CURRENT ISSUES

East 7th Avenue- Steele Street Extension Protects Judge Raymond Jones Home As the pandemic raged in 2020 and 2021 residents of the 600 and 700 blocks of Steele Street talked on Zoom, on porches, and on-line about pursuing a small historic district designation, just two blocks long and immediately adjacent to the existing East 7th…

The Effort to Save one of Park Hill’s Oldest Homes In April 2022, Denver City Council unanimously made the 1889 Queen Anne house at 3435 Albion St. a local landmark, protecting it from demolition. The designation followed a year of uncertainty for the building, known as the Robinson House, during which Historic Denver helped to…

On March 25th, 2021 Historic Denver’s board and staff came together for a special session dedicated to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access. The meeting was the culmination of six months of work by a board task force convened to dive deeper into this work, its intersection with historic preservation and historical interpretation, and to make…

Denver murals named to list of most endangered historic places in America In 2018 Historic Denver began a partnership with Chicano/a/x Murals of Colorado Project (CMCP) to help preserve murals important to Denver’s cultural heritage. Supported through Historic Denver’s Action Fund, phase one implementation of this project will focus on preserving four of the earliest…

Treat Hall, now know as Centennial Hall, was fully rehabilitated by JWU and is now protected by an easement held by Historic Denver. 110-Year-Old Campus has New Owners On the eastern edge of Park Hill, on what was once the vast open prairie, sits a campus that has endured ups and downs and served generations…

Interior of Machine Shop 5. A Unique, Industrial Historic Site Situated in an industrial corridor near the South Platte River and 1-25, the Burnham Yard property recently changed hands following more than a century of ownership by major railroads. Full plans for the site and its historic buildings are not yet developed. Historic Denver hopes…

East Area Plan Projects Vision for Six Core Neighborhoods In 2018, Denver City Council adopted an update to Blueprint Denver, a citywide land use and transportation plan. As follow-up, the City Planning Office is now creating plans for collections of neighborhoods across Denver through a process called the Neighborhood Planning Initiative. The East Central Area…

Changing the Demolition vs. Designation Paradigm In a Sept. 30, 2019 meeting, Denver City Council unanimously approved updates to the city’s landmark preservation ordinance, also known as Chapter 30 of the Denver Revised Municipal Code. The updates, which will greatly improve the landmark process with more inclusion and creative problem-solving, include: Shifting the way time…

Googie Diner to be Saved, Now Listed on National Register The Googie‐style building at Colfax & Pearl, known to many as Tom’s Diner, will be saved from demolition and reinvented through a partnership between GBX Group and the longtime owner. The diner first garnered public attention in May 2019 when the City of Denver posted…

Larimer Square Gets a New Owner In December 2020, Larimer & Associates sold Larimer Square to Asana Partners of North Carolina, following a three-year period of uncertainty for the block. Asana, which owns historic structures in other cities, including Dallas, Los Angeles, and Alexandria, Virginia, has indicated its commitment to restoring the block. Why It…