What are homes like in Washington Park?
Washington Park is mostly brick houses built between about 1900 and 1940, from bungalows and Denver Squares to Tudors, set on a street grid around a 165 acre city park. Most residential blocks carry Denver’s U-SU-C single unit zoning, so new houses and additions replace or enlarge older ones rather than adding density. Expect a mix of original homes, remodels and full rebuilds on the same block.
Washington Park homes sit in south central Denver, wrapped around the park the neighborhood is named for. The city’s Washington Park statistical neighborhood runs from Downing Street east to University Boulevard and from Cherry Creek south to Interstate 25. Washington Park West, across Downing, has been tracked by the city as a separate neighborhood since 1972. This guide covers the eastern neighborhood, its houses and the rules that shape what you can build there. For current listing figures, see the live numbers at the top of this page.
Where is Washington Park, and how is it laid out?
Washington Park is inside the City and County of Denver. The park itself fills the middle of the neighborhood: it is bordered by Virginia Avenue on the north, Downing Street on the west, Louisiana Avenue on the south and Franklin Street on the east, and it runs about a mile long and a quarter mile wide. Residential blocks surround it on all sides, laid out on Denver’s regular grid with alleys behind most houses.
Three of the neighborhood’s edges are landmark parkways. Downing Street, South Marion Street Parkway and University Boulevard are part of Denver’s designated parks and parkways system, listed on the city’s landmark district map. Interstate 25 forms the southern edge and is the main route south toward the Denver Tech Center. Speer Boulevard and First Avenue along Cherry Creek lead northwest toward downtown.
How was Washington Park built?
The land was part of the Town of South Denver, founded in 1886 and annexed into Denver in the 1890s, according to the Denver Public Library’s neighborhood history. Smith Lake, at the park’s north end, was created when Smith’s Ditch was completed in 1867. The city began assembling the park in the late 1890s, and it reached its present size by 1904.
Reinhard Schuetze laid out the park starting in 1899, and George Kessler reworked its paths and plantings in 1908. The Olmsted Brothers, Saco DeBoer and Jules Jacques Benoit Benedict all left their mark: Benedict designed the 1913 boathouse and pavilion on Smith Lake, and DeBoer completed the Mount Vernon Gardens in 1926. The park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.
Once the park existed, building on the surrounding blocks sped up. Most houses in the neighborhood were built of brick between 1900 and 1940, which is why so many streets still read as one era from the sidewalk.
What kinds of homes are in Washington Park?
The original stock is brick: one and one and a half story bungalows, two story Denver Squares, Tudor revival cottages and a smaller number of Prairie and Craftsman designs. Many houses have detached garages off the alley. Corner store buildings at former streetcar stops and the small commercial strips on South Gaylord Street and Alameda Avenue break up the residential blocks.
Over the past few decades many houses have been enlarged with second story additions, often called pop tops, and others have been scraped and replaced with new two story homes built to the full size the zoning allows. On a single block you can find a largely original 1920s bungalow, a bungalow with a large rear addition and a recent rebuild. That variety matters more to value here than any one address.
Condominiums and apartments are limited and sit mainly along the busier edges, where small pockets of multi unit and mixed use zoning appear on the city’s map.
| At a glance | Washington Park |
|---|---|
| City and county | City and County of Denver |
| Boundaries | Downing Street, Cherry Creek, University Boulevard, Interstate 25 |
| Main building years | About 1900 to 1940, with rebuilds since |
| Typical house styles | Brick bungalows, Denver Squares, Tudor revival, new two story homes |
| Main zone district | U-SU-C, single unit, 5,500 square foot minimum lot |
| Park | Washington Park, 165 acres, Smith Lake and Grasmere Lake |
| Light rail | Louisiana and Pearl station on the E and H lines |
What rules shape what you can build in Washington Park?
