Partners Look to Designate National Western Stock Show Arena as Historic Landmark

A 1909 postcard featuring the Stadium Arena

As part of a goal to honor and interpret the rich history of the stock show site for future generations, the Mayor's Office of the National Western Center has applied to designate the Stadium Arena at 1325 E. 46th Ave. as a Denver landmark.

The Stadium Arena, built 1908-1909, is directly associated with the historical development of Denver and Colorado and of the National Western Stock Show, one of the largest and oldest stock shows still in operation in the United States. It was the sole entertainment venue for the show until 1952, when the Denver Coliseum opened. Although partially enclosed by the 1991 Stadium Hall, it is one of Denver's few examples of monumental Neoclassical style architecture outside of downtown. Its original brick oval-shaped walls are largely intact, allowing them to be readily revealed as proposed by the National Western Center Master Plan.

Stadium Arena today

Other preservation objectives related to the National Western Center include writing a comprehensive history of the site -- compiling written records, photos, timelines, oral histories, and interviews that capture the site's physical and historical evolution, western and cultural heritage, historical ties to agriculture and the meat-packing industry, and historical relationship with surrounding communities. The city also hopes to advance the historic designation of the Livestock Exchange Building at 4701 Marion St. and the Armour & Company Meat Packing Plant Office at 5001 National Western Dr., and will work with property owners toward this goal.

The National Western Center partners on the preservation project include the City and County of Denver, Western Stock Show Association, History Colorado, Historic Denver, Colorado State University and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. The Landmark Preservation Commission public hearing is scheduled for March 15th. Read the application at our historic designations page.

Homeowners on S. Lincoln Seek Historic District

The 200 block of South Lincoln Street

Homeowners in the 200 block of South Lincoln Street are seeking to designate their block as a historic district. The block encompasses 15 homes built between 1889 and 1895, all of which embody Queen Anne architecture. One of these homes (227 S. Lincoln St.) was designated an individual historic landmark in 2015.

The homes were designed by prominent Denver architect William Lang. The block is believed to be the largest collection of intact, co-located William Lang-designed Queen Anne houses. Of the 250 buildings that Lang designed in Denver, the most well-known are the Molly Brown House and Castle Marne Mansion. All of these homes have quintessential hallmarks of Queen Anne design, which often includes asymmetrical forms, steeply pitched roofs, varying wall textures, wrap-around porches and turned porch spindles.

The Landmark Preservation Commission public hearing is scheduled for March 15th. Read the application at our historic designations page.

Landmark Bosler House to be Sold

The Bosler House

A court has approved a receiver's request to list the historic Bosler House at 3209 W. Fairview for sale, in lieu of foreclosure. In May of 2015, the City and County of Denver began foreclosure proceedings on the house, and requested that the court appoint a receiver to act as a temporary caretaker, in order to help preserve and protect the house. The potential sale of this property marks a turning point in the city's ongoing effort to save the historic landmark.

A historic structure assessment begun in the summer of 2015 -- funded by a grant from History Colorado -- has concluded that unauthorized alterations over the last 20 years have left the Bosler House in fair to poor condition. The 200-page assessment identified critical structural problems caused by water infiltration from the open roof, and from other recent alterations such as removal of structural beams in the interior. Read the report (PDF) >>

"This is a difficult situation," said Brad Buchanan, executive director of Denver Community Planning and Development. "The sale of this house is a last resort and an unprecedented move - but a necessary one. Protecting our city's most treasured historic assets is something we take very seriously, and something that Denver's landmark preservation ordinance requires."

Despite the serious damage the house has sustained inside and out, the assessment indicates that the house can be restored by qualified engineers and historic preservation professionals performing major repairs. Learn more about the Bosler House at our website. Potential buyers should contact David Cohen at davidscohenpc@comcast.net.

Five Points Design Guidelines Underway

On February 24, Denver's landmark preservation planners hosted a community meeting on design guidelines for the Five Points Historic Cultural District. About 60 people attended, and discussed topics including public art, signs, infill massing and design, and reuse of historic buildings. Planners will incorporate the community's input into a design guidelines draft this spring, with review by the Landmark Preservation Commission to follow. Learn more at our website.

Discover Denver to Survey Elyria-Swansea Next

Houses in Globeville were surveyed this winter

Discover Denver -- a joint project between the City and County of Denver and Historic Denver, Inc., to survey every building citywide -- has completed its survey work in Globeville. Discover Denver staff and volunteers began surveying the neighborhood in mid-October, and wrapped up work in early February.

On Saturday, February 6, Discover Denver hosted "Globeville Discovery Day" at the historic Holy Transfiguration of Christ Church. At the event, current and former Globeville residents shared their historical knowledge about the buildings of the neighborhood, and surveyors shared information about the survey.

Discover Denver will begin survey work in the Elyria-Swansea neighborhood in early March. For more information on Discover Denver, or to learn about opportunities to volunteer with the project, visit DiscoverDenver.co.

2801 Welton Street Transforming

Before

During renovation

The building at 2801 Welton St. in the Five Points Historic Cultural District is nearing the end of its transformation. Known to some as Rice's Tap Room, the building has had a variety of retail uses since it was built in 1985. Today, Star Mesa Properties and Studio K2 Architecture are peeling away the layers of stucco and revealing and rehabilitating the original brick, window openings and a ghost sign touting the Yuye Cafe. The building is destined to have a new Welton-facing storefront and retail tenants.

LPC Adopts New Design Review Rules,
Updated Guidelines

Over the last few months, the Denver Landmark Preservation Commission (LPC) has put several changes in place to improve the design review process, especially for large-scale projects. The changes, which include two new customer guides, aim to clarify rules for property owners, formalize the process for community input in historic districts where registered neighborhood organizations (RNOs) are active and maintain design guidelines that are streamlined and responsive to current practices.

Design Review Improvements

In late October, the Landmark Preservation Commission adopted new design review rules on (1) the two-step design review process for infill construction, (2) pre-application requirements for design review projects, and (3) requirements for coordination with registered neighborhood organizations for large projects. The rules went into effect December 1.

View the newly adopted rules (PDF)

New Customer Guides

A new guide for infill projects, adopted by the LPC in November, walks customers through the design review process and provides a checklist and application form.

The RNO design review guide, adopted in January in support of the new rules formalizing coordination with registered neighborhood organizations for large projects, explains how that process fits into the timeline for design review and outlines requirements for both customers and neighborhoods.

View the infill guide (PDF)
View the RNO design review policy (PDF)
Visit the Design Review page for more on the design review process

Updates to Design Guidelines

The LPC adopted revisions to the Design Guidelines for Denver Landmark Structures and Districts to clarify and update processes to ensure the guidelines adhere to current practice. In addition, new character-defining features have been added for the Alamo Placita, Morgan's Subdivision, Witter-Cofield and Wyman historic districts, and existing character-defining features have been updated for the Baker, Ghost and Wolff historic districts.

For the complete PDF of the Design Guidelines, or a chapter-by-chapter listing, as well as the character-defining features, visit the Design Guidelines page.

About Us

Landmark Preservation is an important function of the Department of Community Planning and Development. Denver City Council enacted the Denver Landmark Ordinance in 1967 to foster the protection, enhancement, perpetuation and use of structures and districts of historical, architectural and/or geographic significance.

Landmark Preservation staff 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 Landmark Preservation efforts at Denvergov.org/landmark. Follow us on Twitter at @DenverCPD.