Our May 2007 WWPNA History Committee discussion is going to be extra special. We'll be graced with the presence of not one but two honored citizens, Ed and Dave Garland. Born in West Wash Park in 1923 and 1922, respectively, these brothers have a lot of stories to tell and a few photos to show as well.

Their father, Dave Garland, owned a grocery store at 295 South Pearl. Garland Grocery was the place people could count on during the Depression, when they needed a little extra credit to get them by. The grocery went bankrupt in 1937 because of it, but Garland didn't stop giving. He developed many of the youth sports programs in Denver, earning him the nickname "The Saint of Denver Sports." In 1952, the Denver Bears gave him a lifetime pass to their games, and in 1956, he was named the University of Denver's "Man of the Year." Garland Park is named in his honor.

The Garland boys played football and baseball at the old Byers sandlot, and both became pitchers of some renown at South High. Dave Jr played for a while with the St Louis Browns, but he left professional baseball to become a doctor. His younger brother Ed continues to live in the neighborhood, and works in the insurance industry, continuing the work his father began upon closure of the grocery.

Come join us for this dual history on Tuesday, May 15th at 242 South Lincoln Street at 7:00. We'll also have about 15 minutes of updates on the oral histories, new historic homes, Country Club Gardens, and other historic happenings.

Come and hear the stories of the neighborhood with 91-year old Goldia, who has lived in the neighborhood for 77 years. She still walks the 17 steps up to her door and even did a little snowshoveling during the recent spate of storms. She remembers much of the neighborhood's history and changes, and is willing to tell it to us (and a digital voice recorder) to kick off our meeting.

We'll end the meeting with a few updates on history in the area, including Country Club Gardens, Gates redevelopment, and 39 WWPNA homes that have already received preliminary approval to create a historic district!

Meeting starts at 7 pm and will be held at 242 South Lincoln Street. Contact Dave Burrell at history@wwpna.org for RSVP or more information.

Other significant concerns (though not committee projects) include the following:

Demolition Permitting Process
Just before Christmas 2005, a historic office building at 255 Washington was summarily destroyed. Spurred by the protest of WWPNA area neighbors, City Council is considering the addition of a historic preservation filter to the permitting process, for which neighborhood interest is earnestly solicited.

Gates Redevelopment: Cherokee and Lionstone
Many have expressed concern that Cherokee has not committed to any historic preservation in their massive redevelopment west of Broadway. And while the more responsive Lionstone developers east of Broadway agreed to preserve the historic Ford factory, their work also involved demolition of a sizeable number of Gates bungalows. Residents interested in tracking work in this historically-important area are encouraged to let us know.

Area Histories
We have a good deal of historical information about the area, but much more can be done. Stories of the residents, homes, and businesses in this area would be much appreciated, helping us to build a complete story of the area.

Anita has graciously separated the various historic districts to which we could distribute fliers for the Certified Historic Denver home campaign. Now all we need is an actual flier and a date to distribute.