UNIVERSITY PARK

HISTORIC CONTEXT
ARCHITECTURAL STYLE GUIDE
PRESERVATION PRIORITIES
JULY 2020

University Park Community Council Square Moon Consultants LLC

HISTORIC CONTEXT

THEME: UNIVERSITY PARK: UTOPIAN

COLONY AND SUBURB ON THE
SOUTH DENVER PLAINS

PLACE: UNIVERSITY PARK BOUNDARIES

TIME: 1885-1969
UNIVERSITY PARK COLONY, 1885-1894

Henry Warren Henry Buchtel

John Evans Lizzie Iliff Warren

• JOHN EVANS – Northwestern University/Evansville, Illinois, Founder Colorado

Seminary, Investor in Denver & New Orleans Railroad (later Colorado & Southern)
• ELIZABETH ILIFF WARREN – Wealthy Widow, Instigator of Relocation of Colorado
Seminary, Real Estate Investor
• HENRY WARREN – Colorado’s first Methodist Bishop, 2nd Husband of Lizzie
• HENRY BUCHTEL – Methodist Minister, Leader, Fundraiser, later Chancellor, Governor
UNIVERSITY PARK COLONY, 1885-1894

Denver
UNIVERSITY PARK COLONY, 1885-1894

S. University Blvd.
Jewell Avenue

Robert St. Clair and

Rufus Clark’s
his sister Esther
February 1886 E. Evans Ave.
Truesdale sold this
transfer of 80
320 acres to the
acres to the
Colorado
Colorado
Seminary for its
Seminary for Iliff Ave.
residential colony in
its campus.
Spring 1886.

S. Colorado Blvd.
UNIVERSITY PARK COLONY, 1885-1894
UNIVERSITY PARK COLONY, 1885-1894

EARLY RESIDENCES,
1887-1890
UNIVERSITY PARK COLONY, 1885-1894

FIRST COMMERCIAL
BUILDING - 1888
UNIVERSITY PARK COLONY, 1885-1894

Residents Herbert and Fannie Howe – an observatory

and a home – 1889-1894
UNIVERSITY PARK COLONY, 1885-1894
UNIVERSITY PARK COLONY, 1885-1894

FITZROY PLACE – HOME OF HENRY AND ELIZABETH WARREN, 1893

UNIVERSITY PARK COLONY, 1885-1894

• SILVER PANIC OF 1893

• SOUTH DENVER COULD NOT SERVICE
ITS WATER SYSTEM DEBT
• FEBRUARY 1894: 288 VS. 100
RESIDENTS OF SOUTH DENVER VOTE
FOR ANNEXATION BY DENVER
• UNIVERSITY PARK IS NOW IN DENVER!
UNIVERSITY PARK COLONY, 1885-1894
 THE STRUGGLE FOR STABILITY, 1895-1899

• DU ENROLLMENT PLUMMETS
• DU IN HEAVY DEBT AND HOLDS ONTO LOTS
• PROFESSORS AND STUDENTS SURVIVE BY LIVING IN
DU-OWNED HOUSING
• FIRST REAL ESTATE SPECULATION IN SUBDIVISIONS
AROUND UNIVERSITY PARK
(NORTH OF JEWELL AND SOUTH
OF ILIFF)
• EARLY INVESTORS LIKE
JOHN AND MAGGIE BABCOCK
GO BUST!
THE STRUGGLE FOR STABILITY, 1895-1899

1898: FROM 2 STREETCAR LINES TO -0-

1899: WILL ILIFF AND OTHERS SAVE THE DAY
WITH A NEW STREETCAR LINE TO DENVER!
A SOUTH DENVER SUBURB TAKES SHAPE, 1900-1920

• HENRY BUCHTEL COMES TO DU AND

UNIVERSITY PARK
• BUCHTEL IS FUNDRAISER
EXTRAORDINAIRE AND DU IS FREE
AND CLEAR OF DEBT IN 1903!
• ILIFF SCHOOL CLOSES THEN SPINS OFF
FROM DU AND REOPENS
• HENRY AND MARY BUCHTEL
BUILD BUNGALOW IN 1906
A SOUTH DENVER SUBURB TAKES SHAPE, 1900-1920
A SOUTH DENVER SUBURB TAKES SHAPE, 1900-1920
A SOUTH DENVER SUBURB TAKES SHAPE, 1900-1920

2111 S. Clayton (1910)

2075 S. Columbine
(1906)
3109 E. Warren (1910)

2288 S. Milwaukee
2112 S. Columbine (1906) (1902)
A SOUTH DENVER SUBURB TAKES SHAPE, 1900-1920
MATURING SUBURB, 1921-1937

