Letters To The Editor, January 2024
News To Use
Re: the news story “Finding Shelter” in the December issue. Thank you for the comprehensive coverage on the various housing options for the unsheltered. All of the details are extremely helpful when informing the Central Park community.
Carol Hunter, Central Park
Good Explainer
Outstanding article, “Finding Shelter.” Thanks for explaining the situation so clearly and thoroughly.
John Lebsack, Park Hill
Another View
While Woody Garnsey and Penfield Tate III certainly deserve accolades for their past community work, I fail to understand how their “wins” over Park Hill Golf Course and, earlier, the City Park Pavilion, have benefited the Park Hill community.
Have any of you been to the golf course recently? If not, let me enlighten you, as I often cycle past it. It’s still a derelict, weed-choked piece of land that now has a big fence around it to keep people out. How is this open space? It’s been re-zoned for golf — oh, yippee, a fee-based, private use with negative environmental impacts. And to think we could have had a park and housing there.
As for the pavilion, this lovely building sits empty and unused most of the time. And, terrific, one can rent it to the tune of $900 or so for private events. How is this beneficial to us, the citizens who own this public park? I urge anyone who would like to see a truly vibrant park to visit Balboa Park in San Diego. It fairly buzzes with activity, from concerts to theatre to street vendors and buskers, and one of the buildings houses the beautiful upscale Prado restaurant.
Finally, lest you think I’m one of “them flatland fureigners” recently arrived to our city, let me clarify: I was born in Denver over 70 years ago and grew up in Park Hill.
Park Hill-ites, NIMBY-ism is really quite unbecoming for supposed progressives.
Sarah McGregor, Central Park
Editor’s note: McGregor’s letter is in response to the November, 2023 news story about Woody Garnsey and Penfield Tate III being honored as co-recipients of this year’s Babbs Award for community service. Garnsey and Tate led the efforts to protect the city-owned conservation easement at the Park Hill Golf Course, which Denver voters approved last April by a 2-1 margin. The story about Garnsey and Tate can be read at this link: greaterparkhill.org/committed-to-history/
Update On Montview House
My name is Mark Rinehart, and together with my wife Marianne, we purchased the property at 5013 Montview Blvd. a little over a year ago. We purchased a property that had sat vacant for over two years and was deteriorating due to neglect both inside and out with the intention of building our forever home. Park Hill has been our home for over a decade, and it holds a special place in our hearts as the community where we started our family, attend church, and have our children in school.
We’ve been actively listening to the diverse voices in the community, and we wanted to provide an update on the status of the property. We understand that some members of the community would prefer to see the house preserved in its current state, but regrettably, we lack the capacity and time to undertake the intricacies of a historic renovation project. My professional background is in media, and Marianne is a nurse. With two young boys under the age of 10 and Marianne coping with the recent loss of her father to cancer, the stress of this process has become overwhelming, and we recognize our limitations in handling something of this complexity.
To address concerns and explore potential solutions, we engaged in mediation with members of the neighborhood and Michael Flowers of Historic Denver. Acknowledging the applicants’ strong connections in the historic preservation field and their network of preservation-minded buyers, we are proposing a 45-day pause in the current process. During this period, Michael and the other applicants would have the opportunity to present the property for sale at the price we have invested thus far.
In the event that Michael and the applicants successfully secure a preservation-minded buyer willing to purchase the property and restore it to its original state inside the four walls of the current house, Marianne and I are prepared to step back from the project and explore alternative property options. However, should they be unable to secure such an arrangement within the proposed 45-day timeframe, we have requested that they consider withdrawing their application.
If anyone reading this has a potential buyer interested in the property, please feel free to reach out to Marianne or myself. We are more than willing to share surveys, plans, and any other relevant information that could assist a new buyer in making an informed decision. Please contact us to discuss real estate disclosures and terms of closing, etc.
We sincerely appreciate the community’s understanding and assistance throughout this process.
Mark and Marianne Rinehart, Park Hill
Buildings Tell The Stories Of A City, Of Us
I am typing this letter stuck in a very tight seat somewhere over the Atlantic, returning from Glasgow, Scotland, where I was visiting my parents for the holidays.
I grew up there and love going back for many reasons. Family and friends are of course at the top of the list, followed by the quality and continuity of its architecture and urban fabric. Like the concentric rings of a tree, the city grows out of its grand core, through Georgian and Victorian neighborhoods, to the post-war suburbs and beautiful countryside beyond. Glasgow is a city built of masonry and, perhaps because of this robust material, its buildings have evolved and adapted over time to tell the story of their city.
While Denver’s growth may be less concentric, it does, for now, have a comforting legibility with a clear link between its neighborhoods and the story of the overall city. From Curtis Park, Denver’s first suburb, to Globeville, home to many of the city’s first immigrants, to Five Points, the Harlem of the West, the contributions of each community to the growth and culture of their city are clear not just in academic books, but from a walk around each neighborhood (ideally with one of Historic Denver’s expert guides).
Park Hill is no different. Dating from the 1880s, the architecture of the neighborhood embodies the eclecticism of its early residents. From grand Victorian villas to midcentury homes for postwar families, the neighborhood’s many original buildings carry the patina of Denver’s growth and are a testament to their robust construction and adaptable design.
I was a resident of Park Hill in the 90s. In 2017 I moved back to Denver, 20 years after graduating from East High School. It was comforting to see that villas on Montview Boulevard, where I used to walk Sam, our dalmation, remain largely intact. I used to admire them and imagine what life would be like if I, somehow, would ever have the fortune of living in one.
It is therefore somewhat strange to be writing a piece about the potential demolition of one of these very buildings.
Built with the same bones as the masonry buildings in my home town of Glasgow, these structures are robust, adaptable, extendable, and versatile. They can grow to suit the needs of future generations, provided there is a will to nurture and respect them. The bungalow I once lived in on 23rd and Eudora has been sensitively converted to two stories. The building’s appearance has been altered but the weathering on its brickwork remains and the porch where previous generations (myself included) hung out on is still there.
Buildings tell the story of their cities and their communities; they tell the story of us. Collectively, they enrich our lives and keep history alive.
The first owner of 5013 Montview Blvd. was Harry Huffman, who contributed greatly to the vibrant Denver we know today. He was a theater mogul who came to own, at one time or another, nearly every theater in Denver during the 1920s, 30s and 40s. Crowds flocked to performances and his name was emblazoned in lights on the Tabor Theater. This is one of the reasons his former home was flagged by the City and County of Denver as being potentially eligible to become a local landmark, allowing the owners to access tax credits, as would a preservation easement.
Unfortunately, the permit that triggers the demolition review and resulting historical data was applied for late in the development process and the building now faces demolition.
There could still be an opportunity to retain and sensitively equip the home for the modern world, provided there is the will to do so. If you would like to support the future of 5013 Montview Blvd, please share the Zillow sale listing and email 5013Montview@gmail.com
John Deffenbaugh, Denver
The author is CEO of Historic Denver.
Editor’s note: The Denver Landmark Preservation Commission identified the house at 5013 Montview Blvd. as qualified to preserve as a landmark. Several Park Hill residents have filed a notice of intent to pursue protected designation of the house. A story detailing its historical importance and past owners appeared in the October issue, and can be read at this link: greaterparkhill.org/talk-of-the-neighborhood-october-2023/
We love your letters, and give preference to those that address an issue that has been covered in the newspaper, or a topic that is Park Hill or Denver-specific. Send letters to editor@greaterparkhill.org, and include your full name, and the neighborhood in which you live. Deadlines are the 15th of each month, for the following month’s issue.