Good Areas in Denver Metro that are not as well known (Aurora: fit in, for sale)
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I am been thinking about this thread for some time. I keep reading posts about people moving here and asking for information about Highland Ranch, Stapelton, Highland, Lowry, Lonetree etc. It seems to me that many people want only to move to areas where all the other newcomers are and are afraid to venture out from the crowd.
There are many other areas in the metro area that are the "follow the leader" yuppie, "flypaper area" where all these people stick to when they fly in to the Denver Area.
I am inviting newcomers to look at areas that are not as well known; are only known only to long term residents who have taken the time to see these areas. I have learned that there are many people born here, or have been here for years, and only know what they see on the highways and only go where the crowds congregate.
I am wanting to talk about the great neighborhoods with character. These neighborhoods maybe do not have the brag appeal as Stapelton, Lonetree but are just as nice or better; have better value and many are a real urban experience vs. many of the faux urbanism that is being touted. I do like all the common known areas but there are others.
To start things off, I would like to talk, very briefly, about some neighborhoods that I have always found exciting in the Southwest Section of the City of Denver and the environ. I would hope others would join in; and in latter posts I will talk about different areas.
To help you understand. Here is a map of the neighborhoods of Denver. http://www.denvergov.org/denvermaps/downloads/maps/citywide/Neighborhoods.pdf (broken link)
The Southwest area of Denver has some distinctive and nice areas. Starting from the farthest out:
Marston . This is one of the newest areas of Denver which open up just a few years ago. When this area open up for development, there was lottery for these homes--and all are upscale. They border on the largest body of water in Denver--the Marston Reservoir. The Reservoir is not opened for recreation but it is a great view. To the west is the great shopping of the Southwest area of Lakewood, along Wadsworth with canyon access to the foothills. Nice neighborhoods, good services, good bus transportation, a big mall off of Bowles. A great area to live with shopping close by and public transportation.
Bear Valley. This area borders the Bear Creek and the open space trails run west to the Bear Valley Creek State Park with a large reservoir that has swimming, and farther east toward Englewood.
The homes, north on Darthmouth, West of Sheridan, have some of the nicest well maintain homes in Denver and the accessibility to this open space which goes all the way out west to the new areas of Lakewood.
The Shopping area is Sheridan and Hampton and east of Sheridan on Darthmouth, in Harvey Park South, was a small old mall which was converted to shopping with a nice large King Soopers. Across the Street is a branch of the Denver Public Library. It has good bus access on this intersection and has buses that go to the nearest light rail station east in Englewood. Great neighborhoods around. The Bear Valley Green Belt is accessible just south of the shopping.
This area is just north of Fort Logan--the only Veteran Cemetery in Denver. Great Homes to the south off of Quincy.
Harvey Park. From Jewell to Yale, east of Sheridan. You are not going to believe this area--it has a beautiful city park called--you guessed it Harvey Park with a nice little lake (I would take a nap here)--a school near by and a well kept neighborhood. Next to the Park on the west, you will see upscale homes that are hiding their own private lake. Yes, some of you, in the know, will point out that the neighborhood quickly changes to very small homes as it goes east to Federal. These homes were the type built after World War II, for housing of returning GIs. This would not put me off of living in Harvey Park and I think these small homes of the post war years are an interesting aspect of Denver. I have not heard about crime in this area.
Now if you go South on Sheridan and continue past Quincy, the road will narrow and you will be going to big upscale homes of a time past--this is tiny municipality of Bow Mar. The streets are narrow and winding, the homes are far apart and it has a private lake and park for the use of the residence. There is no buses going through this areas; it is not on many maps but it is a grand area to live. It is just east and north of Marston Reservoir. There is no shopping in the areas. But if you have the money, and want a home that has some land, water access and is not a cookie cutter subdivision of today--I would look at this area because it is close to all the jobs in the southern area. Bow Mar would have brag appeal to the people who know but how many of you readers have heard of this area???
