 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(June 2018) |
Athmar Park | |
|---|---|
 Athmar Park on the east side of Huston Lake | |
| Coordinates: 39°42′14″N105°00′39″W / 39.70389°N 105.01083°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Colorado |
| City | Denver |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 8,898 |
| Website | www |
Athmar Park is a residential neighborhood in southwest Denver, Colorado. It consists mostly of all-brick ranches and bungalow-style homes built in the 1940s and 1950s.
Athmar Park is bordered by Alameda Avenue on the north, Mississippi Avenue on the south, Federal Boulevard on the west and the South Platte River on the east. Four Denver parks, Aspgren, Huston Lake, Vanderbilt Park and Habitat Park are within the boundaries of Athmar Park. The eastern half of the neighborhood is lower in elevation than the west, with a sharp rise above the river beginning near Pecos Street and continuing the gradual climb in elevation toward the southwest. In contrast to the older grid-type streets found in many neighborhoods, Athmar Park has some streets that have long, flowing curves.
One of Colorado's busiest driver's license offices is located in the neighborhood at 1865-C West Mississippi Avenue. [1]
In 2000, the racial breakdown of Athmar Park was 29.52% White, 0.84% African American, 0.43% Native American, 3.15% Asian, and 65.21% Hispanic or Latino. [2]
The publication of the 2010 United States Census, with a total population of 8,898, showed small changes in race and ethnicity with the population at 63% White or Hispanic/Latino, with 73% of that number claiming Hispanic ethnicity and 27% listing non-Hispanic ethnicity. Residents with Asian (3.5%), American Native (2.1%) and African American ethnicity (1.4%) make the remainder of the non-Hispanic population with 30% of them considering themselves "other" or "mixed". [3]
Huston Lake Park is located in the center of the Athmar Park neighborhood between the streets of South Clay and South Vallejo, and the avenues of West Ohio and West Kentucky. With a variety of amenities including a bike and walking path, soccer and softball fields, tennis and basketball courts, and a children's play area, Huston Lake park provides many recreational resources for the local community. [4] Named after one of the original land owners in the area, Nathaniel K. Huston, the park was originally the site of a patch of swampland called "Frenchie's Lake" which was used by early residents as a location to ice skate in the winter and swim in the summer.
Located at the eastern edge of the residential areas of Athmar Park, Clifford Aspgren park was named after a resident who served in the Colorado House of Representatives.[ citation needed ]
Vanderbilt Lake Park contains both Habitat Park and Boy Scout Park and is part of the larger South Platte River Greenway. [5] It contains a sports fields complex and is part of a series of parks connected by the South Platte River biking and walking trail system. Until 2011, Habitat Park was the location of the Denver Municipal Animal shelter, which moved to a site in the Valverde neighborhood to the north of Athmar Park.
Historically, Athmar Park was annexed incrementally by the City of Denver. In 1902, the eastern edge of Athmar Park was annexed, along with the town of Valverde, from Zuni to the South Platte River border. In 1943, the area west of Zuni was annexed by the City of Denver. Known as Mountain View Park, it totaled 240 acres and was the first large scale annexation the city had made since 1902. The area west of the town of Valverde, that had originally been in the hands of three different owners, was auctioned and purchased by Thomas and John R. McCusker in 1946. In 1949 and 1950, developer Raymond Erb completed three subdivision plats he named "Athmar Park". [6] According to urban legend, the name "Athmar" originated from the combination of the names of the developers' two wives, Athena and Mary. While subsequent oral histories undertaken with the descendants of Raymond Erb and other local developers of the time confirm a connection to Margaret Erb (Raymond's wife), which lends support to the "mar" part of the name, no connection could be confirmed with any other name that could corroborate the "ath" portion of the name. The developer did name a street for himself. Erb Place is located between South Osage and South Lipan streets, just north of West Kentucky Avenue. [7]
In 1900, the northeast area of the neighborhood was rural and contained celery farms and wheat fields. Several of the original brick country homes still exist on W. Nevada Place, dating from the late 1880s to the early 1900s. 1395 W. Nevada Place dates to the late 1880s, and 1597 W. Nevada Place dates to 1912.
Many of the charming brick bungalows in the Mountain View Park area in the northwest section of the neighborhood have a unique design and date from the 1920s and 1930s when the area was still part of unincorporated Arapahoe County.
After World War II, there was a major housing boom during which a large number of the neighborhood "tract" homes were built.
One of Denver's first McDonald's restaurants was located in the neighborhood, at 2120 W. Alameda Avenue. The building is still there but hosts a different restaurant. [8]
The neighborhood was affected by a destructive flood in June 1965 when the S. Platte River flooded outside its banks. Flood waters reached up to the basketball hoops at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church school (1345 W. Dakota Ave.). Flood waters engulfed homes and businesses from the river all the way west into the 1400 blocks of the neighborhood. "The flooding along the South Platte River from Plum Creek to North Platte, Nebraska was the most destructive. The flood reached the South Platte River and the metropolitan areas of Denver by about 8 p.m. on June 16. The floodwaters spread to a half-mile or more in width. The peak discharge of the South Platte at Denver was 183 percent of the previous maximum during 67 years of record and historical information indicates that the 1965 discharge was the greatest since at least 1844. Many business, homes, industries, roads and highways were inundated. About 8,000 telephones were put out of service by the flood in the Denver area. More than half of these lines were not restored for several days.
