Highland (Denver)
Encyclopedia
Highlands refers to two separate city-center neighborhoods in Denver, Colorado
. Highland, and West Highland are both in the area that is referred to as North Denver. The Highland neighborhood, bounded by West 38th Ave on the north, Union Pacific Railroad
lines on the east, South Platte River
on the southeast, Speer Boulevard and W 29th Ave to the South, and Federal Boulevard on the West, is located immediately northwest of downtown. Note that the Highland neighborhood association has a slightly different definition with the Easternmost boundary stopping at I-25. And the West Highland neighborhood to the immediate west of Highland, with the borders of 38th and 29th Avenues on the north and south and Federal and Sheridan Boulevards on the east and west. To distinguish between its immediately adjacent neighbor, West Highland, Highland is sometimes referred to as East Highland, Lower Highland or LoHi. The latter two names are mostly used by realtors. The two together are casually called "the Highlands," a term which often encompasses other Northwest Denver neighborhoods such as Jefferson Park
, Sunnyside and Berkeley. To add further confusion, within the Highland neighborhood there are several historic designations of various degrees, including Potter Highlands, Scottish Highlands and Highlands Park.
West Highland and the Highland neighborhoods (almost all of zip codes 80211 and 80212) currently has a population of about 57,000 people.
Highland is often confused with the suburb of Highlands Ranch, located approximately 20 miles to the south. The similarity in name is merely a coincidence.
, who the previous month had founded Denver City. In 1859 the Highland town company formed, and a Platte River bridge was planned to connect to Auraria and Denver. The Rocky Mountain News noted:
After the May 1864 flood wiped out parts of Denver, new people moved up the hill to the west. The Fifteenth Street Bridge made the western hills accessible and as the years passed streetcars made the area even easier to reach.
In 1875, Owen Le Fevre and other developers petitioned the Arapahoe County Commissioners to establish a village government. After annexing Potter Highland and Highland Park, they formed the Town of Highlands which became a city in 1885.
Residents were fairly homogeneous. Most were Protestant and they tended to vote Republican. Many men participated in the Masonic Lodge and other similar clubs. In 1892, the young men of Highland formed the North Denver Athletic Club which gave them facilities similar to those enjoyed at the Denver Athletic Club, playground of Denver's elite.
The women joined churches and other societies. One society of note was the North Side Women's Club, where they heard lectures and completed good works around the area.
The residents also counted on Owen Le Febre's artesian well for clean drinking water and the breezes from the west provided clean air by blowing away any smog. Residents supported bond issues for schools, a library, and other civic improvements because they expected to have those services. The founding fathers eventually found it difficult to maintain such city services. In 1896, after considerable discussion, the residents voted to allow Denver to annex the town.
Separated from the city by the South Platte River
and neighboring railyards, Highland remained suburban in character for some time while attracting a variety of immigrants. Large numbers of Italians migrated to the area. Scottish Highlands was a project of nineteenth century developers who wanted to "brand" a new neighborhood with a distinct identity. Hence the Scottish names and quaint curvy streets. The original name was Highland Park. (from Rebecca Hunt)
The arrival of the Denver Tramway Corporation streetcar line in Highland better connected the area to downtown Denver and led to growth. As a streetcar suburb
, Highland developed commercial centers near streetcar stops, some of which still exist today, including 32nd Ave and Tejon, 32nd Ave and Zuni (then called Gallop), 32nd Ave and Federal (then called "The Boulevard" or "Boulevard F"), as well as 32nd and Lowell in the West Highland neighborhood, now renamed "Highland Square".
and Platte River Bridge
in the Central Platte valley, along with the construction of the Highland Bridge
over Interstate 25 in 2006. Preservationists stepped in to save some of the city's most architecturally interesting areas within the Highland neighborhood, such as Potter-Highland Historic District and Stonemans' Row Historic District. Proximity to downtown led to rapid growth of the area in recent years, while the area today is one of the more sought-after city-center neighborhoods. Consequently, considerable redevelopment is occurring in Highland along with a noticeable rise in density, as high-end condominiums and lofts replace older structures and parking lots. However, Highland still offers a large stock of historic single family homes—now some of the closest historic single family construction to Denver's original town site on the South Platte River.
