Whatever you do, NEVER go north of Colfax !! (Evans, Iliff: live, church)
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I grew up in Littleton. I now live in Aurora (South of Colfax... but not far).
This area definitely had that reputation among childhood friends. I do have to admit I went on a weird expedition as a teenager to spot a hooker on Colfax and was successful.
However, I enjoy where we live. I wish there were more opportunities for recreation via parks and rec centers, but people in "the ghetto" are much friendly, interesting and more approachable than in the higher-class burbs I was born in.
I work in public safety and I'll tell you there are areas of Aurora that scare me much more than the worst parts of 'Fax. Mississippi and Sable - for example.
Well, I'll concur that if one doesn't enjoy Diesel fumes, then DON'T go north of Colfax.
I always ride my bike down from either the Flying J in Aurora, or the Pilot off of Vazquez/46th and down to the gyms 4-5 miles away.
The only things one should be concerned about if any are maybe idling trucks, greeeezy truckers and a handful of pan-handlers messing about by the offramps!!!
Having grown up in the southeast suburbs, I can completely validate your generalization - it was certainly the belief that the inner-city was the "big bad city" and you went there only if you absolutely had to. My mom would say things like "you should be glad you go to school out here, you would have to be a real tough kid to go to those Denver schools."
Now, to be fair - this was the 80's/early 90's - and Denver did have a serious issue with inner-city crime, particularly with gang violence - but in retrospect, I don't think it was ever as bad as my parents made it out to be. After living in Chicago for a few years, traveling the world, and seeing truly run-down cities (like Detroit) - I no longer have such a slanted view of Colfax or the inner-city. In fact, I live near South Federal now, which even Denverites often poo poo as a crime-ridden, ugly boulevard... but the wonderful thing about Colfax and Federal is that they're the closest thing Denver has to real urbanity... small businesses, cultural and economic diversity... and I love it!
If you can get past the sometimes unsightly streetscapes of Federal and Colfax, what you see is a really vibrant place - with many people walking the streets, successful businesses (with great food and products)... and a shockingly LOW vacancy rate! You rarely EVER see a vacancy in a South Federal strip mall - suburban shopping centers could only dream of having so much demand and traffic. It's a sharp contrast to the quiet streets of the southeast suburbs.
I noticed that you live in Harvey Park and you did not mention it and I think it is worth notating. For people who are new to this area, Harvey Park is a neighborhood of Denver, Between West Jewell and Yale, east of Sheridan. It is named after the Park which surrounds a the namesake lake. You can see this great looking park by driving on Evans.
I discovered this park, many years ago, with commute from Arvada to Inverness Park, as I liked to drive through the city to explore the different areas of Denver.This area was a very good housing area when it was developed with nice ranch homes. Right next to it is a private little reservoir, with some larger expensive homes bordering.
Interestinlyly, when you drive west from Federal, on Evans, you go through the small post world war II homes that were built for returning GIs; and you can follow through to the increasingly bigger homes around the lake as Denver grew through the 50s and 60s.
These neighborhoods of Harvey Park, Harvey Park to the South and Bear Valley are some of the best neighborhoods that are not always on newcomers radar. They have access to nice parks and especially the Parks, Open Space and Trails along Bear Creek. This area of Denver is somewhat unique in that it passes west of Sheridan and has some newer homes in Bear Valley, Fort Logan and Marston neighborhoods of Denver.
I find the Bear Valley Shopping Center at Dartmouth and Sheridan one of the nicest little neighborhoods with a King Soopers, the Denver Public Library across the street and Bear Creek Park to the South. West on Alameda, past Sheridan, north of Dartmouth, you can find the most appealing neighborhoods across from the trails on Bear Creek.
I noticed that you live in Harvey Park and you did not mention it and I think it is worth notating. For people who are new to this area, Harvey Park is a neighborhood of Denver, Between West Jewell and Yale, east of Sheridan. It is named after the Park which surrounds a the namesake lake. You can see this great looking park by driving on Evans.
I discovered this park, many years ago, with commute from Arvada to Inverness Park, as I liked to drive through the city to explore the different areas of Denver.This area was a very good housing area when it was developed with nice ranch homes. Right next to it is a private little reservoir, with some larger expensive homes bordering.
Interestinlyly, when you drive west from Federal, on Evans, you go through the small post world war II homes that were built for returning GIs; and you can follow through to the increasingly bigger homes around the lake as Denver grew through the 50s and 60s.
These neighborhoods of Harvey Park, Harvey Park to the South and Bear Valley are some of the best neighborhoods that are not always on newcomers radar. They have access to nice parks and especially the Parks, Open Space and Trails along Bear Creek. This area of Denver is somewhat unique in that it passes west of Sheridan and has some newer homes in Bear Valley, Fort Logan and Marston neighborhoods of Denver.
I find the Bear Valley Shopping Center at Dartmouth and Sheridan one of the nicest little neighborhoods with a King Soopers, the Denver Public Library across the street and Bear Creek Park to the South. West on Alameda, past Sheridan, north of Dartmouth, you can find the most appealing neighborhoods across from the trails on Bear Creek.
I noticed that you live in Harvey Park and you did not mention it and I think it is worth notating. For people who are new to this area, Harvey Park is a neighborhood of Denver, Between West Jewell and Yale, east of Sheridan. It is named after the Park which surrounds a the namesake lake. You can see this great looking park by driving on Evans.
