Winter In The 9th Street Historic District

Lately, I have altered my routine when walking around downtown Denver by getting off the light rail train at Auraria West on the way home, walking through the 9th Street Historic District, and then taking an alternate line home. Auraria is now a college campus that includes the University of Colorado at Denver, Metropolitan State University, and the Community College of Denver, but was once an independent town, and is one of Denver's oldest neighborhoods. That historic neighborhood is gone now, except for one street that was preserved, and is now used to house university offices. The photograph on the left is of what was once the neighborhood grocery store, and now a restaurant.

The photograph on the right shows some of the typical residences in the neighborhood, some of which date from 1873. The neighborhood started out as rather upscale. However, when it was torn down to build the university complex, it was an Hispanic neighborhood, and I suspect residents did not have the political clout to stop the destruction of their homes. These days, if the city tried something like that, the historic preservationists would be all over them.

I did notice that one of the buildings was home to the Auraria Faculty-Staff Club. I myself worked for the University of Denver Bookstore for almost 30 years, and in that time there was never any kind of club for faculty and staff. They did occasionally have a Friday afternoon get-together at the pub, but it started at 3:00 P.M. If I had decided to leave work early on those occasions, I probably would have been fired. Hardly worth it for a couple of beers.

And yes! That is a Second Empire Style home in the photograph on the right. I am not sure what it is used for these days, but I for one would be perfectly happy to live there. Of course, I would have to lock all the doors to keep those pesky students out, but I suspect it would be worth it. Perhaps I should make an offer.