Lowry

Denver’s Lowry – Air Force Base to Historic Neighborhood

The neighborhood coming to life at the East edge of Denver started out as a sanatorium for Tubercular patients. By the late 1930’s, with war looming, President Roosevelt authorized funds to relocate Lowry Field from its original site at 38th Avenue and Dahlia to the former hospital grounds at 6th and Quebec and facilities training mission was under way. The field was named after Lt. Francis Lowry, an Army observer who was killed while flying behind enemy lines during WWI. From the facilities commissioning in 1937 to its closure in 1994, the based was the location for training over a million men and women, served as Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Summer White House from 1953 to 1955, was the site for the United States Air Force Academy from 1955 to 1958, and was the background site for “The Glenn Miller Story” starring Jimmy Stewart. Today part of the site is still used for the Defense Accounting and Finance Center.

Even before Lowry Air Force Base was decommissioned, efforts were under way by Denver and Aurora to develop a reuse plan. The Lowry Economic Recovery Project was established in 1992, with the Lowry Redevelopment Authority forming in August 1994.

By March of 1996, the first buildings were demolished, new roads opened in January 1997, and the Parade of Homes was held on the site in 1998. With new homes filling the area, commercial centers being built, and infrastructure being completed all over the site, Lowry is well on it’s way to being reborn is a model master planned community.
When completed, Lowry will have about 4000 new residences, from apartments to million dollar homes. Learning facilities will range from Denver Public Schools to private schools to The Advanced Technology Center being administered by the Colorado Community College and Occupational Education System. It is anticipated that by 2008, many of the 10,000 jobs lost when Lowry closed will be replaced by new private enterprises, and with over 800 acres of open space including two 18 hole golf courses, Lowry will be an active, vibrant community.

Driving Time to Major Destinations from Lowry

Downtown Denver: 15 minutes
Dener International Airport (DIA): 30 minutes
Denver Technological Center (DTC): 25 minutes
Boulder: 65 minutes