Denver Neighborhoods
The capital city of Colorado, Denver, lies 5280 feet–i. e., one mile–above sea level. This is why it is also know as the “Mile High City.” It is a prosperous and ever improving city.
Its priviledged location–being a mere 346 miles away from the continental United States’ geographic center and having the Southern Rocky Mountains lie to the west–favors the city as an important spot for international trading. The Denver International Airport, opened in 1995, is one of the busiest in the world and reinforces the city’s position in the world commerce scenario.
The diversity of the economy in Metro Denver stands out in the national scenario, as reported by the Corporation for Enterprise Development. A likely explanation for this fact lies in the high educational standards typically met by Denver’s population. The well-trained, highly qualified working force is a magnet to businesses seeking to start new branches in the region.
Denver Neighborhoods
Ballpark
Belcaro
Bonnie Brae
Capitol Hill
Cherry Creek
Capitol Hill
Capitol Hill
Country Club
Curtis Park
Highland
Lower Downtown / LoDo
Observatory Park
Park Hill
Riverfront Park
Uptown
Washington Park
Explore Denver’s Neighborhoods
Ballpark
The neighborhood of Ballpark is north of both Lower Downtown and the central business district of Downtown Denver. The south end of Ballpark, close to 20th Street, is anchored by something known as Coors Field, which was opened in 1995. This neighborhood stretches nearly 20 blocks north from 20th Street, going into a part of Downtown that to this day is still a functioning light industry and warehouse district. A large number of the warehouses are currently being renovated into needed loft projects.
This section of Downtown was established back in the early part of the history of Denver, and it grew on the side of the tracks which carried raw materials and goods into the industrial market of Denver. A lot of immigrants from China, Japan, Ireland, Italy, and, in recent times, Mexico, have marked the region with their peculiar stamp.
North Larimer Street is a very important commercial corridor in this neighborhood. Larimer Street, going from 20th Street and going all the way toward 37th and 38th Avenues, offers a mix that is unique: jazz clubs, antique shops, galleries, Mexican restaurants which are authentic, bars, pawn shops and much more. Most of the buildings are a reflection of the predominant architecture of the area, which is mostly warehouses and brick buildings which are 2-3 stories high. Ballpark is mostly zoned for industrial use, so most of the buildings still have loading docks for trains and trucks, since a lot of them are buildings for light industry and warehouses. Some of the frontages don’t have sidewalks, and trees on the street aren’t as common as they are in the older and more traditional neighborhoods of center city, like Capitol Hill or Curtis Park. Back in 2002, a Ballpark Historic District was formed for a large part of the area of Ballpark so that a lot of the historic buildings and warehouses would be preserved.
A very big change in the neighborhood of Ballpark’s landscape was when the Broadway viaduct was demolished in the year 2000, which brought the car traffic over from Broadway, crossing the adjoining train tracks of Central Platte Valley, and going north on Brighton Boulevard to I-70 for a few decades.
The structure of the viaduct bridge went right through the center of Ballpark, but it was replaced by an underpass with four lanes; a pair of train tracks crisscrosses overhead, a lot like the 15th Street underpass which had its completion earlier in the decade. This has enhanced the environment for pedestrian and has improved the pedestrian and visual connection for Downtown Denver. It’s also created some new opportunities on Brighton Boulevard, which gives a direct link from I-70 all the way to Downtown Denver.
Ballpark Market is found in Ballpark Neighborhood, and it’s a flea market that is hosted by the community and takes place a few weekends during the summer. Something else found in Ballpark since 2000 is the AT&T LoDo Music Festival, moving from the area of Lower Downtown Denver.
Population of Ballpark: 1,200
View our homes for sale in the Ballpark Neighborhood
Back to Top
Belcaro
Located to Cherry Creek’s south, Belcaro is an adorable neighborhood that is bordered by Colorado Boulevard, Steele Street, Exposition Avenue, and Tennessee Avenue.
