Saving old buildings is probably the least of Historic Denver’s amazing accomplishments over 35 years. The group’s true achievement is the recognition of how essential such structures – houses or public buildings – are to the character, integrity and sense of place that people need to feel at home in a memorable city.
Perhaps most notable is how Historic Denver led the way to rejuvenate older neighborhoods. Instead of deteriorating into ugly wastelands, they star as among the most desirable places to live today.
Count the things we love about Denver, that make it special and desirable, and Historic Denver’s fine hand is certainly in the mix. The developers of Lower Downtown were actually Johnny-come-latelies, capitalizing on the legacy of fine 19th century commercial brick buildings that Historic Denver supporters kept from demolition when the new-must-be-better guys tried to tear them down in the 1980s. The result is a unique mix of old and new that’s attractive, inviting and people-pleasing.
Likewise, the 16th Street Mall features old buildings with the architectural detail lacking in new construction. The Daniels & Fisher Tower, a landmark beckoning visitors across the Plains to the big city since 1911, was saved from the wrecking ball. The Paramount Theatre, last of downtown’s dozen or so gilded movie palaces, was a victory. The Old Spaghetti Factory, originally the Denver City Cable Railway Building and a marvel of the bricklayers’ skill, was a Historic Denver save.
Reaction to federal urban renewal in the late ’60s and ’70s helped birth historic preservation efforts across the nation, and Colorado was no exception. A block of 13 charming Victorian houses on the Auraria campus was a 1973 urban renewal target saved by Historic Denver. Today, the Ninth Street Historic Park gives a rare glimpse of what neighborhoods were like a century ago. The Four Mile House, Denver’s oldest house, was doomed until Historic Denver crafted a support group.
There were constant battles with city officials, developers, money men. In retrospect, it’s astonishing that citizens could be so diligent in protecting and improving the city against what was general government apathy or downright antagonism. Petitions and protests were backed, savvy and innovative funding mechanisms developed to help achieve the goals.
Historic Denver was founded in 1970 to save the Molly Brown House, 1340 Pennsylvania St., once home of the fabled Titanic heroine. The owner hoped it could be saved, but wanted out, so Ann Love, wife of Gov. John Love, gathered a handful of interested residents to discuss options. Hundreds of others weary of losing beloved landmarks joined. It’s now a great house museum with some 55,000 visitors a year.
“I marvel at the broad vision of the Historic Denver founders … . They didn’t call it the Molly Brown group, but saw that historic preservation reaches across the city,” said Kathleen Brooker, Historic Denver’s executive director since 1992. Historic Denver is one of the largest private nonprofit preservation groups in the nation, and has sponsored annual home tours in historic neighborhoods since 1974. Additionally, grant programs offer dollars at crucial times.
It’s still a battle. Denver’s landmark ordinance is very weak, and many neighborhoods are not designated historic districts, but still where people want to live without developers taking them over and destroying the character. “There’s no historic districts south of Speer, even with such wonderful neighborhoods as Bonnie Brae, Observatory Park, Washington Park,” Brooker observed. “So they’re not protected.”
Money’s a constant challenge. “We have good grassroots support, but no great philanthropists,” said Elizabeth Schlosser, Historic Denver’s executive director from 1978-84, and now development officer for Colorado Preservation Inc.
Still, Denver is rich in people who care, Brooker and Schlosser noted. “Thinking of Historic Denver and what it’s accomplished, it’s a continuing parade of people and their passions. They love this place and are willing to put out the effort to make it better, to save and protect the buildings they think are important to the city,” Brooker said.
So Happy Birthday, Historic Denver. Few accomplish so much in three-plus decades.
Joanne Ditmer’s column on environmental and urban issues for The Post began in 1962 and now appears on the third Sunday of the month.
