What are homes like in the Denver Country Club neighborhood?
The Denver Country Club neighborhood is centered on the Country Club Historic District, about 380 houses built mostly in the early 1900s on landscaped parkways north of the private Denver Country Club. Styles include Denver Squares, Tudor, Mediterranean, Colonial and other revival designs, many by well known Denver architects. Because it is a Denver landmark district, exterior changes, additions and new construction go through city design review.
Denver Country Club homes sit just north of Cherry Creek in central Denver, between Downing Street and University Boulevard. The city’s Country Club statistical neighborhood is bounded by University Boulevard, Cherry Creek, Downing Street and Eighth Avenue, and most of its houses fall inside the Country Club Historic District, designated by Denver in 1990. This guide covers how the neighborhood was planned, what the houses are like and how the historic rules affect buying, remodeling and selling. For current listing figures, see the live numbers at the top of this page.
Where is the Denver Country Club neighborhood?
The neighborhood is inside the City and County of Denver. On the city’s statistical neighborhood map it runs from Downing Street east to University Boulevard and from Cherry Creek north to Eighth Avenue. The private Denver Country Club and its golf course fill the southern part, along Cherry Creek and Speer Boulevard, and the residential blocks lie to the north of First Avenue.
Speer Boulevard and First Avenue along Cherry Creek lead northwest to downtown Denver and east toward Cherry Creek North. University Boulevard on the east edge runs south toward Interstate 25, the main route to the Denver Tech Center.
How was the neighborhood built?
According to the Colorado Encyclopedia, the Denver Country Club was founded in 1901 as a reinvention of the earlier Overland Park Club and opened on its Cherry Creek site in 1904. A syndicate of club members bought the land, passed about 120 acres along the creek to the club, and formed the Fourth Avenue Realty Company to develop housing on the land to the north. Robert Speer, later Denver’s mayor, helped assemble the land and built his own house in the neighborhood.
The residential area grew in four subdivisions, described in the Country Club Historic Neighborhood’s history:
- Park Club Place, east of Downing Street to Humboldt Street, filed in 1905 and 1907.
- Country Club Place, east of Humboldt Street to High Street, filed in 1906.
- Country Club Annex, east of High Street to Gaylord Street, platted between 1924 and 1927.
- Park Lane Square, north of Fourth Avenue from east of High Street to University Boulevard and up to Sixth Avenue, filed in 1926.
Architect William E. Fisher was the company’s principal designer. He and his brother Arthur Fisher planned Country Club Place with landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., and William Fisher designed the Mediterranean style gateways along Fourth Avenue. Landscape architect Saco DeBoer reworked Park Lane Square from a straight grid into a circular plan, which is why Circle Drive curves through it.
What kinds of homes are in the neighborhood?
The district’s houses include Denver Squares, Gothic, Colonial and Mediterranean revival designs and other early twentieth century eclectic styles. Fisher and Fisher, Jules Jacques Benoit Benedict, Maurice Biscoe, Burnham Hoyt, Temple Hoyne Buell and Harry James Manning are among the architects who designed houses here. Individual houses range from Spanish and Tudor designs to a Dutch Colonial, a French chateau inspired house and a 1940 International style house on Circle Drive.
The subdivisions differ from each other. Park Club Place, the oldest, has wide front and wrap porches and converted carriage houses. Country Club Place has wide parkways with landscaped medians. Country Club Annex has no parkways and mostly Tudor inspired houses on wide lots. Park Lane Square has 58 large lots and no alleys.
Lot sizes vary with them. On Denver’s zoning map, residential blocks here carry several single unit districts, from U-SU-C (5,500 square foot minimum zone lot) to U-SU-E (7,000 square feet) and E-SU-G (9,000 square feet), with small areas of U-SU-A. A few blocks near the edges allow multi unit or mixed use buildings.
| Subdivision | Filed | Location | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Park Club Place | 1905 and 1907 | Downing Street to Humboldt Street | Porches, carriage houses |
| Country Club Place | 1906 | Humboldt Street to High Street | Wide parkways with medians |
| Country Club Annex | 1924 to 1927 | High Street to Gaylord Street | Tudor inspired, wide lots |
| Park Lane Square | 1926 | North of Fourth Avenue to Sixth Avenue | Large lots, curved streets, no alleys |
What rules shape what you can build here?