I discovered this park, many years ago, with commute from Arvada to Inverness Park, as I liked to drive through the city to explore the different areas of Denver.This area was a very good housing area when it was developed with nice ranch homes. Right next to it is a private little reservoir, with some larger expensive homes bordering.
Interestinlyly, when you drive west from Federal, on Evans, you go through the small post world war II homes that were built for returning GIs; and you can follow through to the increasingly bigger homes around the lake as Denver grew through the 50s and 60s.
These neighborhoods of Harvey Park, Harvey Park to the South and Bear Valley are some of the best neighborhoods that are not always on newcomers radar. They have access to nice parks and especially the Parks, Open Space and Trails along Bear Creek. This area of Denver is somewhat unique in that it passes west of Sheridan and has some newer homes in Bear Valley, Fort Logan and Marston neighborhoods of Denver.
I find the Bear Valley Shopping Center at Dartmouth and Sheridan one of the nicest little neighborhoods with a King Soopers, the Denver Public Library across the street and Bear Creek Park to the South. West on Alameda, past Sheridan, north of Dartmouth, you can find the most appealing neighborhoods across from the trails on Bear Creek.
Livecontent
Harvey Park is still a good neighborhood. It's where I grew up. The ranch houses that are prevalent in area were built by Hutchinson in the 1950s. They are the exact same houses that were built by Thomas Jefferson HS and north of Bible Park in SE Denver, but since SW Denver is less desirable, the houses now are about $50k -$75k cheaper than those out southeast. The area was owned by a prominent oil man named Tex Harvey. He lived in a mansion (yes it is still there) located at what is now Iliff Ave and Tennyson St., right up the hill from the lakes. The gate house is also still standing at Iliff Ave and Lowell Blvd, but it is being used as a garage for a house that was built next to it. Drive by and you'll see that the garage's architecture is very different from the house's architecture.
Bear Valley came along in the 1960s and for many years it was a "blue" neighborhood. In the 1970s the city and county of Denver passed a law requiring all city employees to live inside the city. Bear Valley was one of the largest concentrations of police officers and firefighters in the city.
I love the area, but the schools have been substandard for years. The beginning of the slide was the start of busing in the early1970s. The area's schools have never recovered. Lincoln HS became a inner city type school, and JFK HS has lost so many students, it has dropped from 5A sports to 3A sports. I spent one year being bused to another school before my mom sent me to catholic school for the next 12 years.
Well, I'll concur that if one doesn't enjoy Diesel fumes, then DON'T go north of Colfax.
The bike lane from Aurora to Denver along 20th which is north of Colfax has none of what you are talking about. It sounds to me like you are riding around 45th near I-70?
Harvey Park is still a good neighborhood. It's where I grew up. The ranch houses that are prevalent in area were built by Hutchinson in the 1950s. They are the exact same houses that were built by Thomas Jefferson HS and north of Bible Park in SE Denver, but since SW Denver is less desirable, the houses now are about $50k -$75k cheaper than those out southeast. The area was owned by a prominent oil man named Tex Harvey. He lived in a mansion (yes it is still there) located at what is now Iliff Ave and Tennyson St., right up the hill from the lakes. The gate house is also still standing at Iliff Ave and Lowell Blvd, but it is being used as a garage for a house that was built next to it. Drive by and you'll see that the garage's architecture is very different from the house's architecture.
Bear Valley came along in the 1960s and for many years it was a "blue" neighborhood. In the 1970s the city and county of Denver passed a law requiring all city employees to live inside the city. Bear Valley was one of the largest concentrations of police officers and firefighters in the city.
I love the area, but the schools have been substandard for years. The beginning of the slide was the start of busing in the early1970s. The area's schools have never recovered. Lincoln HS became a inner city type school, and JFK HS has lost so many students, it has dropped from 5A sports to 3A sports. I spent one year being bused to another school before my mom sent me to catholic school for the next 12 years.
Thanks for this information. This is the type of knowledge and personal experiences I like to get from real authentic "natives". I will look for that property on Tennyson.
I like to keep these areas secret. However, to stop the areas from deterioration we must get new bright, people of acheivement and creativity to move into these areas. That is not to say that the area is very bad--it is not. The homes need some new renovations and they do have "good bones". The lake park is just fantastic. I have been throught it often enough that it appeals to me and I have always found it safe.
Yeah NY to Denver is quite a change. No matter what people say Denver does not compare to NY in a lot of ways so I can't imagine the adjustment. It's very residential, built around family-living and this tends to be emphasized no matter which direction you take from downtown. Staying close to downtown might be a good bet for always being close to what's going on in the city, but sadly at least 80% of that might get old real quick (once you've done/seen stuff, sometimes that's enough), but Denver always has new stuff going on (i.e. shows, bands playing, etc.) I hope this helps.
Thanks for this information. This is the type of knowledge and personal experiences I like to get from real authentic "natives". I will look for that property on Tennyson.
Livecontent
When you turn south on Tennyson from Evans, it curves through the park. On the south side of the park, the street turns into Raleigh. Go up the hill and the next street is Iliff. Turn left on Iliff and go two blocks to a church on one corner, and the mansion on the other side. It has 3 acres and beautiful grounds.
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