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.

Washington Park Real Estate Prices for January 2008
(data from August 1, 2007 to January 31, 2008)

129 detached single family homes were sold with a median list price of $445,000. On average homes took 80 days to sell and sold for a median price of $435,000. Median price is a better measure of sold price than average, which is skewed by a few high-priced homes at the top end and low-priced homes at the bottom. Lowest sold price for detached single family homes was $155,000; highest sold price was $1,450,000. For condos and townhomes (attached family homes) the lowest sold price was $76,500 while the highest was $745,000. The median sold price was $231,750, and the average was $287,901.
 
The ratio of sold to list price was 97.57% for detached homes. The ratio of sold to original price was 88.64% , which means that sellers are still listing homes at too high a price The net sold (after seller concessions such as down payment or closing cost assistance, and the like) to original list price was 88.02%. To simplify, if a seller originally listed their home at $450,000 they realized $396,090 from the sale.
 
By the time the seller finally reached a marketable price after having listing it too high, the sold to list ratio improved to 97.57%, and the net sold to list price was 96.90%.

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.