Designed to showcase Mayor Speer’s City Beautiful program, Park Hill, located on high ground east of City Park, remains one of the most coveted neighborhoods in Denver. Shaded by stately American Elms, Park Hill’s exquisite thoroughfares, 17th Avenue, Forest, and Montview parkways, are among the most beautiful in the city.
In addition to an abundance of mature trees, 17th Avenue Parkway, designed by noted landscape architect Fredrick Law Olmsted, boasts a lush landscaped median and generous setbacks. Many of the neighborhood’s first residences were designed by Fisher and Fisher, for decades one of the most distinguished architectural firms in Denver.
Early on, commentators raved that the thoroughfares of Park Hill – “the most desirable residence portion of the city” – rivaled Riverside Drive in New York, the Auteil and Passy in Paris, and Mayfair in London. Several of Denver’s most beautiful churches are also found here.
“The homes here are as stunning as anything you’ll find the Country Club area,” says one of the area’s many enthusiastic boosters.
Today’s active families will find the charms of this vibrant community to be as compelling as ever. Park Hill’s international mix of families enjoy short strolls to some of Denver’s finest cultural attractions and shopping. On the west is lake-graced City Park, home to the highly regarded Museum of Nature and Science, Gates Planetarium, IMAX Theatre, Denver Zoo, and Municipal Golf Course.
Behind the museum, the “H-2-Odyssey” fountain delights children each summer with its sprightly array of water jets, shooting geyser-like sprays high overhead. From here, the often-photographed view of the Front Range and downtown skyscrapers is among the grandest in the city. Also in summer, the park bandstand hosts the free City Park Jazz concert series. “Hot jazz on warm evenings in Denver’s premier park.”
Although residents enjoy a serene lifestyle sheltered from the urban hubbub, Park Hill is just 10 minutes by car from Downtown; world-renowned Cherry Creek Mall Shopping District; and countless retail stores, restaurants, and hotels along Colorado Boulevard.
Park Hill’s residents are fond of walking to Spinelli’s Italian Market for gourmet meats and cheeses, fresh baked breads, scrumptious desserts, and more. Spinelli’s is just one of a cluster of quaint shops on 23rd Avenue that includes the popular Italian Trattoria Cherry Tomato, Park Hill Cooperative Bookstore, Park Hill Cleaners & Tailors, and Uma’s Dog Grooming.
Diners also delight in Little China restaurant and Joseph’s Southern Food. The Park Hill Branch of the Denver Public Library on Montview, a handsome example of Italian Renaissance Revival architecture featuring diamond-paned leaded windows and a spacious interior bathed in natural light, offers convenient Saturday hours.
There’s a good reason why noted Denver journalist and poet Thomas Hornsby Ferril chose the shores of City Park’s Ferril Lake for his daily constitution; it just doesn’t get any better than Park Hill and environs. Experience the enriching lifestyle of this exceptional neighborhood for yourself, from the threshold of your own Park Hill home.