Two layers apply. The first is zoning, which sets the minimum lot, height and setbacks for each parcel. The second is the historic district. Denver designated the Country Club Historic District in 1990, and the western half had been listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. Within a Denver historic district, Landmark Preservation design review applies to new construction, exterior alterations, additions and demolition.
The city’s landmark map also shows other designations touching the statistical neighborhood: the Driving Park and East Seventh Avenue historic districts at its northern end, and the Downing Street, Williams Street and Speer Boulevard parkways. Before you buy a house planning an addition, a new garage or new windows, confirm which designation applies to that parcel and read the district’s design guidelines with your architect. Scraping a contributing house in a historic district is a very different process from a scrape elsewhere in Denver.
What are the streets and parks like?
The parkways are the neighborhood’s defining feature. Fisher designed them on Olmsted ideas, and in Country Club Place the streets have landscaped medians and tree lawns. Gates mark the entrances: Mediterranean gateways on Fourth Avenue and English style gates at Park Lane Square.
The Denver Country Club grounds along the southern edge are zoned for open space and are a private club, not a public park. Public green space nearby includes Washington Park, south across Cherry Creek, and the Cherry Creek trail along Speer Boulevard.
What should you look for when buying here?
Many of these houses are more than a century old and have been altered over the decades. On a showing and during inspection, we suggest you look closely at:
- Sewer line. A camera scope of the line from the house to the main is worth doing on any older Denver house.
- Roof, masonry and stucco. Tile roofs, brick and stucco on revival style houses are costly to repair, and in a historic district repairs may need to match the original materials.
- Electrical and mechanical systems. Ask whether older wiring, including any knob and tube, has been fully replaced and permitted.
- Radon. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment treats radon as a statewide concern, so test during the inspection period.
- Past approvals. For any addition or exterior change, ask for the permit and design review records.
Within the neighborhood, value turns on which subdivision a house sits in, whether it fronts a parkway, lot size, and whether the house is original, sensitively restored or heavily altered.
How should you prepare to sell here?
Buyers here often compare a house against others in the same subdivision and against its own history: the architect, the year and how much original detail survives. We usually advise sellers to gather what they have on the house, including original drawings, past permits, design review approvals and records of major systems work. Pricing should rest on sales of comparable houses on comparable streets in the district, not on sales from nearby neighborhoods with different rules.
How does it compare with nearby neighborhoods?
South across Cherry Creek, Washington Park is mostly brick houses from 1900 to 1940 under standard single unit zoning, with no historic district over the residential blocks. To the east across University Boulevard, Cherry Creek mixes row house zoning, townhomes and condominiums around a commercial district. North of Eighth Avenue the neighborhood meets Cheesman Park and Congress Park, both outside the Country Club Historic District. Browse the full list on our neighborhood guides page.
Frequently Asked Questions
When was the Country Club Historic District designated?
Denver designated it a landmark historic district in 1990. The western half, Country Club Place and Park Club Place, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
Do I need city approval to remodel a house in the district?
Yes, for exterior work. Denver Landmark Preservation design review applies to new construction, exterior alterations, additions and demolition on properties in historic districts. Check with Landmark Preservation before you plan a project.
Who designed the Country Club neighborhood?
William E. Fisher was the principal designer for the Fourth Avenue Realty Company, and he and Arthur Fisher planned Country Club Place with Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. Saco DeBoer designed the circular layout of Park Lane Square.
Is the Denver Country Club open to the public?
No. The Denver Country Club is a private club whose grounds along Cherry Creek are zoned for open space on the city’s map. It opened on this site in 1904, and the residential neighborhood was developed on the land to its north.
Considering a sale or a purchase in the district? Request a home value or book a private consultation with us.