The racial breakdown for the West Highland neighborhood is 42.54% white
(25.42% white alone-non Hispanic), 1.89% African American
, 0.78% Asia
n, 0.33% Native American
. Hispanic
or Latino
of any race are 71.58% of the population. The Highland neighborhoods racial makeup is 15.97% white
(7.63% white alone-non Hispanic), 2.99% African American
, 1.03% Asia
n, 0.63% Native American
. Hispanic
or Latino
of any race are 87.72% of the population.
Crime in the Highland neighborhoods are on par with the Denver city crime rate, with a rate of 66 incidents per 1,000 people. Property crimes such as burglary, larceny theft, vehicle theft, and robbery are slightly above city and national averages, while violent crimes are slightly below.
The North Denver Tribune, North Denver News
, and the Highland United Neighbors, Inc. [H.U.N.I.] offer community papers that cover the Highland and other northwest Denver neighborhoods. There are two neighborhood associations that represent the two neighborhoods. West Highland Neighborhood Association [WHNA] and Highland United Neighbors, Inc. [H.U.N.I.] pronounced "Honey". Updated contact information for these neighborhood associations can be found at Denver's City Web site.
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. Highland, and West Highland are both in the area that is referred to as North Denver. The Highland neighborhood, bounded by West 38th Ave on the north, Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
lines on the east, South Platte River
South Platte River
The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River and itself a major river of the American Midwest and the American Southwest/Mountain West, located in the U.S. states of Colorado and Nebraska...
on the southeast, Speer Boulevard and W 29th Ave to the South, and Federal Boulevard on the West, is located immediately northwest of downtown. Note that the Highland neighborhood association has a slightly different definition with the Easternmost boundary stopping at I-25. And the West Highland neighborhood to the immediate west of Highland, with the borders of 38th and 29th Avenues on the north and south and Federal and Sheridan Boulevards on the east and west. To distinguish between its immediately adjacent neighbor, West Highland, Highland is sometimes referred to as East Highland, Lower Highland or LoHi. The latter two names are mostly used by realtors. The two together are casually called "the Highlands," a term which often encompasses other Northwest Denver neighborhoods such as Jefferson Park
Jefferson Park (Denver)
Jefferson Park is a neighborhood and public park that overlooks downtown Denver from its perch across Interstate 25 . It is located in the area that is called North Denver. Views east from Jefferson Park take in Elitch Gardens Theme Park, The Children's Museum, Denver's Downtown Aquarium, Pepsi...
, Sunnyside and Berkeley. To add further confusion, within the Highland neighborhood there are several historic designations of various degrees, including Potter Highlands, Scottish Highlands and Highlands Park.
West Highland and the Highland neighborhoods (almost all of zip codes 80211 and 80212) currently has a population of about 57,000 people.
Highland is often confused with the suburb of Highlands Ranch, located approximately 20 miles to the south. The similarity in name is merely a coincidence.
History
The townsite of Highland was laid out in December 1858 by William Larimer, Jr.William Larimer, Jr.
William Larimer, Jr. was a Kansas state senator, American settler, and land developer who is best known as the founder of Denver, Colorado in 1858. Larimer often went by "General Larimer", having acquired the title in the Pennsylvania Militia....
, who the previous month had founded Denver City. In 1859 the Highland town company formed, and a Platte River bridge was planned to connect to Auraria and Denver. The Rocky Mountain News noted:
- "No more handsome location for residences can be found than on the highlands of Highland, on the opposite side of the river from and overlooking Auraria and Denver, and a vast extent of surrounding territory."
After the May 1864 flood wiped out parts of Denver, new people moved up the hill to the west. The Fifteenth Street Bridge made the western hills accessible and as the years passed streetcars made the area even easier to reach.
In 1875, Owen Le Fevre and other developers petitioned the Arapahoe County Commissioners to establish a village government. After annexing Potter Highland and Highland Park, they formed the Town of Highlands which became a city in 1885.
Residents were fairly homogeneous. Most were Protestant and they tended to vote Republican. Many men participated in the Masonic Lodge and other similar clubs. In 1892, the young men of Highland formed the North Denver Athletic Club which gave them facilities similar to those enjoyed at the Denver Athletic Club, playground of Denver's elite.
The women joined churches and other societies. One society of note was the North Side Women's Club, where they heard lectures and completed good works around the area.
The residents also counted on Owen Le Febre's artesian well for clean drinking water and the breezes from the west provided clean air by blowing away any smog. Residents supported bond issues for schools, a library, and other civic improvements because they expected to have those services. The founding fathers eventually found it difficult to maintain such city services. In 1896, after considerable discussion, the residents voted to allow Denver to annex the town.
