Three Denver Neighborhoods to Walk with Great Mid-Century Architecture

*note: You can now download an interactive walking guide of this walk at https://www.gpsmycity.com/gps-tour-guides/denver-568.html

Mid-century residential architecture, with its angular roof lines, spontaneous circles, and slanted fences, captured the imagination of several neighborhood developers in Denver. They couldn’t put homes up fast enough as the post-WWII housing crunch in Denver demanded dense suburbs for relocating soldiers-turned-families.

Fortunately, many of these neighborhoods remain intact, and they provide great eye candy for super walks. Here, I list three neighborhoods stuffed with mid-century architecture and fantastic ~3-mile loops to walk within them. Take your own walking tour of mid-century homes. (Click on the neighborhood title to get a complete description of walk with map!)

Virginia Village

There are two mid-century neighborhoods in Virginia Village; they were built at a time when watermelon and asparagus fields gave way to affordable homes of the future. Before the growth spurt, the area was known as Sullivan. This area, a toll-call away from Denver, grew quickly, and soon the Denver Gardens and Cherry Creek Gardens subdivisions sported their futuristic “atomic” models.

The Harvey Parks

Actually two neighborhoods which split at Yale, Harvey Park and Harvey Park South have local reputations for having the best collection of mid-century homes. Think George Jetson meets California. Influenced or actually designed by architect Cliff May, you can find gorgeous original, mostly single-story homes graced by carports and jutting angles. But what many people don’t know is that the Harvey Parks have several lakes, an historic college campus, and homes ranging from the 40s to now.

University Hills/Wellshire

Actually, these are two neighborhoods abutting each other near University of Denver, but don’t confuse them with the University neighborhood. Sitting next to each other, University Hills and Wellshire contain a variety of homes from many decades, but the mid-century homes might be the most charming. A famous resident once lived near here, do you know who she was?

Did you have a good time on these walks? Which was your favorite? Post your pics and tag them with @denverbyfoot so I can see them!

Thanks

~Chris