Denver Neighborhoods - Historic Washington Park

Washington Park wasn't much in 1898, when the city began designing the landscape. Imagine “thirty acres of bare land, lying above the city ditch, with no tree or even shrub upon it,” too far east of most residences, not connected with a major street, and hard to find. Although settlement in South Denver had begun nearly a quarter century earlier, the around the park remained sparsely populated at the turn of the century.

The University of Denver (chartered 1889), a revived national economy, and middle class pressure to escape the city fueled the area’s growth. Rows of Denver Squares and Craftsman-style bungalows formed a predominantly residential district free from the industry and “improper morals” of central Denver.

The Town of South Denver was incorporated in 1886, describing itself as a “moral, law abiding community fighting against the combined influence of the saloon element, backed by money and powerful influences.” Such steadfast interests established the area’s character, and a 1902 article in the Denver Times might ring true even today:

In no section of the city has the growth been so great in the last few years on the South side. There has been a greater proportion of costly homes built elsewhere and much more money has been spent in individual residences. But that section is growing to be peculiarly a home owners’ section, where people put up as good homes as they can afford and then year by year beautify them with the most painstaking care. No section makes a greater showing of thrift and home pride.

The increasing reach of public transit and automobiles ensured accessibility from the neighborhood to more industrial areas, while neighborhood shopping districts such as “Old South Gaylord” provided riders of the Number 5 cable trolley a wealth of small shops, restaurants, and cafes that still grace this “small town within a town.” All contributed to steady growth.

In the 1970s, oil money enriched Denver and “Wash Park” became even more esteemed. Its residential character, middle-class values, and less expensive housing offered an ideal destination for home rustlers, occasionally “popping” the top of area homes but more often reconfirming the area’s steady habits. Even today, a stream of residents will flock to their central park to swim, ice skate, jog, bike, have a picnic, roller blade, play tennis, go fishing, attend a community meeting, or just take a lazy nap under an old tree amidst this charming, mature neighborhood.

July 2008 Market Statistics

In metro Denver closed sales in July were 5,123 compared with 4,980 in July 2007, a 2.9% gain. The average selling price for the period was $262,224 compared to an average in July 2007 of $289,294, a percentage drop of 9.4. The median sale price for single-family homes was $229,200 compared with $255,000 in July 2007, for a drop of 10.1%. 969 condos and townhomes sold in July 2008, compared with 1,081 for the same period in 2007, a drop of 10.4%. Median prices for condos in July 2008 were $149,000 compared with $158,000 in July 2008, a drop of 5.7%. For single family houses, condos and townhomes the average number of days a house was on the market in July 2008 was 98, and in July 2007 was 95. The list to sale ratio was 97% in 2008 versus 98% in 2007. 25,673 houses are currently on the market and interest rates are still low. It’s a great time to buy in the Denver real estate market, but if you’re a seller you may want to wait till conditions improve.

Check out the current Market Conditions Report for further analysis.

Washington Park Today

Washington Park is now one of Denver’s most sought after neighborhoods by hip professionals, empty-nesters, and upscale newcomers. Named for the park in its midst that duplicates Martha Washington’s garden at George Washington’s estate at Mount Vernon, it’s filled with early-century Craftsman style bungalows and duplexes, and many larger Tudor and Victorian homes built from the late 1890s to the 1940s. But a renaissance of large new–built homes ($718,500 median, $832,904 average for a 6 month period from May 15 to November 14, 2007) is beginning to change the character of the neighborhood from working and middle-class residents to a more upscale urban village.

With access to several quaint shopping neighborhoods populated with small shops and restaurants like Old South Gaylord Street and Old South Pearl Street nearby, plus two lakes surrounded by what many would consider the most beautiful park in Denver, this culturally diverse urban neighborhood with its abundance of recreational opportunities (a large recreation center with indoor pool; bicycle/pedestrian pathway, boating, a crushed granite jogging path, fitness course, fishing, horseshoe pit, indoor pool, lawn bowling/croquet, soccer field, tennis courts, lighted tennis courts, two playgrounds, four picnic sites, boathouse pavilion, two lakes, 1/2 basketball court, two beautiful major flower gardens, and a youth fishing pond) is among the best Denver has to offer.

Washington Park is made up of two sub-neighborhoods, East Washington Park and West Washington Park. The two are divided by Downing Street which runs along the west side of the Park. Each has its own neighborhood association, but they work together and for the most part ignore the boundary.

Washington Park Real Estate Prices

Median: $482,000

Average: $526,598

Zip Code

80209

Crime Stats

West Washington Park

Washington Park

Relocating or Planning a Trip?

Check out HomeandAbroad for Washington Park. One of my clients, Mike Mahoney, writes for this great traveler’s website.