So that starts it out. I know these areas because I was a great explorer because I never liked to take the highways--I always wanted to see where a road went. I worked at Inverness Park in the Southeast and I lived in Arvada in the Northwest--I would take different side routes to work, everyday to find a new neighborhood. Many years ago, I sold to restaurants and I could not call at lunch. Well, anyways I got tired of looking at eating places, so I got a map of the area with the parks, and I would explore a new park with lunch in hand.
Livecontent
Last edited by livecontent; 12-30-2007 at 08:16 PM..
Good thread, livecontent! Here's a couple of diverse suggestions of my own:
Downtown Parker. While Parker as a whole is one giant strip mall suburbia ville, downtown Parker, while very small, only about 2 or 3 blocks, is very nice, historic and charming. I wouldn't call it "urban" by any stretch of the imagination-- it's still a 100% family friendly zone, but there's tons of people walking around there, a neat small town atmosphere, a lot of small shops. Up until the 1980s, Parker was a tiny town-- what today IS downtown Parker. Downtown Castle Rock is even bigger and has a similar feel.
Foxfield (and vicinity)-- a small semi-rural enclave within Arapahoe County, SEC of Parker & Arapahoe Rds, completely surrounded by the denser suburban blobs of Aurora, Centennial, and Parker. It is one of the few areas of Denver metro where you can buy a home with acreage, great mountain views, tons of mature trees, and yet extremely convenient to the Denver Tech Center/ Centennial Airport area business parks and all the shopping centers and suburban creature comforts right across the street by Arapahoe road. There are a bunch of other areas right next to Foxfield that have the Foxfield feel. It's really similar to Cherry Hills Village, but less expensive.
Denver Tech Center-- everybody has heard of the DTC, but ever considered it as a place to live, not just as a place to work? There are a bunch of attractive, new high rise condo towers all around DTC, with easy access to the light rail system. Many of these are neo-traditional, tasteful red-brick structures, rather than the all-glass and "industrial" style towers that passes as New Urbanism these days. There are also a lot of "normal" apartments in the area too. There's a surprising amount of amenities in the Denver Tech Center area, which young urban professionals might appreciate: a number of upscale restaurants and bars, Fiddler's Green-- a major concert venue, a bunch of parks and multi-use trails. It's in the middle of everything, really. And even though it's farther south, right now there's a huge transit-oriented development under construction, condos and apartments (AMLI) by I-25 and Dry Creek. The area is very clean (almost to a fault) and crime is very low.
Great post, livecontent. I've admired Bow Mar since I moved here. Lovely area.
Vegaspilgrim, I just discovered the Denver Tech Center. I had no idea there was residential areas back there until I drove around it this past weekend. Excellent recommendation.
Now we are getting a nice discussion of different areas. VegasPilgrim, my sister lived in the Denver Tech Center, many years ago. It was a very quiet existence then on the weekend; she had all the roads to herself and would go shopping on Belleview and Yosemite. Today it is busier but it is growing into a nice transit oriented community, as you pointed out.
Averie-Jay--my favorite young lady with all the energy--I am so impressed that you would know about Bow Mar--you have seen more in this area then people have seen in a lifetime.
My best friend lives in Bow Mar, adorable (and expensive) area. I'll admit I hadn't heard of it until she moved there a year ago. What a great post/idea!! Denver is chock full of great, fun neighborhoods. People who move here are lucky to have such choices!
Another rarely mentioned but real cool neighborhood in Denver I can think of is Arapahoe Acres, neato mid-century modern houses on larger lots in Englewood.
My best friend lives in Bow Mar, adorable (and expensive) area. I'll admit I hadn't heard of it until she moved there a year ago. What a great post/idea!! Denver is chock full of great, fun neighborhoods. People who move here are lucky to have such choices!
Another rarely mentioned but real cool neighborhood in Denver I can think of is Arapahoe Acres, neato mid-century modern houses on larger lots in Englewood.
Thank You, I never heard of Arapahoe Acres. Well, I did a search and there is a website with the pictures of all the homes http://www.arapahoeacres.org/
Look at these homes, wow, I never knew.......great.....I got to go visit....
Bradburn1, I am enthralled---Thank You
There are two homes for sale---they are expensive!
Go to http://www.recolorado.com/ put arapahoe acres and englewood in---look at the interior of these homes--one is for sale from the original owner.
