Victorian Denver

The City of Denver grew by leaps and bounds back in the late 19th Century, and as a result is filled with countless Victorian homes. Years ago, you could have picked one of these places up for a song, but now they sell at a premium. I suspect that when California began to become unaffordable, large numbers of people vacationing here from that state discovered just what bargains these places were, and snapped them up, in the process gentrifying many neighborhoods that in the past were considered kind of iffy. The mansion on the left was built in 1886 in the City Park West neighborhood, designed by well-known Denver architect William Lang. Later on it became a processing center for parolees, before being renovated and turned in the Castle Marne Bed and Breakfast. Not too long ago it was sold, and now seems to be a health club.

The Lumber Baron Inn, seen in the photograph on the right, was built for Scottish immigrant John Mouat back in 1890. Mouat was - great ready for it - a lumber baron. It too is a bed and breakfast, and located in the Potter Highlands neighborhood, which is a very desirable place to live these days, but back in 1970, not so much. In fact, the house was considered a tenement, and was the site of a double murder of two young women. One of them is rumored to haunt the place. The mansion was eventually restored and turned into a B&B. I have toured this place during the annual Open Doors Denver weekend, and must say both the house and the garden in the back are quite impressive.

Another impressive mansion is the Bosler House, located in the nearby Highlands neighborhood. It was built in 1875 and is one of the oldest houses in Denver. This house was also open for tours during Open Doors Denver, although I never got around to touring the place. As I understand it, the current owners bought it at a bargain price, and then spent several million dollars to restore it to its former glory. Hopefully this coming November, it will once again be open for tours, and I can finally get to see the inside of this mansion. This time I will not balk at the $10 admission fee.

The neighborhood that once had some of the best examples of Victorian homes was Auraria, which was founded in October of 1858, a month before the founding of Denver. It, along with the Highlands, was annexed by Denver the following year. Sadly, the entire neighborhood was leveled by the Denver Urban Renewal Authority to build the Auraria Campus, which now houses the University of Colorado at Denver, Metropolitan State University, and the Community College of Denver. A single block was preserved, and is now the 9th Street Historic District, part of which can be seen in the photograph on the right. This block is made up of many houses from the 1870s and 1880s, and are now used as university offices. A few months ago, former residents were invited to a ceremony honoring the neighborhood and its cultural heritage, but to me that is more or less an empty gesture. The damage has been done. These days the city would never have gotten away with tearing the place down, but that is little comfort to its former residents.