• HOUSING GROWTH BOOMS

• SMALL HOUSES PREVAIL
• FIRST APARTMENTS APPEAR AT
S. JOSEPHINE AND E. EVANS
MATURING SUBURB, 1921-1937

• SACO DEBOER’S 1923

PLAN
• MORE TREES, A
BOULEVARD AND GULCH
IMPROVEMENTS
MATURING SUBURB, 1921-1937
MATURING SUBURB, 1921-1937
ARSENAL OF DEMOCRACY & MID-CENTURY BOOM, 1938-1969

• THE GREAT DEPRESSION BRINGS

THE FHA “MINIMUM HOUSE” TO
UNIVERSITY PARK!
• UNIVERSITY PARK LUMBER
COMPANY PARTICIPATES

1949 house at 2349 S. Madison

1936 Model FHA Minimum 1941 House at 2447 S. St Paul

House
ARSENAL OF DEMOCRACY & MID-CENTURY BOOM, 1938-1969

1946 Veto house, 2200 E Monroe Street

ARSENAL OF DEMOCRACY & MID-CENTURY BOOM, 1938-1969

• PARK VILLA SUBDIVISION OF 1960

• EARLY CONDO RESIDENCES FOR
DENVER
• PLUS A NEARBY MIX OF ONE- AND
TWO-STORY HOMES

Park Villa Condominiums, 3900 Block of E. Evans Avenue (south side)

ARSENAL OF DEMOCRACY & MID-CENTURY BOOM, 1938-1969

• 1964 BOND ELECTION TO

IMPROVE THE DITCH AND
CONTAIN FLOODING
• “THE SLOUGH” TURNS INTO
HARVARD GULCH IN 1967
• CREATED ROBERT McWILLIAMS
PARK
• NEIGHBORHOOD BUILT OUT BY
1969
ARSENAL OF DEMOCRACY & MID-CENTURY BOOM, 1938-1969
ARCHITECTURAL STYLE GUIDE

• ARCHITECTURAL TRENDS
COMPARED WITH DENVER
• PREVALENT ARCHITECTURAL
STYLES
• DISTINCTIVE PHYSICAL
CHARACTERISTICS OF
NEIGHBORHOOD
ARCHITECTURAL STYLE GUIDE
ROMANESQUE REVIVAL (1890-1900)

Character-Defining Features

• Masonry walls, typically rough-faced stone

• If Shingle Style, wood framing is covered
with shingles
• Rounded arches over entry and/or
windows Chamberlin Observatory , 2930 E. Warren Ave., 1894

• Deeply cavernous entryways and window

openings
• At DU, both Iliff and University Halls were
influenced by the Romanesque

Fitzroy Place, 2160 S. Cook, 1893

ARCHITECTURAL STYLE GUIDE
QUEEN ANNE (1887-1910)

Character-Defining Features

• Brick house
• Complex roofs
• Prominent front-facing gable(s)
• Projecting and recessed wall planes, and
towers Complex roof with front-
facing gables
• Decorated wall surfaces and gable ends
• 1-story porch, often wraparound
Prominent
• Wood ornamentation front gable

Tower
Wraparound Porch
ARCHITECTURAL STYLE GUIDE

TRANSITIONAL: QUEEN ANNE TO

FOURSQUARE (1890-1899)

EARLY 1890S FORERUNNER HOMES TO FIRST “TRUE” FOURSQUARE 1895

FOURSQUARE
ARCHITECTURAL STYLE GUIDE
FOURSQUARE / CLASSIC COTTAGE
(c.1895-1920)

Character-Defining Features

• 1 or 2-story boxy brick house

• Four main rooms per floor
• Low hipped roof with central front
dormer
• Deep overhanging roof eaves (often
flared)
• Flat, relatively unadorned facade with
rectangular windows
• 1-story porch along façade, often
off-center in University Park
ARCHITECTURAL STYLE GUIDE

EARLY BUNGALOWS:
• ROBERTS HOUSE (above, 1906)
• BUCHTEL BUNGALOW (1906)
ARCHITECTURAL STYLE GUIDE False half-timbering Brackets

BUNGALOW (1901-1930)

Character-Defining Features
Brick knee wall

• 1 or 1-1/2 story brick house

• Low-slung roof
• Deep overhanging roof eaves
• Exposed rafter tails
• Front porch along façade
• Blocky brick porch columns
• Arts & Crafts-influenced styling, such
as brackets/knee-braces, false half-
timbering, stickwork, and “battered”
(upward slope) columns
ARCHITECTURAL STYLE GUIDE Flanking chimneys

