Your Driving Park neighbor and real estate resource

Where Driving Park is

The Driving Park Historic District covers about 10 blocks between East 4th and East 6th Avenues. It runs from the alley behind Marion Street on the west to the alley behind High Street on the east, so the streets inside are Marion, Lafayette, Humboldt, Franklin, Gilpin, Williams and High, crossed by 5th Avenue.

Downing Street is one block west, and Cheesman Park is a short walk north. For city statistics, Denver counts Driving Park as part of its larger Country Club neighborhood.

History and landmark designation

Neighbors applied for landmark status in 2002, and Denver designated the Driving Park Historic District in 2003 as district D-43. The city lists the district's construction period as 1880 to 1942, so homes here were built over about 60 years rather than all at once, and the blocks show it.

The neighborhood association, DPHD, was founded in 2000. Its bylaws list preserving the district's historic and architectural character and its mostly residential feel as a core purpose.

The 4th Avenue Parkway

The one block East 4th Avenue Parkway between Gilpin and Williams Streets is part of Denver's historic park and parkway system. The Olmsted Brothers designed it in 1913 with a formal row of deciduous trees set against a looser planting of pines, and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

It is also where neighbors gather. DPHD hosts a Thursday social hour on the parkway at 4th and Gilpin during the warmer months.

Nearby

• Cheesman Park a short walk north, with the Denver Botanic Gardens on its east side
• Coffee and restaurants along 6th Avenue
• The Country Club Historic District to the south and the Seventh Avenue neighborhood to the north
• Neighborhood events through DPHD, including the fall festival, a book club and an annual meeting each September

Owning, buying or selling an older Denver home

Most homes in the district were built before 1943, so a few checks matter more here than in newer neighborhoods.

• Water service line. Denver Water is replacing lead service lines across its area at no direct cost to the homeowner and provides free filters until six months after replacement. Look up any address on Denver Water's lead service line map.
• Sewer line. A camera scope of the line to the street is worth it on any older home.
• Radon. Testing is common in Colorado and easy to add to an inspection.
• Electrical, roof and drainage. Older wiring, past roof layers and grading around the foundation are where surprises usually show up.
• Permits. Additions, finished basements and garages should have permit history. Denver's permit records are public.

What historic designation means for owners

In a Denver historic district, exterior work such as additions, exterior alterations, new construction and demolition goes through Landmark Preservation design review. Approved projects receive a Certificate of Appropriateness, which is then submitted with building or zoning permits. Requirements depend on the property and the project, so check with Denver Landmark Preservation before planning exterior changes.

This is general information, not legal advice.

Resources

• Driving Park Historic District (DPHD): membership, events, news and the neighborhood's history page
• Denver Landmark Preservation design review
• Denver Water Lead Reduction Program
• Denver 311 for city services