The Denver metropolitan area suffered extensive damage. The flood zone represented 67 percent of the industrial area in the city. While the flood passed rather quickly on the night of June 16, the floodwaters were piled high with debris such as house trailers, lumber and large butane storage tanks. Many of the bridges in the downtown area became plugged with debris and were washed out when they could no longer withstand the pressure. Other bridges held, but sustained excessive erosion damage. The floodwaters left behind several feet of mud and debris all along the South Platte flood plain. In Denver, the cleanup job took several months and cost the city over $1 million. [9] Chatfield Reservoir was built in response to the 1965 flood.
Athmar Park is the site of a branch library. Until 1999, the library was housed in a small storefront in the Athmar Shopping Center (1865 W. Mississippi Avenue). In 1999, the library was relocated into a remodeled stone building, formerly a church, located at the corner of West Mississippi Avenue and South Tejon Street at 1055 South Tejon Street. The Athmar branch library has a Robert Mangold wind sculpture that was formerly located at the Denver Art Museum.
The neighborhood has six mosaic games tables created as a public art project by area residents and school children. The game tables are intended to provide gathering places and encourage interaction between area residents. Three mosaic game tables are located at Huston Lake Park and three in Aspgren Park. The game boards include chess, checkers and backgammon boards. They are surrounded by themed mosaics.
At Huston Lake there are:
At Aspgren Park there are:
Alameda Square Shopping Center, located at 2200 W. Alameda Avenue, was developed in 1959 as Denver's first outdoor mall. When first constructed, the mall included a Ben Franklin dime store, a bowling alley, a furniture store and doctor offices. The very popular Organ Grinder pizza parlor, with its famous two story organ, was located at the center. By 1990, the center was past its prime and declared a blighted site. The center was redeveloped by Brighton Corporation in 2009-11. A public art installation, "Geese", was created by the Colorado sculptor Fred Lunger as part of the project.
Athmar Park is unique in Denver neighborhoods in that six separate schools [10] serve the community at large:
Denver is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United States and the fifth most populous state capital. It is the principal city of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood metropolitan statistical area, the most populous metropolitan statistical area in Colorado and the first city of the Front Range Urban Corridor.
Auraria was a small mining settlement in the Kansas Territory in the United States. Today it survives in its original location as a neighborhood of Denver, Colorado, south of the confluence of Cherry Creek and the South Platte River.
The Ninth Ward or 9th Ward is a distinctive region of New Orleans, Louisiana, which is located in the easternmost downriver portion of the city. It is geographically the largest of the 17 Wards of New Orleans. On the south, the Ninth Ward is bounded by the Mississippi River. On the western or "upriver" side, the Ninth Ward is bounded by Franklin Avenue, then Almonaster Avenue, then People's Avenue. From the north end of People's Avenue the boundary continues on a straight line north to Lake Pontchartrain; this line is the boundary between the Ninth and the city's Eighth Ward. The Lake forms the north and northeastern end of the ward. St. Bernard Parish is the boundary to the southeast, Lake Borgne farther southeast and east, and the end of Orleans Parish to the east at the Rigolets.
Lakewood Gulch drains a section of Lakewood and west Denver, Colorado into the South Platte River. It is the historic location of the old Interurban Shortline Railway and, in 2008, is a greenbelt that includes Rude Park, Sanchez Park and Lakewood Gulch Park. The gulch passes through Lakewood from west to east before entering the Denver neighborhoods of Sun Valley and Villa Park. It contains a part of the route of the (current) heritage streetcar Platte Valley Trolley and the Denver sections of the creek have an adjacent bike path. According to the Jefferson County Colorado Place Names Directory, "Lakewood Gulch originates on the north east foot of Green Mountain in Lakewood, flows east through Sixth Avenue West Park and Red Rocks Community College and continues east through Lakewood into Denver, where it joins the South Platte River southwest of the intersection of I-25 and Colfax Avenue."
Jefferson Park is a neighborhood and public park that overlooks Downtown Denver, Colorado from its perch across Interstate 25 (I-25). It is located in the area that is called North Denver. Views east from Jefferson Park take in Elitch Gardens Theme Park, The Children's Museum, Denver's Downtown Aquarium, Pepsi Center, the REI flagship store and other attractions in Downtown's Central Platte Valley. Downtown Denver and the Central Platte Valley are quickly accessed from Jefferson Park, using the 23rd Avenue overpass on I-25 and Water Street. In addition, the Light Rail C-Line is located by Empower Field at Mile High in the southern part of the neighborhood.