Five of the acres in the region house the Phipps House, located at 3400 Belcaro Drive, a historic and grand building. Owned at one time by Lawrence Phipps, it was designed by Charles A. Platt and his son. It has more than 33,000 square feet, 54 rooms, and cost the US Senator over $310,000 in 1932. It was given as a donation to the University of Denver back in 1964 and nowadays is a conference center and museum.
These days, the neighborhood of Belcaro is home to some of the most beautiful houses in Denver, put on tree-lined and winding streets which are classy and calm. Its close proximity to Denver Country Club, Downtown Denver and Cherry Creek all go together to make this area a place where everyone wants to live.
View our homes for sale in the Belcaro Neighborhood
Back to Top
Bonnie Brae
The neighborhood of Bonnie Brae gives a rare few glimpses of the architectural style of the 1930’s known as Art Moderne. The houses that have been built in this style use the classic elements in a manner that is streamlined and which is gloried in glass block panels, bands and curved corners, as well as very polished horizontal bands of elements such as stainless steel, terra cotta that has been glazed, aluminum and opaque colored glass. International styles of the modern architecture can also be seen in Bonnie Brae, with the wall surfaces that are smooth and continuous and their asymmetrical composition.
Another one of the places that people in Denver really want to live in, Bonnie Brae is close to Cherry Creek and Washington Park, along with having a district of its own which offers restaurants, quaint shops and ice cream parlors.
View our homes for sale in the Bonnie Brae Neighborhood
Back to Top
Capitol Hill
Capitol Hill, one of the most diverse and historical neighborhoods in Denver, has a lot to offer, and that is why a lot of people go there when they are looking for somewhere to live. It is very close to transportation, unique entertainment and retail opportunities and parks. Another big advantage of Capitol Hill is that it has a very wide range of types of housing and different price ranges. It has everything, from single family homes and high rise apartment to lofts that are located in commercial buildings which have been reformed and to apartments located in the beautiful historic mansions.
The neighborhood of Capitol Hill had its founding back in the 1880s, and it was created as a new suburb for the wealthy families of Denver. The residents built quite fanciful Greek, Tudor and Victorian revival mansions and used granite, sandstone and other kinds of material which were native to the state of Colorado. One of the most notable residents of Capitol Hill was Molly Brown, the woman who survived the Titanic sinking. Her house stands on beautiful Pennsylvania Street and is a very popular museum. The Colorado State Capitol building, which was dedicated back in 1890, is found at Colfax and Lincoln Street at the west side of the neighborhood, and there are nine historic districts designated. (Go to the bottom of this page for links to their profiles.)
These days, a lot of the mansions are still standing but Capitol Hill has become a mixed-use community, meaning that most of the buildings are condominiums and apartments. After big declines in population in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, the neighborhood’s population has started going back up over the last five years, and there have been estimates that there will be 3,000 residents over the next few years.
On the northern edge of Colfax Avenue, there’s a remarkable recovery happening after a long period of rises in crime rates and neglect. Since the crime rates through Capitol Hill have gone down a lot recently, new office users, venues for entertainment, retail and developers of condominiums have returned. Recently, there’s been rehabilitation of the apartment buildings that have become dilapidated through Capitol Hill; the commercial buildings, like Penn Garage lofts, have been made into housing projects for mixed use, and the vacant lots have become some great new housing developments. There have been 22 developments on just Colfax Avenue in the past several years, and there’s been $34 million in new investments including three projects for residences.
There are also a few retail and commercial districts that are located in Capitol Hill which are very pedestrian friendly. The residents of Capitol Hill go on foot to their favorite hardware stores, restaurants, coffee shops and other great places for gathering at 11th and Ogden Streets, 9th and Corona Streets and down the corridor of 14th Avenue. The landmark park for Capitol Hill is Cheesman Park. Another close park is Civic Center Park.
