Denver Leaders Approve 55th Historic District

DENVER (CBS4) - Denver has a new historic district. City Council members approved the city's 55th historic district located near Interstate 25 and 23rd Avenue.

River Drive near Jefferson Park consists of 16 homes which represent trends from Denver's early history when the Gurley Brothers developed one of the first subdivisions west of the South Platte River. Most of the homes were built between 1886 and 1896 and originally had a relationship with the Zang Brewery located where the Denver Downtown Aquarium currently stands. The first residents were of Scottish, English and German descent.

According to the preservation advocacy group Historic Denver, River Drive tells the story of the historical connection between old sections of downtown and North Denver. River Drive was one of the first residential blocks in this area of the city and is now the last remaining intact block in the rapidly changing Jefferson Park neighborhood.

Residents petitioned for the designation and did some of the required research work themselves.