COLONIAL REVIVAL (1905-1969)

Divided lite windows

Character-Defining Features Centered

entry

• Brick, stuccoed, or clapboard house

Classical porch columns
• Hipped or side-gabled roof
• Often with emphasized roof cornice (with
dentil molding), dormers, and flanking
chimneys
• Symmetrical façade with centered paneled
door Window shutters Pediment over
door
• Classical door surround and pediment
• Classical details, such as fanlights, small Divided lite windows
columns, balustrades, and window shutters
ARCHITECTURAL STYLE GUIDE
TUDOR REVIVAL (1920-1945)

Character-Defining Features

• Asymmetrical facade
• Modest examples feature one or more steeply
pitched front-facing gables on a main side-gabled
roof
• Façade often features multiple materials, including
brick and stuccoing
• Entries often feature round-arch doorways or
awnings, and are often emphasized with other
whimsical details
• Prominent chimneys and false half-timbering are
common
 University Park Methodist Episcopal Church,
2180 S. University, 1928

ARCHITECTURAL STYLE GUIDE

(COLLEGIATE) GOTHIC REVIVAL (1928-1950)

Character-Defining Features

• Masonry buildings
• Masonry continues up roof gables
• Extensive use of pointed arches
• Crenelated parapets reminiscent of
Medieval castles Margery Reed Mayo Hall , DU Campus, 1929

• Additional exterior supports on the wall

faces
• “Stone,” often terracotta, carvings around
doors, windows, and at entry

Sorority House, 2258 S. Josephine, 1949

ARCHITECTURAL STYLE GUIDE
MODERNISM (1932-1969)

Character-Defining Features

• Flat or low-sloped roofs

• Simple in design, typically with one primary
exterior material on façade
• Smooth unornamented wall surfaces with
unobtrusive entries
• Curved projections and shapes can occur
• Windows set flush with outer wall
ARCHITECTURAL STYLE GUIDE
RANCH STYLE (1940-1969)

Character-Defining Features

• One-story sprawling houses built low to the

ground
• Low pitched gabled and hipped roofs, often
with moderate or wide roof overhangs
• Gable ends typically feature horizontal
wood siding
• Exteriors can be brick; some with wood
siding
• Picture windows and horizontally-oriented
windows
• Some examples have shutters, cupolas, and
dove cotes
PRESERVATION PRIORITIES

• UNIVERSITY PARK HAS A RICH

AND SIGNIFICANT HISTORY!
• DISTINCTIVE ARCHITECTURAL
HERITAGE
• HOMES OF IMPORTANT
PERSONS
• TREE-LINED BLOCKS
• CONSIDER INCREASING
PROTECTIONS AND HISTORIC
DESIGNATIONS
 PRESERVATION PRIORITIES

CATEGORIZATION OF SIGNIFICANT HISTORIC

PROPERTIES:
“1+” PRESERVATION PRIORITY
• HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT FOR ARCHITECTURE AND
ASSOCIATED PEOPLE
• PROMINENT LOCATION IN NEIGHBORHOOD / AN
OBVIOUS LANDMARK
• UNIQUE AND ENDANGERED
• HIGHEST PRIORITY FOR DESIGNATION

QUALIFYING PROPERTIES: 27 AND 1 HISTORIC DISTRICT

2122 S. Clayton

2140 S. Clayton
 PRESERVATION PRIORITIES

CATEGORIZATION OF SIGNIFICANT HISTORIC

PROPERTIES:
“1” PRESERVATION PRIORITY
• SIGNIFICANT FOR ARCHITECTURE
• SIGNIFICANT PERSONS (IN SOME CASES)
• PROMINENT LOCATION IN NEIGHBORHOOD /
A LANDMARK

QUALIFYING PROPERTIES: 21 AND 2 HISTORIC

DISTRICTS (BUCHTEL BOULEVARD AND PARK VILLA)
 PRESERVATION PRIORITIES

CATEGORIZATION OF SIGNIFICANT HISTORIC

PROPERTIES:
“2” PRESERVATION PRIORITY
• AT LEAST MEDIUM SIGNIFICANCE FOR
ARCHITECTURE
• AT LEAST MEDIUM SIGNIFICANCE IN TERMS OF A
PROMINENT LOCATION
• MORE RESEARCH NEEDED

QUALIFYING PROPERTIES: 28 AND 1 HISTORIC

DISTRICT (EVANS-JOSEPHINE APARTMENT DISTRICT)