Separated from the city by the South Platte River
South Platte River
The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River and itself a major river of the American Midwest and the American Southwest/Mountain West, located in the U.S. states of Colorado and Nebraska...
and neighboring railyards, Highland remained suburban in character for some time while attracting a variety of immigrants. Large numbers of Italians migrated to the area. Scottish Highlands was a project of nineteenth century developers who wanted to "brand" a new neighborhood with a distinct identity. Hence the Scottish names and quaint curvy streets. The original name was Highland Park. (from Rebecca Hunt)
The arrival of the Denver Tramway Corporation streetcar line in Highland better connected the area to downtown Denver and led to growth. As a streetcar suburb
Streetcar suburb
A streetcar suburb is a residential community whose growth and development was strongly shaped by the use of streetcar lines as a primary means of transportation. Early suburbs were served by horsecars, but by the late 19th century cable cars and electric streetcars, or trams, were used, allowing...
, Highland developed commercial centers near streetcar stops, some of which still exist today, including 32nd Ave and Tejon, 32nd Ave and Zuni (then called Gallop), 32nd Ave and Federal (then called "The Boulevard" or "Boulevard F"), as well as 32nd and Lowell in the West Highland neighborhood, now renamed "Highland Square".
Highland Today
The redevelopment of the Central Platte Valley in the late 1990s and early 2000s saw Highland's fortunes rise. Highland became much more accessible to downtown with the construction of the Denver Millennium BridgeDenver Millennium Bridge
The Denver Millennium Bridge is the world’s first cable-stayed bridge using its post-tensioned structural construction. Its 200-foot white tapered steel mast rises above Denver’s northwestern skyline, connected to the bridge deck and foundation anchors by steel cables...
and Platte River Bridge
Platte River Bridge
The Platte River Bridge is the second of three pedestrian bridges to connect Downtown Denver with the Highland neighborhood.The cable-stayed bridge crosses the South Platte River between Commons Park and Commons West Apartments along the former 16th street viaduct.-External links:***...
in the Central Platte valley, along with the construction of the Highland Bridge
Highland Bridge
The Highland Bridge is the third of three pedestrian bridges to connect Downtown Denver with the Highland neighborhood. The bridge crosses the Valley Highway between Platte Street and Central Street as an extension of the 16th Street Mall....
over Interstate 25 in 2006. Preservationists stepped in to save some of the city's most architecturally interesting areas within the Highland neighborhood, such as Potter-Highland Historic District and Stonemans' Row Historic District. Proximity to downtown led to rapid growth of the area in recent years, while the area today is one of the more sought-after city-center neighborhoods. Consequently, considerable redevelopment is occurring in Highland along with a noticeable rise in density, as high-end condominiums and lofts replace older structures and parking lots. However, Highland still offers a large stock of historic single family homes—now some of the closest historic single family construction to Denver's original town site on the South Platte River.
The racial breakdown for the West Highland neighborhood is 42.54% white
White
White is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in nearly equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings. A white visual stimulation will be void of hue and grayness.White light can be...
(25.42% white alone-non Hispanic), 1.89% African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
, 0.78% Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
n, 0.33% Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
. Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
or Latino
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
of any race are 71.58% of the population. The Highland neighborhoods racial makeup is 15.97% white
White
White is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in nearly equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings. A white visual stimulation will be void of hue and grayness.White light can be...
(7.63% white alone-non Hispanic), 2.99% African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
, 1.03% Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
n, 0.63% Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
. Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
or Latino
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
of any race are 87.72% of the population.
Crime in the Highland neighborhoods are on par with the Denver city crime rate, with a rate of 66 incidents per 1,000 people. Property crimes such as burglary, larceny theft, vehicle theft, and robbery are slightly above city and national averages, while violent crimes are slightly below.
The North Denver Tribune, North Denver News
North Denver News
The North Denver News is a monthly community newspaper that reaches 35,000 readers in the Denver neighborhoods of West Highland, Highland, Berkeley, Sloan's Lake, Sunnyside and Jefferson Park in north Denver....
, and the Highland United Neighbors, Inc. [H.U.N.I.] offer community papers that cover the Highland and other northwest Denver neighborhoods. There are two neighborhood associations that represent the two neighborhoods. West Highland Neighborhood Association [WHNA] and Highland United Neighbors, Inc. [H.U.N.I.] pronounced "Honey". Updated contact information for these neighborhood associations can be found at Denver's City Web site.