Highland is a distinct city-center neighborhood in Denver, Colorado, United States, bounded by West 38th Avenue to the north, a Union Pacific Railroad line on the east, the South Platte River to the southeast, Speer Boulevard on the south, and Federal Boulevard on the west. The Highlands is sometimes used to refer to two separate city-center neighborhoods in Denver; Highland and West Highland, although the two neighborhoods are distinct. Highland and West Highland are both in the area that is referred to as the Northside. Highland is located immediately northwest of downtown. Note that the Highland neighborhood association has a slightly different definition with the easternmost boundary stopping at I-25. And the West Highland neighborhood to the immediate west of Highland, with the borders of 38th and 29th Avenues on the north and south and Federal and Sheridan Boulevards on the east and west. To distinguish between its immediately adjacent neighbor, West Highland, Highland is sometimes referred to as East Highland, Lower Highland or LoHi. The two together are casually called "the Highlands," a term which often falsely encompasses other Northwest Denver neighborhoods such as Jefferson Park, Sunnyside and Berkeley. Realtors have particularly pushed the inclusion of the recently gentrified Berkeley, located directly north of West Highland, as part of the Highlands, sometimes going so far as to refer to Berkeley and parts of Sunnyside as the "Upper Highlands". To add further confusion, within the Highlands neighborhoods there are several historic designations of various degrees, including Potter Highlands, Scottish Highlands and Highlands Park.
Baker is a neighborhood in Denver, Colorado, United States.
The oldest part of Denver, Colorado, now the neighborhoods of Auraria Campus, LoDo, much of downtown, and Five Points, is laid out on a grid plan that is oriented diagonal to the four cardinal directions. The rest of the city, including the eastern part of downtown, is laid out primarily on a grid oriented to the cardinal directions. In this larger grid, from east to west, there are generally 16 city blocks per mile, except between Zuni Street and Lowell Boulevard in west Denver. From north to south, there are typically eight blocks per mile, although there are many areas with more blocks per mile. Addresses follow a decimal system, with addresses advancing by one hundred at each cross street.
There are 312 properties and districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the City and County of Denver, the capital of the U.S. State of Colorado.
This National Park Service list is complete through NPS recent listings posted June 7, 2024.
Sun Valley is a neighborhood in central Denver, Colorado, bordered by I-25 on the east, Federal Blvd. on the west, 6th Avenue on the south and 20th Ave. on the north. It is located in the area known as West Denver.
Lincoln Park is a neighborhood and public park close to downtown Denver, Colorado and the location of the Art District on Santa Fe. The neighborhood is one of Denver's oldest and is just to the south of the area where Denver was first settled in the 1850s. Many houses date from about 1900. The neighborhood is sometimes called "La Alma/Lincoln Park" or the West Side.
Sloan Lake, also known as Sloan's Lake and Sloans Lake, is a body of water, park, and neighborhood in Denver, Colorado, US. The neighborhood is located on the northwest side of Denver. The lake is the central feature of Sloan's Lake Park, which is managed by the Parks and Recreation division of the City and County of Denver.
Globeville is a neighborhood of Denver, Colorado. Globeville is located in the area traditionally called North Denver.
Chaffee Park is a neighborhood in Denver, Colorado located in the northwest corner of the city. Chaffee Park is north of Sunnyside connected via Zuni Street, and northeast of Berkeley connected through Regis via nearby Lowell Boulevard. Chaffee Park is east of Regis and south of Adams County.
Speer is the official name for the Denver neighborhood bounded by 7th Avenue (north), Broadway (West), Alameda Avenue (South) and Downing Street (East). The northeast portion northeast of Speer Boulevard is generally referred to as Alamo Placita due to a local park and historic district of this name.
Valverde is a neighborhood of Denver, Colorado. It is in the area known as West Denver or the "West Side". According to the Piton Foundation, in 2007, the population of the neighborhood was 4,093, and there were 1,276 housing units. Valverde home values are expected to grow substantially, due to the recent population growth in the Denver metro area. The commute to downtown Denver from the Valverde neighborhood is less than 5 minutes since the completion of 6th avenue, which no longer merges with I-25.
Lakewood is the home rule municipality that is the most populous municipality in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 155,984 at the 2020 U.S. Census, making Lakewood the fifth most populous city in Colorado and the 167th most populous city in the United States. Lakewood is a suburb of Denver and is a principal city of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area and a major city of the Front Range Urban Corridor.
Ruby Hill is a neighborhood of Denver, Colorado. The neighborhood takes its name from Ruby Hill, a 5,390 ft (1,640 m) elevation hill in the neighborhood that overlooks much of South Denver. The hill itself was named for red stones found in the area by early miners, stones that turned out to be garnets.
Union Station North, formerly known as Prospect, is a neighborhood within the city limits of Denver, Colorado. Previously dominated by industrial buildings, waste, railroad tracks and considered an area of the city to be avoided, today it has been rehabilitated into multi-story residential buildings, restaurants, amenities, easy access to downtown Denver, and is a short walk to the South Platte River Trail, which runs along its northern boundary.
Neighborhoods of the City and County of Denver | ||
|---|---|---|
| Central |  | |
| North of CBD | ||
| Northeast of CBD | ||
| Northwest of CBD | ||
| South of CBD | ||
| Southeast of CBD | ||
| East of CBD | ||
| West of CBD | ||
| Historic Districts | ||