberley
www.AmericanZang.com
Year Built: 1903
Photography Allowed: Yes
Services Provided: Partial disabled access; free parking
Public Transit: RTD Routes 2 & 6
Designated as an Historical Landmark, the Mansion contains 38 rooms. The sedate Neoclassical Revival mansion was built for Adolph Zang, son of Zang Brewery founder.
Zang was instrumental in establishing the German Bank & Trust (American National Bank), the Oxford and Cosmopolitan Hotels, and “White City” (Lakeside Amusement Park). He also invested in many goldmines in the Cripple Creek area. Mansion rooms feature handcarved woodwork of African mahogany, curly birch, birdseye maple and Honduras mahogany. Note the gilded ceilings, Tiffany chandeliers and preserved stained glass windows depicting Romeo & Juliet and Portia & Braserio.