The Valley Highway project was required to evaluate historical resources in its Environmental Impact Statement. Released on November 15, 2006, this document compiled a great deal of information regarding the southern border of West Wash Park, and is a worthwhile read for a variety on topics, including Noise Pollution, Air Quality, Soils & Geography, Paleontology, and a dozen other characteristics.

(Was a mammoth tooth found in West Wash Park?! More research at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science would be necessary.)

But for the point of this posting, the online document indicates that West Washington Park contains numerous buildings as potential contributing structures in a national historic district. These structures on south Lincoln and East Ellsworth are listed, and described as follows:

West Washington Park Historic District (5DV6959)

The APE [Area of Potential Effect] includes a portion of the western edge of West Washington Park, a historic district residential area characterized by rows of generally well-preserved, modest-sized (predominantly brick) dwellings built mainly between 1900 and 1930.

Approximately 90 historic dwellings in this area were inventoried in 1999 by Centennial Archaeology in conjunction with the I-25 Broadway viaduct replacement project. Centennial’s 1999 survey encompassed a portion of the Valley Highway APE, including 26 significant historic houses on South Lincoln Street and East Exposition Avenue, one significant auto garage on South Lincoln Street, and one significant historic commercial building on South Broadway. Centennial did not recommend any of these properties as individually eligible for the NRHP, but evaluated them as contributing to a historic district.

As part of this weekend's Doors Open Denver festivities, the Denver Public Library is offering a free talk on "Researching, Restoring and Remodeling Your Classic Home."

Details of the session have been described as follows:

Saturday, April 14, 2007, 1-4 p.m.
The Central Library, Level B2 Conference Center

An overview of architectural styles in the Queen City of the Plains, from 1860-2006, covering buildings from the log cabin to the suburban tract will start the program. Emphasis will be on the classic Denver styles, such as Victorian, Foursquare, bungalow, Tudor and ranch. Learn what distinguishes one style from another, how some homes are blends of several styles and how to identify your classic home.

Architect Doug Walter, winner of a 2006 Historic Denver Restoration for Living Award, will describe certain key maintenance items that must be addressed to keep the home safe, warm and dry for years to come along with the warning signs to look out for. For those who live in a historic district, the application and approval process will be outlined. For those owners of classic homes who really want to live a 21st century lifestyle in a 20th century house, Walter will discuss how to add on with sensitivity to the original architectural style. Walter’s entertaining slide presentation will differentiate between the rigors of restoration, the activities that constitute rehabilitation and the more extensive activities that make up remodeling.

The Landmark Preservation Commission had originally planned to discuss Country Club Gardens in its March 20th meeting, and then put it on schedule for April 3 (as attached)... but now the applicants have postponed again until May 1.

Their reasons for re-delaying the application have not be announced, but it's likely the cause of some frustration on the part of the opponents.

UPDATE (04/06/07): The Broe Corporation asked to resume the discussion at LPC at an earlier date than scheduled (April 17th), but city council members objected. Such a controversial issue shouldn't disadvantage the parties who want to attend the hearing and yet are subjected to constantly shifting dates. So for now, it remains on the calendar for May 1st.

UPDATE (04/24/07): The meeting will take place as scheduled on May 1st. It is currently on the calendar for a 3:15 start, as per the attached agenda.

The Landmark Preservation Commission had originally planned to discuss Country Club Gardens in its March 20th meeting.

After changing the time of the proposed hearing changed once, the entire affair is now being pushed back. Since one of the applicants has a scheduling conflict, they have requested a delay of the discussion.

As a result, this discussion will likely take place either April 3 or April 17th. Interested neighbors are keep watching these pages and the LPC agendas online for further updates.

On January 20th, Rocky Mountain News columnist Mary Voelz Chandler provided an update on the fate of Country Club Gardens and two other endangered landmarks. In the process, she also gave a larger window into the history of the site:

"WHAT IT IS: A complex of apartments built in 1940 to a design by Fisher, Fisher and Hubbell, as the first Federal Housing Administration project in the region. The lines are moderne, the landscaping lush.

When the landmark commission began to consider the campus for historic district status in the late 1990s, owner Pat Broe said no way; he was considering plans to demolish more than 50 percent of the site to put up 28-story towers. The flap led to a three-year discussion and a months-long public hearing to create a development agreement and design guidelines if Broe wanted to proceed on the site.

WHY IT'S SIGNIFICANT: Those plans are back, though modified. Now Broe is talking two towers, at a maximum height of 300 feet, holding up to 500 units, plus a 36-foot-tall parking structure. About 30 existing units would be destroyed and views affected at the neighboring Norman."

The complete article can be found online.