Too Many Beautiful Homes?

I went out yesterday with the intent to photograph the best examples of Denver real estate and the architectural styles represented. My list included Denver Squares, Craftsman bungalows, Victorians, Tudor Revival, Gothic Revival, Spanish Revival, Territorial style and any other homes that struck my fancy. Well, sounds like an easy task . . . but it wasn’t!

Denver is chock-full of some of the most beautiful homes!  The eclectic mixture of homes is a visual timeline of the city’s development.  With Victorians at the epicenter, built between 1870-1890, and rippling out to Denver Squares from the turn of the 20th century, Craftsman bungalows from the 1920′s and 1930′s, and modern homes making appearances in the suburbs in the 1950′s, each Denver home style has left a trace of those who built them.

Like the rings of a tree, these Denver real estate patterns display changes in wealth, decorum, fashion, and the creation of city ordinances.  While their particular styles may have blurred the textbook definition, they are undeniably wonderful. The Victorian mansions of Capitol Hill brought to mind the days of parasols and fine carriages.

The desire to fall into a daydream of historical significance was almost too much. After taking several shots and feeling as though I must take a picture of each one to completely convey the spirit of this magnificent Denver real estate, I forced myself to head east and see what other “painted ladies” awaited.

East of Capitol Hill is the Cheesman and Congress Park neighborhoods. These areas have large avenues (6th, 7th and 8th) complete with landscaped green ways between.

The homes here are not Victorian, but rather a study in the Denver Square, Craftsman bungalow, Tudor Revival styles. While the most cavernous of these were on the avenues, smaller versions lined each street, north and south. Click, click, click! My starting, stopping, parking routine must have been quite mysterious to those around me. Certainly, I had taken enough shots and taken enough notes to feel that I had represented this lovely Denver neighborhood well.  But, I still wanted to take more photos, they were all so picturesque.

Heading north, to find the big Victorians found me at City Park. The homes that line this most European park in Denver are magnificent. Luckily, this area is again a popular destination for folks looking to own an affordable historic home. Many of the forgotten mansions that were facing an untimely demise have been rescued. Victorians and Denver Squares hold the throne in this part of town.

On my way back south, I went through Hilltop and Park Hill. While Hilltop is a dominantly Tudor Revival area, the homes of Park Hill have a greater variety.

The Tudor Revival is next to a Spanish, which is next to a Gothic Revival, etc.

However, this mixture makes the area charming and extremely interesting to someone wanting to clearly see the differences in early 20th century architecture.

There are so many Denver homes that I find breathtaking. The necessity of whittling it down to just a few is overwhelming. Suffice to say that my day ended with two lifeless cameras. Time to change the batteries.