Neighborhood Spotlight: Villa Park

Villa Park
According to the Piton Foundation, Villa Park is about 80% Latino, 15% white, and 5% other ethnicities. The neighborhood also has a large immigrant community with more than 35% of residents born in another country. The population is mostly lower middle class with an average income of about $40,500, more than $15,000 a year less than the city of Denver's average yearly income. Around 24% of Villa Park's population is below the poverty line. Crime rates are close to Denver averages except for somewhat higher rates of burglary.

 

History

In 1871, developers bought more than 1,000 acres of land in the area that now includes the Villa Park and Barnum neighborhoods. Original plans called for a subdivision with artificial lakes, ravines and beautiful landscape design by Frederick Law Olmstead, the man who designed Central Park in New York City. The plan never came to fruition and the land was sold to Judge Hiram Bond who operated a cattle brokerage there until 1891. At that time it was sold by Bond to Helen Barnum Hurd Buchtel, the daughter of circus owner Phineas Barnum, whose family was active in Denver real estate. Because of unfavorable geography, Villa Park was slow to develop and only had about 66 buildings in the area by the 1900 census. Single-unit construction continued slowly into the 1950s when most of the neighborhood had been fully developed. In the 1960s and 70s, more multi-unit building construction occurred in Villa Park, primarily in the western side of the neighborhood.

Today

The Villa Park neighborhood consists chiefly of single-family homes with some apartment buildings and several apartment complexes. Commercial development exists primarily on the major thoroughfares of Sheridan and Federal Boulevards with smaller commercial areas along 6th and 10th Avenues and Knox Court. In early 2013, the west corridor of the FasTracks is expected to be completed next to Lakewood Gulch. The west corridor project will provide light rail service to the neighborhood with stops at Knox Court, Perry Street and Sheridan Boulevard.

Source: Wikipedia

More Info: The Piton Foundation - Villa Park

 

 

Neighborhood Spotlight: Globeville

Globeville

The changing patterns of Globeville are inextricably bound up with the history of the community and its ethnic and religious groups. Globeville was established on ranch land purchased for that purpose by the Globe Smelter Company. Slavic workers were known to have settled in the area around 1885. As other smelter and packinghouses located nearby, local workers were attracted to Globeville. The tall smokestack represented in Denver's City Seal depicts the smelting industry era centered in Globeville.

 

History

The Globeville neighborhood was originally settled in the late 1880s around the Globe Smelting and Refining Company. Many of the early workers were Eastern European immigrants, including Austrians, Croatians, Germans, Poles, Russians, Scandinavians, Slovenians, and other Slavic peoples. In addition to the smelters, the railroad and packing plant industries offered employment opportunities. Even in its early years, Globeville was isolated from the rest of the city. The railroads and South Platte River served as physical barriers. With such limited access, the majority of people who worked within Globeville also lived in the neighborhood. The diverse immigrant populations thrived as churches and social organizations grew up around the various nationalities. Globeville’s isolation was further impacted in the mid-20th century when two interstates were constructed that bisected the neighborhood. Construction of Interstate 25 began in 1948 and was completed in 1958. Interstate 70 was subsequently completed in 1964. Interstate 70 divided the eastern residential area of Globeville, and its construction resulted in the loss of 30 homes.

Today

Globeville’s history as a home for immigrants has continued into the present. Over the past few decades, an increasing Latino or Hispanic population has moved into the Globeville neighborhood. The current mix of multi-generational residents and new immigrants continues the rich diversity that the Globeville neighborhood experienced in the past. Today, portions of Globeville continue to be physically isolated from the rest of Denver by the freeways, railroad lines, and the South Platte River. However, the freeways and railroads have also continued to make Globeville an attractive location for business and industry. Several large operations and employers are located within the neighborhood and nearby, including the Denver Coliseum and Stock Show complex, the Bannock Street furniture business district, and the Pepsi bottling plant.

Source: Wikipedia

More Info: The Piton Foundation 

 

 

4.6.13 - ECM Work Day in Barnum

Boulder County K-Life

 

Chaparral High School Lacrosse Team

 

Individuals

 

Summary of 4.6.13 ECM Work Day in Barnum:

• Volunteers - 95
• Projects - 14
• Volunteer Hours - 425

 

April Extreme Endeavors: Be A Good Neighbor

Extreme Community Makeover NewsletterApril Extreme Endeavors April 2013

In This Issue The Big Day of Serving The Big Day of Serving February Volunteers Quick Links About ECM Contact ECM Donate Help ECM build stronger communities in Denver through your financial support. Checks can be made to: Extreme Community Makeover and sent to: Extreme Community Makeover PO Box 102586 Denver, CO 80250-2586 Greetings! This time of year is always exciting at ECM as we move into our regular schedule of volunteer opportunities and projects where people like you lend a helping hand and demonstrate what it looks like to be a good neighbor. In fact, around this time 5 years ago, ECM had our first group of volunteers work with us. Now, 5 years later, 13,820 people have volunteered with ECM and 1,281 families have partnered with ECM volunteers to complete a project at their home. It's been an amazing 5 years and I'm looking forward to seeing what the next 5 years hold in store! Angela Bomgaars, Executive Director 2013 ECM Work Days ECM Work Days start this Saturday and will continue every other weekend throughout late October. Future dates can be found on the calendar on our website by clicking here. Saturday, April 6 @ 9:00 am (Barnum) Bethany United Methodist Church - 3501 West 1st Avenue The Big Day of Serving Saturday, April 20 @ 8:00 am (Westwood) Kepner Middle School - 911 South Hazel Court To get involved, please RSVP to Angela and follow the links below to fill out the appropriate liability form.