Home to some of the city of Denver’s finest entertainment and cultural venues, Capitol Hill has the Vance Kirkland Museum, which celebrates Denver’s own internationally known painter of abstract art. There’s the Fillmore Auditorium and the Ogden Theater as well, all within a reasonable distance.
Population of Capitol Hill: 24,460
View our homes for sale in the Capitol Hill Neighborhood
Back to Top
Cherry Creek
Only a short 10 minutes from the Downtown area of Denver, the neighborhood of Cherry Creek is known as one of Denver’s most beautiful and colorful neighborhoods. With its luxurious condominiums that tower to the sky, elegant townhomes, Victorians which have been restored to their former beauty, and charming bungalows, it’s truly a residential area that thrives and flourishes.
What’s known as Cherry Creek North is found between the First and Third Avenues and stretches from University Boulevard down to Steele Street, is known as the most distinguished open air shopping district in Denver. With over 330 businesses located in Cherry Creek North, residents have a plethora of salons, galleries, bistros, boutiques, travel agents and florists to choose from. Also located here is a name known all over the country: the Tattered Cover bookstore. Book lovers flock here to find their desired literary treasures.
Located in Cherry Creek North’s south is the famous Cherry Creek Shopping center, which is an enclosed mall with two levels, and it’s known as one of the best places in the region of Rocky Mountain to go for shopping. Along with the quartet of amazing department stores–Foley’s, Lord & Taylor, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Neiman Marcus–the mall has a movie theater with eight screens, a handful of amazing restaurants, and over 160 shops.
When the winter weather is gone and the sun comes out, residents are invited to enjoy the warmer weather by attending the art festival in July, which brings in approximately 300,000 visitors annually. In September, the restaurants in the area host something known as the Taste of Cherry Creek. April is the month for the Cherry Creek Sneak, which usually has about 14,000 participants, and Art Walk invites everyone to come to the galleries on the third Thursday of the month throughout the year. No matter what time of the year it is, one can see people using the path of Cherry Creek to enjoy running, walking, rollerblading or biking up and down the 22 mile stretch.
View our homes for sale in the Cherry Creek Neighborhood
Back to Top
Cheesman Park
Cheesman Park, which was named the Prospect Hill Cemetery back in 1858 by General William Larimer, originally encompassed the region of the Botanic Gardens, the close reservoirs for city water, Congress Park and the current area. Back in 1890, there was a relocation of the cemetery and that area was then reclassified as what would become Congress Park. Reinhard Schuetze, a landscape architect from Germany, created the initial design plan for the park, which had its completion in the year 1910 by S. R. DeBoer, another architect.
View our homes for sale in the Cheesman Park Neighborhood
Back to Top
Congress Park
In 1903, Congress Park had its beginnings as the city of Denver’s first nursery. There were a number of tree sapling varieties imported by Reinhard Schuetze, the first landscape architect for Denver, and he began the nursery so that they were cared for. In 1907, when Congress was renamed Cheesman, the area of the nursery was christened Congress Park. These days, the park has plenty of tennis courts, a swimming pool and playgrounds.
Those who visit the neighborhood in Congress Park will find a wide variety of architecture, including residences with a Queen Ann style, Victorians, Denver Squares and apartment buildings that are from as early as the 30s and ones that were built in the past 40 or 50 years.
View our homes for sale in the Congress Park Neighborhood
Back to Top
Country Club
The Country Club Historic District of modern times has its beginning north of 1st Avenue at the Denver Country Club and goes to 4th Avenue, 6th Avenue alongside of Circle Drive, and all the way from University Boulevard down to Downing Street. Since it’s close to both Cherry Creek and Downtown Denver, it’s considered to be one of the best neighborhoods in Denver.
View our homes for sale in the Country Club Neighborhood
Back to Top
Curtis Park
Developed back in the decades of the 1860s and the 1870s, Curtis Park was designed as a residential suburb which is located to the north of the Downtown part of Denver and considered to be very fashionable. In modern times, it still is one of Denver’s most accessible neighborhoods in center city for those who work Downtown. It’s marked by the large range of different types of housing, the diversity that is found socially, ethnically and economically and its streets lined by trees.
