Recap: Curtis Park, Denver’s Oldest Residential Neighborhood

About the tour:

Curtis Park has existed for roughly 150 years and has a rich and complex history that our guide William (Bill) West of the Curtis Park Neighbors, Inc. knew very well. William West, a retired English Professor from the University of Colorado at Denver, has lived in Curtis Park for over 40 years. In 1997, he received a Distinguished Service Award from the University of Colorado for his preservation work in Denver’s oldest residential neighborhood. This tour on April 24, 2019, covered the neighborhood’s remarkable story and move at a comfortable pace.

About the neighborhood:

Curtis Park was a neighborhood before Colorado was officially a state and was included in the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. Denver was a jumping off point for many people seeking opportunity and fortune in the 19th century, and Curtis Park’s location followed the path of the city’s first horse-drawn streetcar line (built in 1871). From then on, the story of the neighborhood would mirror the story of Denver’s growth and development. Featuring hundreds of Italianate and Queen Anne style homes and welcoming wooden front porches that beckon visitors to linger, the architecture of the neighborhood is as friendly and compelling as the people who have lived there for generations. A culturally, socially and economically diverse community, Curtis Park is a truly special place.

Image courtesy of William West.