Celebrating 5 Years of ECM The Big Day of Serving The Big Day of Serving is almost here! On Saturday, April 20, join hundreds of people who will make a huge impact together in the Westwood neighborhood. We will be painting four houses, making significant improvements to four alleys near the four major schools, planting a community garden, and cleaning alleys/removing graffiti. For more details and to register a group of youth to participate, click here. We can also use a few more project leaders and people with trucks. Contact Angela if you would like to get involved this way. Schedule: 7:00 am - Participants check in 8:00 am - Kickoff Rally 8:30 am - Depart for projects 12:00 pm - Lunch at project sites 3:00 pm - Block Party Celebration 6:00 pm - Rockies Game March Volunteers Thank you to Colorado School of Mines, Front Range Christian School, and Rocky Mountain School of Expeditionary Learning for volunteering during the month of March!

Thank you for partnering with ECM to make a difference in Denver neighborhooods! Sincerely, Extreme Community Makeover

Celebrating 5 Years of ECM!

Neighborhood Spotlight: Westwood

Westwood
Before the depression of 1929, Westwood was little more than rolling prairie land. Westwood developed during the depression when times became hard and cheap land was the only land people could afford. It became a shack town, trailer town and tent town. Building lots were sold for $1 down and 50 cents a week. Then came World War II, and shack town became boom town. The Denver Ordinance Plant (present day Federal Center) was built west of Denver. Westwood was near the plant and land still was comparatively cheap, with building restrictions almost non-existent. Arms plant workers flocked to the town of Westwood. Houses, some below Denver's standards, were rapidly built. In 1946, lots were selling on West Alameda Avenue for $10,000 a pair. Businesses increased from corner groceries to swank road houses, several with gross sales of $100,000 a year. The growth was too fast for any real community planning.

History

P.T. Barnum of "The Barnum & Bailey Circus" bought 760 acres of undeveloped land just west of Denver and platted a subdivision in 1882. He paid $11,000 for the land. From this project, some years later, another development company continued where P.T. Barnum left off, subdividing farther south along Morrison Road. The following is taken from a 1946 newspaper article describing the town of Westwood. From these two projects grew "one of the most thriving and upcoming little cities in the west... Westwood, Colorado."

Today

A dense, predominately single family residential neighborhood in southwest Denver with a population of 15,486, in Westwood 81% percent of residents are Latino, 11% are white, 4.3% are Asian/Pacific Islander, 1% is Native American, and 2% is African American. A large proportion of the population is recently arrived, mostly Mexican, immigrants. More than 25% of residents do not speak English, and over 60% of births are to foreign mothers. In 2000, 24% of residents had not lived at their address the previous year. The average annual wage in Westwood in 2000 is less than 1/3 of Denver’s average, at $11,336, as compared to Denver’s average annual wage of $37,406. Over 87% of children attending Westwood public schools qualified for free and reduced lunch in 2007. The neighborhood has many assets, including rich and unique cultural diversity. Nearly one-third (32.9%) of Westwood’s population is under age 18. A committed team of diverse residents and organizations are working tirelessly to promote healthy eating and active living and economic opportunity in Westwood. The coalition has diverse participants from multiple sectors, strong resident participation, and a resident vision for a walkable, bikeable, active community.

More Info: The Piton Foundation - Westwood 

 

 

Neighborhood Spotlight: Swansea

Swansea
Swansea and Elyria have their own unique histories, yet the two neighborhoods share common historical features. In the mid-19th century, Denver was a miners' town, and settlements began to form around it. The Swansea-Elyria area was the site of two of these early settlements. People and industry liked the area because it was close to the South Platte River and its land was flat. Among those attracted by the expanding economic opportunities were Slavic immigrants who settled in Swansea and Elyria in the mid-19th century, when the two neighborhoods were part of Arapahoe County.

 

History

The Swansea neighborhood was apparently named by early settlers after the mining seaport town of Swansea in Wales. Swansea was established around 1870, after the Kansas Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads were completed. At that time, a demand for smelter facilities arose. Until then, gold had been extracted from ore at the smelter in Black Hawk, Colorado. To satisfy demand, a company was organized and a large parcel of land in the area now called Swansea was acquired at the junction of the two railroads. Mismanagement closed the Swansea smelter after a few short years, and the facility was abandoned. About 1875, the Village granted a right-of-way for a steam railroad in Swansea. However, the proposed railroad was never built and the right-of-way grant was repealed by the Swansea Town Council in 1881. Although the annexations of this area to Denver are complicated and involved, most of present-day Swansea was annexed in 1883 and 1902.

Today

Aside from its large amount of industrial and commercial development, the greatest influence on the Elyria-Swansea area environment has been Interstate 70, which was built directly through both neighborhoods in the early 1960s, despite the objections of area residents and business owners. They opposed the imposing viaduct because, they said, it was an eyesore that would hurt property values. Despite the encroachment of the interstate, the physical character of both Swansea and Elyria has remained basically stable since the end of World War II. Small sections of well-maintained, single-family homes are interspersed with larger areas of commercial and industrial development such as Denver Union Stockyards, Cudahy Meatpacking, Denver Pepsi Cola Bottlers, and numerous other firms.

Source: Wikipedia

More Info: The Piton Foundation - Swansea