The housing mix of Curtis Park ranges from Victorian mansions which have been renovated recently, duplexes which are single storey, rowhouses with flat roofs, Queen Ann styles of houses that have porches on their second storey and two-storey brick houses which are known as Denver Square. In the neighborhood known as Curtis Park, there’s three historic districts: Glenarm Place, Clements and San Rafael.
Since its origins, Curtis Park has been known as a neighborhood where all races live. There are immigrant-built houses that are put among the huge mansions all over, and these smaller houses were built by the immigrants who arrived to Denver to look for jobs during the early years of the city. Through the history of the neighborhood, a large number of the residents of Curtis Park have been employed in Downtown Denver, since it’s a short walk of only 15 minutes from the neighborhood or a short ride on the light rail, or, in the past, on the streetcars.
It’s also notorious how ethnically diverse Curtis Park is, with 30% African American residents, 30% Hispanic and 40% Caucasian.
An effort that is going on currently and is making changes to Curtis Park’s landscape is the reconstruction of the housing projects in the neighborhood thanks to the $26 million from a federal grant known as HOPE VI. A whole four blocks of the two-story apartments which were constructed for the purpose of public housing back in the decade of 1960s were torn down in the year 2000. This area is currently being reconstructed in order to accommodate the market rate condominiums and apartments, besides low income and affordable units. This is going to create a community that will be diverse economically. The construction is now being done, and it’s amazing how it’s transforming the Curtis Park neighborhood.
The landmarks of Curtis Park include things like the Woman’s Bean Project, which is a program to help low-income women to find work and start businesses and get job skills; Sacred Heart, which is the oldest Catholic parish in Denver and that recently completed some really significant renovations.
Curtis Park Population: 9,100
View our homes for sale in the Curtis Park Neighborhood
Back to Top
Highland
The neighborhood of Highlands goes from Federal Boulevard all the way to I-25 and then from 38th Boulevard all the way to Speer Boulevard, even though the historic district of Potter-Highlands encompasses just the area from West 32nd to West 38th and Federal to Zuni Avenues.
This very charming neighborhood is very conveniently located mere minutes from both the Downtown area of Denver and a good variety of different attractions, like Invesco Field, Pepsi Center, Six Flags Elitch Gardens and several others.
View our homes for sale in the Highland Neighborhood
Back to Top
Lower Downtown / LoDo
The 26-block area in Lower Downtown, which is also known by many as LoDo, is a very hot spot in Denver, containing over 100 restaurants, countless boutiques and nightclubs, classy condominiums, 30 great art galleries and some really hip urban lofts, this neighborhood that is bordered by things like Speer Boulevard, 23rd and Lawrence Streets, and the Platte River, has recently been transformed in a way that no other spot in Denver has.
Thanks to this revitalization, there’s a unique link to both present and past in the LoDo neighborhood. The city of Denver had its founding in this area back in the year 1858 by a man named General William Larimer, Jr. Through the years, LoDo gradually changed from a frontier town to a red light district in the 1920s, to a warehouse center in the 1970s. LoDo was designated to be a historic district more than twenty years ago, in 1988, and it underwent a huge redevelopment in the 80′s and the 90′s, the result being what you see today.
View our homes for sale in the Lower Downtown / LoDo Neighborhood
Back to Top
Observatory Park
Located between Iliff and Evans Avenues as well as Fillmore and Milwaukee Streets, Observatory Park is one of the favorite places for student events and social outings. People who love Astronomy especially like this park, due to the fact that it was named after the Chamberlin Observatory, which was created in 1890 and donated by Humphrey Baker Chamberlin to the University of Denver. It was designed by an architect from Denver named Robert S. Roeschlaub.
