Screening potential buyers in order to preserve an atmosphere of “conscience and culture” was the name of the game early in the development of the University Park/Observatory Park neighborhood. University Park, platted in 1886, contained 100 lots and the first house was constructed at 2525 Evans. The Chamberlain Observatory, also designed by Roeschlaub, was built in 1891 and contained an $11,000 20” refractor lens which was installed after being on display at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair it was so impressive! The Iliff School of Theology was completed in 1893 and designed by Frank Edbrooke, who also designed the Brown Palace and the Oxford Hotel.Īmidst the development of DU, the surrounding neighborhoods were also growing. Robert Roeschlaub designed DU’s first building, University Hall, at the northwest corner of University and Warren. Railroad lines brought materials for construction and the trolley which extended from East Washington Park to DU in 1890 brought people.
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Rufus Clark, founder of South Denver, donated $500 and 80 acres (University to High, Evans to Iliff) for the school.Īdditional donations from Humphrey Baker Chamberlain ($5000 for a telescope) and Bishop Henry White Warren’s wife, Elizabeth ($100,000 for a theological seminary) led to further expansion of DU.
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Property values in downtown skyrocketed and Evans realized he needed a new location for his project. It reopened in 1880 and was called the University of Denver under the Colorado Seminary. The success of the school was short-lived as it closed in 1868 and was technically only a prep school, with students ranging from primary to college age. Active in railroads and real estate, he developed Northwestern University in the 1870’s, and wanted to create a comparable institution here in Denver.Ī devout Methodist, Evans worked hard to create the Colorado Seminary, located at 14th and Arapahoe, in 1864. Evans was named Colorado’s 2nd territorial governor by Abraham Lincoln in 1862. The building is conveniently located to offer residents close proximity to community amenities, public transportation, the nearby University of Denver and the opportunity to take advantage of views to downtown Denver and the impressive ever-present Front Range vista.University to Colorado Boulevard, Evans to Yale History The connection between Northwestern University in Illinois and the history of the University Park/Observatory Park neighborhood lies in one man-John Evans.
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Building amenities include a fitness center, bistro, outdoor patios and a roof top garden. The residential area is approximately 92,000 sf with a subterranean parking garage that offers 48 parking spaces to its residents. Other hospitality-like design elements include the plaza seating along the building’s front facade impersonating a ‘front porch’ and the location of activated common spaces, such as dining, club, and theater spaces on the ground level behind a very transparent facade. The entry sequence uses trends seen in urban hospitality settings where visitors enter via a covered auto court to either pick up or drop off a resident or proceed to the parking ramp. Morningstar at Observatory Park is a 5-story senior living project that takes cues from the surrounding neighborhoods and the University of Denver campus, intending to fit within the historical context by using materials that are respectful and complimentary of its surroundings.