Most residential land in the neighborhood is zoned U-SU-C on Denver’s official zoning map. Under the Denver Zoning Code naming system, U means the Urban neighborhood context, SU means single unit, and C sets a minimum zone lot of 5,500 square feet. A smaller share is zoned U-TU-C, which allows two units. Before you buy with plans to add on or rebuild, check the exact zone district for the parcel and have an architect confirm height, setbacks and bulk plane limits for that lot.
The houses themselves are not inside a Denver historic district, so a scrape or a pop top goes through ordinary zoning and permit review rather than landmark design review. The park, Smith’s Ditch and the parkways along Downing Street, South Marion Street Parkway and University Boulevard are designated landmarks, and work facing them should be planned with that in mind.
What is it like getting around Washington Park?
The park has two large lakes, Smith Lake on the north and Grasmere Lake on the south, plus the Lily Pond, a recreation center opened in 1971 and the lawn bowling green created in 1920. Cherry Creek and its trail run along the neighborhood’s northern edge.
For transit, the Louisiana and Pearl light rail station on RTD’s E and H lines sits near the neighborhood’s southwest corner, and the University of Denver station is to the southeast. South High School, at 1700 East Louisiana Avenue across from the park’s south end, is a public high school in a 1920s Italian Renaissance Revival building designed by William E. and Arthur A. Fisher.
What should you look for when buying in Washington Park?
With most houses close to a century old, inspections deserve real attention:
- Sewer line scope. Original clay or cast iron lines from the house to the main are common in homes of this age, and roots in the line are a frequent finding.
- Foundation and drainage. Look at basement walls, grading and downspouts, especially in houses with finished basements added later.
- Electrical. Ask whether original 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 health concern, so test during the inspection period.
- Permits on additions. For a pop top or rear addition, pull the permit history to confirm the work was inspected and closed.
Block to block, the things that change value are which side of the park you are on, whether a house faces the park or a parkway, how close it sits to busier streets like Downing, University or Alameda, and whether the lot is wide enough for the house you want to build.
How should you prepare to sell in Washington Park?
Buyers here compare a home against the same choices you see on the street: an original house, a remodel or a new build. We usually advise sellers to price against sales of the same type of house, on similar streets and the same side of the park, rather than against a neighborhood average that mixes all three. A 1920s bungalow with an updated kitchen is a different product from a recent rebuild two doors down.
Have your permits, sewer scope and any recent roof, electrical or foundation work documented before listing. If your lot could support a larger house, buyers who plan to rebuild will look closely at the lot and zoning, so a survey helps.
How does Washington Park compare with nearby neighborhoods?
North across Cherry Creek, the Denver Country Club neighborhood is a city historic district where exterior changes go through landmark design review, a very different set of rules from Washington Park’s standard zoning. To the northeast, Cherry Creek mixes row house zoning, townhomes and condominiums with a commercial district. East across University Boulevard, Belcaro has larger lots with many ranch homes. You can compare all of them on our neighborhood guides page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Washington Park a historic district?
The park is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, listed in 1986, and the parkways on Downing Street, South Marion Street Parkway and University Boulevard are Denver landmarks. The surrounding residential blocks are not inside a Denver historic district, so homes there follow standard zoning and permit rules.
What is the zoning in Washington Park?
Most residential lots are zoned U-SU-C, a single unit district with a 5,500 square foot minimum zone lot. Some blocks are U-TU-C, which allows two units. Confirm the district for a specific parcel on Denver’s zoning map.
When were most Washington Park homes built?
Most houses were built of brick between 1900 and 1940, after the city created the park beginning in 1899. Many have since been expanded with second story additions or replaced with new homes.
What is the difference between Washington Park and Washington Park West?
Denver has tracked them as separate statistical neighborhoods since 1972. Washington Park West lies west of Downing Street, while Washington Park runs from Downing Street east to University Boulevard and includes the park itself.
Thinking about buying or selling here? Request a home value for your Washington Park house, or set up a private consultation with us.