View our homes for sale in the Observatory Park Neighborhood
Back to Top
Park Hill
Park Hill lies to the immediate east of City Park, which is why this Denver neighborhood bears this name. Having been built in 1878, City Park originally presented a modest zoo with cattle and bears plus an exterior rotunda which hosted concerts at night. The neighborhood went through transformations between the 1890s and the 1920s, which result in it becoming a highlight among Denver’s urban areas, featuring the Denver Museum of Nature and Science–previously known as the Denver Museum of Natural History–and the Denver Zoological Gardens.
View our homes for sale in the Park Hill Neighborhood
Back to Top
Riverfront Park
Among Denver’s neighborhoods, Riverfront Park stands out as one of the most modern and attractive of all. It is located in Downtown Denver, between LoDo and Commons Park. The area showcases a variety of relaxation and entertaining activities.
Riverfront Park is the most recent neighborhood in Downtown Denver. As a result, it has been attracting a highly diversified population. Residents vary from working couples to single professionals and to individuals who have recently moved to Denver and seek for a change in their lifestyle.
View our homes for sale in the Riverfront Park Neighborhood
Back to Top
Uptown
This neighborhood lies directly to the east of the area known as Downtown Denver, and it offers to residents a varied mixture of different elements: retail, restaurants, new construction condominium and loft projects, smaller buildings for offices, hospital campuses, places for neighborhood gatherings and entertainment venues. It’s very quickly starting to become a neighborhood that is high in popularity because it’s so accessible to the Downtown core of Denver.
The options for housing and the styles of architecture in the Uptown area cross the wide spectrum from Victorians, bungalows, Queen Anne style houses that have porches on the second story, apartment complexes, Denver Squares and various others. Most of the neighborhood is made up of detached houses for single families, and they have boulevards lined with trees which separate the street and the sidewalk.
One of the biggest anchors in Uptown is the hospital complex located in the core of the neighborhood. The Children’s Hospital, St. Joseph’s, Kaiser Permanente, St. Luke’s/Presbyterian are the major ones that everyone knows, both for their care and for the jobs they supply. Along with the hospitals, nearby buildings house doctor’s offices, hospital supply companies and other related businesses. There are almost 10,000 people employed by the hospitals, and there was an announcement by The Children’s Hospital that they have plans to move to Aurora and the Fitzsimons area in about five years, as well as the Health Sciences Center of the University of Colorado.
The southern boundary of Uptown is very well known Colfax Avenue, which is Denver’s traditional corridor for services and retail which is currently undergoing a recovery that is most outstanding. There have been changes to the landscape of Colfax thanks to the development of new housing, retail and office. The refurbishment of Ogden Theater and Fillmore Auditorium draws many music fans for wonderful live performances. The many restaurants found on 17th street are now referred to by many as Restaurant Row, and they have an attraction all their own.
Uptown Population: 7,780
View our homes for sale in the Uptown Neighborhood
Back to Top
Washington Park
Also often referred to as “Wash Park,” 162-acre Washington Park was built in 1899. It is located between two streets (South Downing and South Franklin) and two avenues (East Virginia and East Louisiana). This beautiful Denver neighborhood offers a recreation center. As a result, it attracts visitors seeking for various recreational activities, such as fishing–in Grasmere Lakes and Smith–, swimming, lift-weighting, roller skating, biking, walking or jogging–on the exterior pathway covered with crushed granite–and playing sports like volleyball, and more.
Wash Park is a favorite place for locals to hang out and enjoy the weather, a stroll in the park, and convenient access to the Cherry Creek shopping area. One of the premier neighborhoods in the Denver metro area, Washington Park is a must see area while in Denver.
View our homes for sale in the Washington Park Neighborhood
Back to Top
The Hightower Team is here to be your Denver Real Estate Advocate. We want to help you by making the real estate process smooth and easy, and handling your transaction with the ultimate professionalism.
Please view our Denver Homes for Sale and Contact Us to schedule a consultation.
