West Highlands Neighborhood -- PHOTO TOUR (Denver, Boulder: fit in, lofts, condominiums)
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Location: Governor's Park/Capitol Hill, Denver, CO
1,536 posts, read 6,087,637 times
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(from Wikipedia) The West Highland neighborhood is to the west of Highland, with the borders of 38th and 29th Avenues on the north and south and Federal and Sheridan Boulevards on the east and west. To distinguish between its immediately adjacent neighbor, West Highland, Highland is sometimes referred to as East Highland, Lower Highland and LoHi. The latter two names are mostly used by realtors. The two together are casually called "the Highlands," a term which often encompasses other Northwest Denver neighborhoods such as Jefferson Park, Sunnyside and Berkley. To add further confusion, within the Highland neighborhood there are several historic designations of various degrees, including Potter Highlands, Scottish Highlands and Highlands Park. West Highland and the Highland neighborhoods (almost all of zip codes 80211 and 80212) currently has a population of about 57,000 people. Highland is often confused with the suburb of Highlands Ranch, located approximately 20 miles to the south. The similarity in name is merely a coincidence. Entrance to the Woodbury Library, built in 1912, one of a dozen libraries given to the city of Denver by Andrew Carnegie.
Victorian built in 1893
The community that sprang up west of the South Platte River opposite Denver and Auraria has been known as Highland since the Pikes Peak Gold Rush. In 1859 the Highland town company formed, and in September 1859 had levied an assessment, and a Platte River bridge was being planned to connect Highland with Auraria and Denver. The Rocky Mountain News noted: "No more handsome location for residences can be found than on the highlands of Highland, on the opposite side of the river from and overlooking Auraria and Denver, and a vast extent of surrounding territory."
A typical home in the area could easily be over 100 years old and resembles these in the two photos below
After the May 1864 flood wiped out parts of Denver, new people moved up the hill to the west. The Fifteenth Street Bridge made the western hills accessible and as the years passed streetcars made the area even easier to reach. In 1875, Owen Le Fevre and other developers petitioned the Arapahoe County Commissioners to establish a village government. After annexing Potter Highland and Highland Park, they formed the Town of Highland which became a city in 1885. Residents were fairly homogeneous. Most were Protestant and they tended to vote Republican. Many men participated in the Masonic Lodge and other similar clubs. In 1892, the young men of Highland formed the North Denver Athletic Club which gave them facilities similar to those enjoyed at the Denver Athletic Club, playground of Denver's elite. The women joined churches and other societies. One society of note was the North Side Women's Club, where they heard lectures and completed good works around the area. The residents also counted on Owen Le Febre's artesian well for clean drinking water and the breezes from the west provided clean air by blowing away any smog. Residents supported bond issues for schools, a library, and other civic improvements because they expected to have those services. The founding fathers eventually found it difficult to maintain such city services. In 1896, after considerable discussion, the residents voted to allow Denver to annex the town. Scores of grand Victorian era mansions can be easily found in the neighborhood still today.
I will mix in photos of the old and new as well as last summer and just last week to give you a feel of the seasons and the changes that are currently happening.
Separated from the city by the South Platte River and neighboring rail yards, Highland remained suburban in character for some time while attracting a variety of immigrants. Large numbers of Italians migrated to the area. Scottish Highlands was a project of nineteenth century developers who wanted to "brand" a new neighborhood with a distinct identity. Hence the Scottish names and quaint curvy streets. The original name was Highland Park. (from Rebecca Hunt)
The arrival of the Denver Tramway Corporation streetcar line in Highland better connected the area to downtown Denver and led to growth. As a streetcar suburb, Highland developed commercial centers near streetcar stops, some of which still exist today, including 32nd Ave and Tejon, 32nd Ave and Zuni (then called Gallop), 32nd Ave and Federal (then called "The Boulevard" or "Boulevard F"), as well as 32nd and Lowell in the West Highland neighborhood, now renamed "Highland Square". Most of the information in this history section came from Dr. Rebecca Hunt's 1998 dissertation, Urban Pioneers: Continuity and Change in Two Denver, Colorado Neighborhoods, 1875-1998.
Woodbury Library
The redevelopment of the Central Platte Valley in the late 1990s and early 2000s saw Highland's fortunes rise. Highland became much more accessible to downtown with the construction of the Millennium Bridge and Platte River bridge in the Central Platte valley, along with the construction of the Highland Bridge over Interstate 25 in 2006. Preservationists stepped in to save some of the city's most architecturally interesting areas within the Highland neighborhood, such as Potter-Highland Historic District and Stonemans' Row Historic District. Proximity to downtown led to rapid growth of the area in recent years, while the area today is one of the more sought-after city-center neighborhoods. Consequently, considerable redevelopment is occurring in Highland along with a noticeable rise in density, as high-end condominiums and lofts replace older structures and parking lots. However, Highland still offers a large stock of historic single family homes -- now some of the closest historic single family construction to Denver's original town site on the South Platte River.
This new property had an open house during the Highlands Festival
Across the street, a Victoria from another century
Many of the homes on 32nd are in a commercial zoned avenue and are now occupied by everything from food to clothing vendors.
Last summer, see the building on the left –
Last week, construction has begun to replace the top of the building. Love when the old is restored to its original elegance.
Some home in the area could use some TLC
Other are having a ton of TLC poured on them
If this place could talk, imagine the stories!
