Colorado Real Estate: The Denver Neighborhood Roundup

Denver,Colorado, a mid-sized metro area with roots in the gold rush, a present in technology and other trendy business and commerce concerns, and a future that's going places, is gaining popularity with relocators of all kinds. This city with its wide and varied reputation for altitude, attidtude, and sometime platitude.

Barnum

From West 6th Avenue to Alameda Avenue and from Federal Boulevard to Sheridan Boulevard lies a little Denver neighborhood with a big history. In 1882, P.T. Barnum--yes, THE P.T. Barnum--purchased 760 acres of Denver dirt as a winter hiatus hot spot. While he was at it, it's been said that Barnum took the liberty of naming many of the streets in the neighborhood after show-biz folk, although in this day and age, it's hard to tell who's who. With street names like King, Newton, and Perry, people of the Generation X persuation are likely to assume that the corresponding first names might be Larry, Wayne, and Steve, but who's counting?

Annexed to the city of Denver in the late 1800s, Barnum listings are relatively plentiful now, especially considering the rest of the west Denver markets such as Sloan's Lake, Highland, and Lakewood. With home prices from the 50s--yes, THE 50s--to a max of about $275K, Barnum is perhaps the most approachable starter neighborhood in the Denver metro family. Barnum Elementary, a school of about 480 students, was built in 1921 in a Spanish Colonial Revival style, and is surrounded by their other historic folks, such as the Bowman house at King Street and West Fourth Avenue, and the 1890s retail building at West 1st Avenue and Hooker Streets.

Clement's Addition

What It Is: Clement's Addition is a little sliver of old Denver; it's the oldest intact block of housing in Denver, along with Curtis Park, which remains remarkably intact north of 23rd Street. South of the line, however, there isn't much residential remaining with any regularity. The exception is the Arapahoe Square area, with what is becoming a less sparsely-housed neighborhood just west of Clement's. Clement's Addition proper is the one surviving block that staved off the bulldozers and wrecking balls of the mid-70 that made way for the 1976 Winter Olympics Housing. It's also often lumped in with another historic Denver neighborhood: Uptown.

Hilltop

Near Cranmer Park, where the dog-walkers, strollers and pee-wee soccer leagues roam, and over near Graland Country Day School, founded in 1924, is one of Denver's most regaled historic neighborhoods: Hilltop.

Often mixed in with other neighborhoods for its proximity to Crestmoor, Mayfair, Cherry Creek, Bellvue, Belcaro, and Montclair, Hilltop is in the mix of old and new business and lifestyle developments in Denver. It's near some of Denver's most renowned restaurants, and is a long-time companion to the arts and culture scene. Today, the face of Hilltop is, like most other places, changing. While many small homes have been razed and rebuilt, or enlarged to accommodate today's tastes, some of the historical flavor and architecture remains, despite the trend toward lot-splitting that took over neighborhood real estate conversations around 2000. A few lots are being consumed almost in their entirety by large homes, but the number of these corner-to-corner builds are pretty limited. For now, Hilltop is a mature neighborhood of, for now, mature residents. Childless couples and empty nesters have dominated the Hilltop landscape for many years. What kinds of demographic turns the neighborhood will take is unfolding now.

Washington Park

Washington Park has long been one of Denver's best-loved and best-bet neighborhoods; the draws to it are: its long-standing reputation, its charming, old Denver aura, the schools, accessibility to Downtown, and its 165-acre park of, not coincidentally, the same name.

The Washington Park homes in Denver are nestled between I-25 (to the south), Cherry Creek Drive /East Alameda (to the north), University Boulevard (at the east end), and Downing Street (at the west). Known as Wash Park, the area has always been a beloved respite for singles, marrieds, families, retirees, dog people, runners, and just plain folks who played their real estate cards right.

Bonnie Brae

It is often said that, "everything old is new again." As for Denver real estate, this statement is being shouted from the Art Moderne and English Tudor rooftops of Bonnie Brae properties. With a lower median home price than its neighbors in 80209 and 80210, Bonnie Brae is a diamond, not in the rough, but on the top of the hill.

