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In a great display of solidarity, City Councilman Ed Thomas announced on December 3, 2001 that all nine Council Members present were prepared to join hands and “sing Kumbaya” over their unanimous support for the long awaited local landmarking of Evans School.

The school, built in1904 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1980, is a Classical Revival building which, even in its neglected state, commands center stage in the Golden Triangle neighborhood. It has been 27 years since owners acquired the handsome brick structure from Denver Public Schools and 27 years since children were educated here. In fact, it’s been 27 years since any activity has taken place at 1112 Acoma Street.

Owners Dick and Alan Eber, citing “pending development plans,” had long resisted local landmark designation, which would protect the building from overnight demolition. Historic Denver and the Golden Triangle Neighborhood Association joined together over a year ago to apply for local designation amidst fears for the school’s future in the then-booming condominium high-rise market, and in an effort to spur a positive reinvestment in the empty school.

Through the efforts of Councilman Thomas and members of the Council’s Land Use and Transportation Committee, an agreement was reached in June 2001: the Ebers would agree to the designation and the applicants (HDI and Golden Triangle) would wait for six months to allow the Ebers to complete development plans. The designation was official on December 3, but plans appear to be again on hold as the owners ponder whether or not to accept a $35,000 grant to carry out a structural assessment. The money was allocated to HDI by the Colorado Historical Society’s State Historical Fund last April. The clock is ticking on a second life for the school.

It is hoped the Eber brothers will announce their decision by the time this issue goes to press. Meanwhile, thanks go to a broad coalition of preservationists, historians, property owners, developers and city and state officials who turned out to move this highly visible and much loved building forward into a new life.