In 1870 the Kansas Pacific Railway was given a 3 million acre land grant to build a railway to Denver. The area now known as Bonnie Brae was part of that grant, which the railroad eventually sold as farm land. In the early 1920’s, George Olinger obtained the property. Olinger, in addition to being one of Denver’s leading undertakers, also owned Associated Industries, which, among other interests, was involved in land development.

Landscape architect S. R. DeBoer planned Bonnie Brae as if were a Scottish Village, abandoning the grid pattern street in favor of curvilinear streets.   The name “Bonnie Brae”, Gaelic for “Pleasant Hill” was borrowed from a subdivision in Kansas City visited by Olinger. By 1924 the first homes were built in the community, and by April 1925 with the filings for Bonnie Brae being complete, the city of Denver was given title to the property now know as Bonnie Brae Park. Shortly after George Olinger sold out Associated Industries, the new owners looted the company for over 5 million dollars in a local scandal that resulted in prison terms for company officers. That, coinciding with the Great Depression, gave Bonnie Brae a rough start. The 1930’s saw homes being built one-by-one, which resulted in diverse architecture. With the completion of the Ellipse (Bonnie Brae Park) in 1936 and a stronger economy taking hold in advance of WWII, home building activity increased, with most of the East side of the neighborhood being completed after WWII. It was still possible to purchase a building site late in the 1960’s.

Lovely treed neighborhood of Bonnie Brae

 

Today’s home buyer will find that DeBoer’s planning did indeed make Bonnie Brae a “special place”. Many of the earliest homes have been modernized or expanded, and a few “scrapes” are evident. Tree lined streets are bisected by Bonnie Brae Boulevard, leading West to the commercial area lining University Boulevard. There, one may visit the Bonnie Brae Tavern, or the Bonnie Brae Ice Cream Store. Only minutes away lies Cherry Creek Shopping Center, or Denver University is just 5 minutes South. Bonnie Brae remains a great neighborhood with fascinating architectural styles and a great sense of community. The area just South of traditional Bonnie Brae is known and referred to as Cory-Merrill by the Denver Planning Office and the Cory/Merrill Neighborhood Association. In recent years, the real estate community has taken to referring to much of this area as Bonnie Brae South to take advantage of the cache of the name Bonnie Brae. Many of the post WWII housing in the area is being demolished and replace with custom high end homes. The statistics below reflect properties in this area as well as Bonnie Brae proper.

A popular Bonnie Brae landmark!

Belcaro

Situated just East of Bonnie Brae is Belcaro. The neighborhoods name comes from the spectacular mansion residing in the center of the neighborhood. “Belcaro”, meaning “beautiful, dear one” in Italian, was developed by Lawrence Phipps, the wealthy United States Senator from Colorado. Built at a cost of $310,000., the 27,000 square foot mansion was completed in 1933 with the Tennis House being added shortly after. Phipps sons, Gerald and Allan also built residences in Belcaro as Lawrence Phipps developed the area around his mansion until his death in 1958. His wife, Margaret donated the mansion and tennis house to the University of Denver, which today uses the facility for private receptions and weddings. Homes in Belcaro are largely rambling ranch style homes reflecting the building style of the early 1950’s. Some redevelopment is occurring, with a few mansion style homes being constructed close to “Belcaro”. The area is very convenient to Cherry Creek and shopping along Colorado Boulevard, with easy access to I-25 and downtown Denver.

Ivy covered Belcaro Tennis House in the fall

By 1909 polo was regularly played by competing teams comprised of Denver’s social elite. One such team, the Freebooters, played on the grounds of the new Denver Country Club, disturbing the golfers and resulting in the Polo Club being organized. Throughout the 1920’s and into the 1930’s polo was played on the grounds East of University and North of Exposition Avenue. Unfortunately, polo did not survive the depression in Denver, and by 1941 the Spanish style clubhouse was converted to a private residence, and gradually the grounds were redeveloped into residential estates. The Polo Grounds is a very exclusive neighborhood, its streets being private and heavily patrolled, with most residents being part of the Denver social elite.
 

Driving Time to Major Destinations From Exposition and Steele, the center of all three neighborhoods.
Downtown	15 minutes
Denver International	50minutes
Boulder	60 minutes
Denver Tech Center	15 minutes
Meridian	25 minutes
Broomfield/Interlocken	45 minutes