Fantastic wine selection
One of the few days that my uncle enjoys the gentrification of his neighborhood is when the Highlands Festival brings in the classic cars. Otherwise he misses his dry cleaners, hardware store and family market that was replaced with all the restaurants. I hide the fact from him that I frequent these places now so I don’t upset him.
Entrance to Bang, love their meat loaf
The Tres Hermannas is a great plate at Julia Blackbirds. Southwestern Mexican food –
Coral Room is always jammed, day and night. They tried to open one in Stapleton but it closed, not sure if business was as good out there?
This is fairly, took the place of Swim Club 32 –
Looks like You took some of these these Pics. yesterday afternoon; if so we could have ran into each other. I stopped in the neighborhood for at slice at Basil Docs ,and looked at a house with a friend. I see where Forest Room Five gave way to El Camino a while ago, supposed to be some pretty wicked margs. in there at least that's the word on the street.. probably pretty old news, but I don't hang in Highland very often any more..Seeing the Parlour always makes me think about Boulder.. the first location he had.. I used to frequent that one back in the day on Walnut street.. Great shots as usual Aztec.
Last edited by Scott5280; 04-20-2009 at 02:39 PM..
Thanks for sharing your photos. I really like the look of that area-- especially the older structures. I think it's clear across town from where I will settle initially, but I look forward to checking it out in person when I get back to Denver.
Re: the one you said could grow on you: I like that the builder seemed to try to incorporate some of the design features of the older architecture so the structure isn't completely incongruent with its surroundings. That's the kind of redevelopment I favor.
this place looks pretty nice... and quite an array of arch. curious to know if this is one of the more expensive neigh's in Denver. I think someone had suggested this neigh as a place to afford a house under $200K. Clearly some of these homes are worth much more than that.
Just looking at these pics makes my lips chapped! ay
I have a question, why is that pretty much all old buildings... homes, churches, government buildings, libraries... why do they all have tons of steps you have to climb from the sidewalk to the front entrance? I almost never see old buildings where the first floor is at ground level. I'd imagine it must have been a nightmare for people in wheelchairs to get around.
Location: Governor's Park/Capitol Hill, Denver, CO
1,536 posts, read 6,087,637 times
Reputation: 1131
Thanks for the comments!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scott5280
Looks like You took some of these these Pics. yesterday afternoon; if so we could have ran into each other. I stopped in the neighborhood for at slice at Basil Docs ,and looked at a house with a friend. I see where Forest Room Five gave way to El Camino a while ago, supposed to be some pretty wicked margs. in there at least that's the word on the street.. probably pretty old news, but I don't hang in Highland very often any more..Seeing the Parlour always makes me think about Boulder.. the first location he had.. I used to frequent that one back in the day on Walnut street.. Great shots as usual Aztec.
I was in the area for Open Doors Denver and probably drove right past you! I will have to try out the margs.!
Quote:
Originally Posted by katenik
Thanks for sharing your photos. I really like the look of that area-- especially the older structures. I think it's clear across town from where I will settle initially, but I look forward to checking it out in person when I get back to Denver.
Re: the one you said could grow on you: I like that the builder seemed to try to incorporate some of the design features of the older architecture so the structure isn't completely incongruent with its surroundings. That's the kind of redevelopment I favor.
Just wait until you see my East Highlands thread, not much thought was given with trying to fit in with the area. It is more about accessing the view of downtown and being unique among the other newbies. However, I do love some of them and they kept many of the corners still in tack with business store fronts. Highly recommend just driving up to the area and just getting lost.
Quote:
Originally Posted by thedrizzlemonster
this place looks pretty nice... and quite an array of arch. curious to know if this is one of the more expensive neigh's in Denver. I think someone had suggested this neigh as a place to afford a house under $200K. Clearly some of these homes are worth much more than that.
Just looking at these pics makes my lips chapped! ay
You could easily pay $600,000 for 1/2 a new/modern duplex up to over a million for a redone Victorian. On the other hand, some of the small frame homes could be 150,000 if in bad shape. That is part of the appeal of the area, it is about buying lots for new construction. The most expensive mortgages I have heard of in Denver are still being built, that would be $10 million for 1/2 the penthouse in the new Four Seasons. After that would be the condos in the Golden Triangle followed by the Denver Country Club/Bonnie Brae/Parkhill areas. Cherry Hills Village would be the most expensive suburb.
Quote:
Originally Posted by vegaspilgrim
Another solid neighborhood tour, DenverAztec!
I have a question, why is that pretty much all old buildings... homes, churches, government buildings, libraries... why do they all have tons of steps you have to climb from the sidewalk to the front entrance? I almost never see old buildings where the first floor is at ground level. I'd imagine it must have been a nightmare for people in wheelchairs to get around.
Good question, and the last time I was asked this was by a Phoenician, you must have spent too much time down there?
If you think back to who was building these homes and neighborhoods, you have to consider where they came from. Europeans and the rich from back east. Given that Denver was well known for major flooding along the Platt River, the Highlands had great appeal. However, even in the Highlands the lakes (Rocky Mtn., Berekely, Lakeside's lake) could all overflow and flood the neighborhoods prior to drainage systems and paved roads. I don't know if any on of the lake up in that area are man made. But even a simple rain or especially quick snow melt could cause flooding of your property and home. So you will see most historic homes throughout Denver with a built up hill 2 to 3 feet above the street level.
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we are the knights of neigh!
I'd imagine it must have been a nightmare for people in wheelchairs to get around.
