Get the scoop on Landmark Preservation's online services
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Since the start of the city's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Denver Landmark Preservation has remained open for business, with planners working from home offices across the city. Here is a quick overview of our online services while the Webb Municipal Building remains closed, along with our usual quarterly update on local preservation news.
- Applications can be submitted by email to landmark@denvergov.org for all landmark processes including design review and designation, along with other permit applications types. Read instructions for all other types of online submitals at DenverGov.org/epermits.
- The Landmark Preservation Commission and Lower Downtown Design Review Commission moved online during the city's stay-at-home order, holding meetings virtually. As the order comes to an end next week, we will continue to prioritize the health of staff, commission members and the public by allowing for virtual participation as the commissions transition back to in-person meetings. Visit each commission's page for upcoming agenda information and instructions on how to participate online.
- As the city continues work to limit the transmission of COVID-19, numerous support services are available for individuals, families and businesses in need of assistance. Please reach out if you need help during these challenging times.
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Pursuit of good health is built into Denver history
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Questions and concerns about health have shaped Denver's history from the city's founding through the flu pandemic of 1918 and others that followed. A number of local landmarks and districts have direct association with health facilities as well as prominent individuals who came to the city in pursuit of the health benefits associated with the city's altitude and dry climate.
One prominent example is
the Molkerey
, a Denver landmark built in 1898 by Baron Walter von Richthofen to serve as a tuberculosis health spa. Richthofen was the founder of the Montclair neighborhood, which was advertised as a healthy retreat from the city, specifically for tuberculosis sufferers, and designed with plenty of open air. Now known as the Montclair Civic Center, this landmark sits in Montclair Park and features a prime example of a “sleeping porch,” a common feature among houses built for TB sufferers. The first floor was a cattle barn which provided milk to the second-floor tuberculosis patients, hence its original name.
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Regis neighborhood on deck for Discover Denver
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Volunteers help survey homes like this one in Congress Park.
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Denver's citywide building survey, a joint project with Historic Denver, Inc., will continue its work in the Regis neighborhood this summer. Project staff and volunteers had already begun documenting buildings in the neighborhood when the city’s stay-at-home order was implemented. Work will begin again as soon as it is safe to do so with the appropriate safety measures in place.
The goals of Discover Denver are to identify buildings throughout the city having historical, architectural, or cultural significance, and to educate the public about the city’s history. The project has documented buildings in neighborhoods across Denver, most recently in the Congress Park and West Colfax neighborhoods. Recent discoveries include the homes of Colorado’s first female airplane pilot, Angela Joseph, noted photographer Charles Nast, and Nona Brooks, a founder of the Divine Science Movement.
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For more information on Discover Denver, or to learn about opportunities to volunteer with the project, visit
DiscoverDenver.co
.
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If these walls could talk:
Newest landmark is chock full of history
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The Denver City Council voted in January to designate a Mission Revival style home in North Park Hill as historic for its architecture, geography and its association with not one, not two, but three people significant to Denver's history.
Denverite
and 9News both reported on the former home of real estate developer Charles Marble Kittredge, attorney Charles Ginsberg and mountaineer William “Bill” Forrest. Watch the segment that aired on Next with Kyle Clark below.
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Giving buildings new life through adaptive reuse
Recently, as part of the planning process for the East and East Central Areas, community members in the neighborhoods along East Colfax Avenue expressed the desire to preserve the vibrancy of this unique--and uniquely local--commercial corridor, one that oozes authenticity, identity and history. In response, Community Planning & Development will test an adaptive reuse program along East Colfax, from Broadway to Yosemite Street, with the goal of expanding it to other parts of the city. Adaptive reuse--the process of using an building for a purpose other than what it was built for--one of the strongest tools for preserving a historic building.
Great examples of adaptive reuse are already plentiful along the East Colfax corridor, including the former Galaxie Auto Body shop at Colfax Avenue and Monroe Street, which now houses several local businesses.
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One of Denver's most prominent and successful examples of adaptive reuse is the REI Denver flagship store located at the confluence of the South Platte River and Cherry Creek. Built in 1901, the building was designed to house boilers and engines used to generate electricity for the Denver Tramway Company’s streetcar system and operated as such until the 1950s. It then became a warehouse, a museum and finally an REI store. Its adaptability has helped prolong its life and preservation as an iconic destination in Denver.
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Stay tuned!
Almost any building can be adaptively reused with some ingenuity. Doing so helps maintain the unique historic character of our neighborhoods and commercial areas. It also helps achieve sustainability by reusing resources and infrastructure. The study for Denver's adaptive reuse program on East Colfax will be done this summer.
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Happy National Preservation Month!
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It's that time of year again! The month of May offers an opportunity to highlight preservation and celebrate the buildings and districts throughout the city that tell the story of its history, architecture, geography and culture.
Current physical distancing may not allow for us to celebrate together, but we can still share the love on social media
. Post images of your favorite historic buildings--the ones that are local landmarks and the ones that aren't--and tell us what you love about them.
We'll be sharing our favorites on our Instagram account, which we refocused earlier this year to highlight the work of our landmark team: @denver_landmark. Tag us on your posts and use the hashtags #PreservationMonth #ThisPlaceMatters #ThisPlaceMattersDenver #SavingPlaces.
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City Council Honors Preservation
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At its meeting Monday, May 4, the Denver City Council officially proclaimed May National Preservation Month. Council Member Debbie Ortega sponsored the proclamation.
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Thanks for reading! Stay safe and protected!
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Statues outside Denver's newest landmark in North Park Hill observe proper physical distancing.
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About Landmark Preservation
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Staff in our Landmark Preservation office and two landmark boards carry out that mission through design review, historic surveys and landmark designations. Staff also assists owners of historic properties by providing guidance and resources for preserving, maintaining and rehabilitating historic buildings and properties. You can learn more about Denver's preservation efforts at
Denvergov.org/landmark
.
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