Park Hill

By 1890 Denver’s population had swollen to over 100,000 residents.  Streetcar lines were laid out from the city center in every direction.  Streetcar lines extending East on 34th, 31st, 28th, 22nd, 19th, Colfax, 13th, 6th and 4th Avenues facilitated development and settlement of Park Hill and neighborhoods to the South.  Lot sizes of 50 X 125, twice the size of the older 25 X 125 lots, were promoted earnestly by real estate agents and developers of the time.  The German Baron Eugene A. von Winkler purchased a large tract of land East of Colorado Blvd. with the announced intention of building a horse race tract to be surrounded by a residential subdivision.  Warwick Downing platted his subdivision, Downington, East of Forest Street to Monaco.  Serious development did not show itself until Denver began to recover after the 1893 economic depression which hit Denver hard.  After World War I, home building flourished in Park Hill, with block of homes built East of Monaco after World War II.

Sadly, the area began to decline with the increased importance of
Stapleton Airport on the East side of Park Hill.  As noise pollution from aircraft began to invade the quiet solitude of Park Hill, residents began to move south to newer homes free from the constant roar of jet engines.  Post World War II reliance on the automobile made it possible to live further away from the noise, dirty city center, leaving Park Hill behind to those with less financial capability.

In the past 20 years Park Hill has again become a place to buy real estate and raise a family. With Denver’s airport moving east, the noise is no longer and consideration, and young families discouraged by the increasingly long commutes to Denver’s far away suburbs are returning to Park Hill and similar inner city neighborhoods.

Park Hill became the home of Colorado Women’s College in 1909.  In 1967 its name was changed to
Temple Beull College, after the local philanthropist announced an endowment of 25 million to the college.  Mounting debt and declining enrollment negated the endowment, and in 1982 the college merged with the University of Denver.  The campus, located at Montview and Quebec Streets, is now a campus of Johnson and Wales University.

Drive Times from Park Hill to Major Metropolitan Areas:

Boulder: 55 mintues
Denver Tech Center (DTC): 30 minutes
Inverness/Meridian: 40 minutes
Downtown Denver: 15 minutes