Lauded for its charming village feel, the central ellipse of the area and varied architecture reflect Bonnie Brae's established historic roots. While close proximity to fine dining and recreation harkens back to its roaring 20's attitude, the short walk or drive to these areas provide the fun without a long commute.

Park Hill

There's a tendency when in Denver to look west. It's where the natural beauty of the mountains are, which is still the way that some residents figure out which cardinal direction they're driving. During the daytime, that it. But there's the other side of Denver, the east side, and one of those sections of Denver that's east of center is an historic and celebrated part of Denver known as Park Hill.

Park Hill, hemmed in by Colorado Boulevard on the west, East Colfax Avenue on the south, Quebec Street on the east, and East 52nd Avenue on the north, is often further dissected by the City and County of Denver into three administrative neighborhoods: South Park Hill, North Park Hill, and Northeast Park Hill. Montview Boulevard and Monaco Parkway are main thoroughfares, recognized by their wide lanes and tree-lined medians. And for those of you who remember when Denver's airport was a little closer to downtown, you know Park Hill as the close, older neighbor to the new Stapelton community, named for its predecessor, Stapelton International Airport.

Congress Park

It was public transportation in the late 1800s that made many of Denver's neighborhoods possible. And it was the pollution that drove residents to the outskirts of Denver, where the air quality was better. These are the simple Gold Rush roots of Denver neighborhoods such as Congress Park and Capitol Hill. Today, Congress Park and Capitol Hill are cohesive communities that join together in front of old homes and mature trees to keep their little parcels of Denver beautiful and unique.

The Congress Park neighborhood in Denver is a classic in the middle of some of Denver's best attractions. Considered the place where Denver proper gets some of its best flavor, it's also a place where families, couples, professionals, seniors, natives, and a wide variety of other kinds of residents gather together under the banner of community. It's where you'll find "old Denver" favorites such as City Park, home of the Denver Zoo, Gates Planetarium, and the Natural History Museum. At the southwest corner of the area, you'll find Cheesman Park and the renowned National Jewish Medical and Research Center. Minutes from Capitol Hill and Downtown Denver, Congress Park strikes a happy medium for those who want to live where a lot of the action is, without sacrificing the architectural character and diversity of areas that have been razed and rebuilt with new construction and/or high-rise buildings.

Downtown Denver

• Ballpark--Where you'll find funky warehouses near a major league baseball field, the city's best flea and farmer's markets, and the gambit of homes. New construction and apartments are in abundance, and many more are planned here, guaranteeing continued growth and development.



• Capitol Hill--The neighborhood that offers the city's widest range in housing types and price ranges. Commercial buildings have been transformed into mixed-use housing projects, and vacant lots have given rise to new construction housing developments.



• Curtis Park--Super accessible, it's the oldest residential neighborhood in the city. Denver's flat-roofed row homes stand proudly beside classic, two-story Denver Square brick houses, and Denver's ubiquitous Queen Anne-style homes with second floor porches.



• Central Platte Valley-- Made famous by Jack Kerouac when he wrote about the rail yards of Denver in "On the Road" in the 1940s, you'll find red-bricked buildings with ground floor retail and restaurants and residential lofts above.



• Golden Triangle--A mixed-use neighborhood located in the middle of it all, between Speer Boulevard, Colfax Avenue and Lincoln Street. Find funky row homes and classic Denver bungalows, and modern high-end condominiums and lofts.



• Highland--Check out row houses, duplexes, apartments above retail shops, grand Victorian and Queen Anne mansions, and post-WW II era single family detached houses. You'll also find some lofts, condos, studios and small offices in the form of warehouse renovations.



• Lower Downtown--Nearly lost forever when many of its historic buildings were demolished in the '70s and '80s, Lo Do is home to million dollar lofts and apartments built above historic buildings, with retail and entertainment below.



• Uptown--Denver Squares, Victorians, bungalows, Queen Anne-style houses with second-story porches and much more are Uptown's staples. And it's a little roomier, with more single family homes on tree-lined boulevards that separate sidewalks from the street.

With these and many more neighborhoods in the Denver metro area, and many more, it's easy to see why a recent CNN poll listed Denver as one of the most coveted cities in the United States.