Livecontent
Last edited by livecontent; 12-30-2007 at 10:04 PM..
Reason: add homes for sale
Great topic livecontent. I captured some oblique aerials for some of the neighborhoods (Harvey Park, Arapahoe Acres, and Bow Mar) mentioned from Microsoft Virtual Earth. They really don't do the neighborhoods justice, but maybe they will add a little context. Of the ones mentioned I really only know Harvey Park and Arapahoe Acres. I like them both... The actual park at Harvey Park is very nice, much better than you sense from the aerial. Arapahoe Acres is very cool. You feel like all the houses should have little jetports for flying machines like the Jetsons had.
Anyway here are the aerials... Harvey Park is about 5 miles south of Downtown Denver, Arapahoe Acres is about 6 miles and BowMar is about 8.
Got up to close down my computer after a defrag and I saw your images---great pictures. I have to get a better computer so I can get these sharp images.
Notice that the homes in Bow Mar are all big ranches; that was one other thing I wanted to mention. No sidewalks--great old areas never have sidewalks. Also, minimal fencing--Interesting.
Harvey Park--yea, this has given me a another perspective--it really is a nice area. You caught that small private lake in the picture that is hidden from street view when you drive past Harvey Park which has the bigger lake.
The map of the location is good because it shows newcomers that there are very nice areas that are close in to Denver, with big properties, that you do not see too much today.
You are right--Arapahoe Acres would fit into the Jetsons--I just got to go see this place.
We had good friends (now divorced, we're still friendly with him) who lived in Bow Mar (named for two farmers, John Bowles and John Marston) during the 90s, and in the early 2000's, one of my preschool moms' families tried Bow Mar, then moved out. She had felt as if she were joining a cult.
Bow Mar was *the* cool place to live back in the '70s (if you couldn't manage Cherry Hills or Country Club). I lived northeast of Bow Mar, and had a friend who lived there, she would invite me for swimming at the private beach, etc.
Bow Mar works for some people, but every time we visited I got this weird creepy faded glory feeling, as if I were in the Twilight Zone or something.
The low-lying 50's ranch homes have an interesting flavor; our friends had this funky retro built-in KitchenAid inside their kitchen counter.
However, the huge green lawns are a relic of the there-is-no-water-shortage past. As for a lack of sidewalks, I lived without sidewalks from 2005 to summer '07, and I gotta tell ya, I *like* sidewalks. Especially when walking a dog during the wintertime.
What about Harvard Park? I think it has been mentioned here before.
This is the area between Downing and Broadway and Evans and Yale.
I love the park and golf course there. The canal has crawdads, too.
The area does not quite have the cache of Wash Park, but in a way, that's why I like it.
What about Harvard Park? I think it has been mentioned here before.
This is the area between Downing and Broadway and Evans and Yale.
I love the park and golf course there. The canal has crawdads, too.
The area does not quite have the cache of Wash Park, but in a way, that's why I like it.
I think you are a little confused. We are talking about Harvey Park Neighborhood of Denver which is between Jewell on the North and Yale on the South between Sheridan and Federal. Evans runs through this area, just north of the Lake in Harvey Park, a city park. This is in the southwest and does not have a golf course.
What you are talking about is Harvard Gulch Park with Harvard Gulch Municipal Golf Course. This area is in the Rosedale Neighborhood of Denver, with the Park off of Warren and the Golf Course, north of Harvard. This is just west of Downing North of Porter Adventist Hospital. This is in South Denver.
Now that this neighborhood has been brought up--it does have some nice amenities that most people do not know it exist. There is another park just west of the golf course--Sherman and Vassar Park. The homes around are old and small but nicely maintained.
You are right in saying that it "does not quite have the cache" of Washington Park and that is why I started this thread to show people that there are other areas and parks, that are not as well known as Washington Park. However these other areas and parks are places to be considered nice areas to live.
It is near Porter Hospital which is one of the nicely situated hospital along South Downing which I find as a good neighborhood. It has some restaurants and shops across from the hospital. Downing goes up just north to Evans and is the western boundary of the University Neighborhood of Denver.
Livecontent
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