Аламо Пласита: История района Денвера

Alamo Placita is a historic district and unofficial neighborhood of Denver, Colorado, United States. It is named after Alamo Placita Park which is located on the north side of Speer Boulevard between Ogden and Emerson Streets. The district is bounded by Downing Street (east), Speer Boulevard (south), Pennsylvania Street (west), 6th Avenue (north) west of Clarkson Street and 7th Avenue (north) east of Clarkson Street. Alamo Placita is part of a larger official neighborhood called Speer.

The history of the Alamo Placita Historic District tells the story of 1860s prairie land along Cherry Creek just three miles (5 km) southeast of the new town of Denver. Farsighted investor Moses Hallett, an attorney from Illinois, bought the land in 1864. Hallett’s quarter section of land became Arlington Park Addition, and later, Alamo Placita neighborhood. By 1887, Denver’s southern city limit was the northern border of Hallett’s claim (now East 6th Avenue). A road on the eastern edge of Hallett’s land, called Hallett Road, is now Downing Street. In 1889, Hallett sold his land to the Arlington Park Land and Improvement Company and became one of several investors in the company.

Robert W. Speer came to the West in 1878 seeking a cure for his tuberculosis. He recovered and exhibited boundless energy that defied any earlier malaise. Speer is remembered for becoming Denver’s first mayor under home rule in 1904, his three terms as mayor, his exuberance for Denver’s City Beautiful Movement, his support for the Denver park system, his boss style politics, and his personal gains from real estate investments. Much less well known were Speer’s important connections with the Alamo Placita neighborhood. Those connections included, first, the fact that Alamo Placita neighborhood was Speer’s first major real estate investment. He formed a syndicate to develop the land. When Arlington Park Addition was created, it became the first client for Speer’s newly formed real estate company. Second, Speer’s creation of an addition and then an amusement park provided him with experience as the central figure in pulling big plans together with powerful Denver men. Third, the neighborhood was his home. Robert and Kate Speer built their residence at 505 Clarkson Street (now demolished) in 1890, and they lived there until 1906.

The 1889 Arlington Park Addition was the first and largest subdivision platted on Moses Hallett’s land. Essentially, it included almost all of the land that was not part of the amusement park. The addition went from E. 6th Avenue to approximately one half block south of E. 4th Avenue, and from Logan Street to the alley between Corona and Downing Streets. In January 1890, R. W. Speer and Company began accepting deposits on the property. By the end of February, 319 lots had
sold for $217,000. The Rocky Mountain News observed, “R. W. Speer’s smiling face is more smiling than ever.” Notable early
investors were Colonel John Arkins, owner of the Rocky Mountain News; John Cochran, the city postmaster; and T. M. Patterson, the first Democratic congressman from the State of Colorado. The vigorous rate of growth in the Arlington Park Addition stopped in 1893. Building permits were lost for the years 1893 to 1900, but evidence points to a gradual recovery in Arlington Park home building. The new homes tended to be more modest than grand, and the new residents tended to be less well known citizens. The neighborhood was serving as an affordable destination for new renters and first time home owners— particularly first and second generation European immigrants. Two groups of immigrants were especially predominant in Arlington Park. Scandinavian immigrants, primarily Swedish, were to make Hallett’s land their home in their new country. And later, Greeks would follow the path of the Swedes. Half of Colorado’s Swedes lived in the Denver area in 1890. At first the Swedish residents of Alamo Placita were primarily
involved in the building trades, domestic service, and gardening, and quite a few Alamo Placita homes were constructed by Swedish craftsmen. Soon, however, the Swedish Americans began to embrace a variety of occupations. By the early 1930s, Alamo Placita gained significant numbers of Greek Americans. Most were moving from the environs of their church north of Capitol Hill at E. 37th Avenue and Lafayette Street, the location of the first Greek Orthodox Church in Denver. In 1933, the Greek Orthodox Church moved to 574 Pennsylvania Street. A residence on the Pennsylvania Street site was demolished and the Greeks built a new Assumption Greek Orthodox Church. The church was designed with the traditional onion shaped domes associated with Eastern Orthodoxy. The presence of this building brought a rich, new, visible ethnic identity to Alamo Placita. This church was the central Greek church of Colorado. In 1973, the church moved to a spectacular new Assumption Greek Orthodox Church on E. Alameda Avenue.

With the building boom of the post World War II years taking newer populations to the city fringe or new suburban communities, most of the Alamo Placita neighborhood continued to draw those who needed more affordable housing. Some developers demolished a few early residences to build more lucrative, multifamily apartments. Most of these new apartments were built on a relatively small scale. According to Assessor records, by 1930 approximately 90 percent of the present Alamo Placita Historic District buildings were built; by 1940, 94 percent were built. These include single family dwellings, multifamily dwellings, and the few commercial buildings in the district. Neighborhood development continued with change occurring at a very slow pace, reacting to the ups and downs of the economy. During the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, the value of the neighborhood as a family oriented environment close to the heart of the city was quietly rediscovered by young professionals and others. Lawyers, doctors, teachers, and businesspeople were moving into Alamo Placita in greater numbers, joining trade craftsmen, clerks, salesmen, and others. An example of one such couple is Richard and Dottie Lamm, who lived at 531 Emerson Street in the 1960s, before Lamm became a three term governor of Colorado. The rediscovery of the neighborhood included an appreciation and respect for its architecture. Growing numbers of residents became aware of
the neighborhood’s architectural integrity. Their interest led to a desire to protect their environment and learn more about
neighborhood history. This in turn formed the foundation for the creation of Alamo Placita Neighbors Association.