Montclair is a

neighborhood A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neigh ...

in the

City and County of Denver Denver ( ) is a consolidated city and county, the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. It is located in the Western United States, in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains east of ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

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. The

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

U.S. Post Office The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal serv ...

( ZIP Code 80220) serves Montclair postal addresses.

Neighborhood history

Montclair was originally developed as a small suburban community east of

. The land was purchased and developed by the Montclair Town and Improvement Company in 1885. One of its founders, Matthias P. Cochrane, originally came from Montclair, New Jersey and named the new community in its honor. The other founder, Baron Walter von Richthofen, was a German nobleman and uncle to

Manfred von Richthofen Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen (; 2 May 1892 – 21 April 1918), known in English as Baron von Richthofen or the Red Baron, was a fighter pilot with the German Air Force during World War I. He is considered the ace-of-aces of th ...

, the celebrated World War I flying ace known as the 'Red Baron'. The community was originally designed to attract wealthier residents who were turned off by Denver's "400 saloons and forty Market Street bordellos". To this end, homeowners were required to purchase and build on lots that were twice the Denver standard size of 25 feet by 125 feet. Homes were required to be at least three stories high, made of brick or stone. In addition, town trustees had to approve all plans and saloons and alcohol were forbidden. The community became the incorporated town of Montclair in 1888. In 1893, the crash of the silver market and the ensuing

Panic of 1893 The Panic of 1893 was an economic depression in the United States. It began in February 1893 and officially ended eight months later. The Panic of 1896 followed. It was the most serious economic depression in history until the Great Depression of ...

brought all development to a halt. Baron von Richthofen then began to promote the town as a health retreat, calling it the 'Carlsbad of Colorado'. However, due to his sudden death from

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the Appendix (anatomy), appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fever and anorexia (symptom), decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these t ...

in 1898, plans for a health spa, art museum, hotel, gymnasium, casino and pavilions never materialized. By 1900, the US Census recorded only eighty-eight families living in Montclair. In 1902, the newly created City and County of

began to incorporate the town of Montclair. The town objected strongly to its inclusion and fought the City of

all the way to the State Supreme Court. Montclair lost and annexation was made final in 1903. Then-mayor Robert W. Speer eased the transition by beautifying and extending Richthofen's system of parkways and boulevards from the central city into the suburb, planting many trees and erecting fountains and monuments. In 1907, the Montclair Improvement Association was formed to push the City of Denver into providing "graded, curbed, oiled and lighted streets, water and gas mains, a sewer system, parks and parkways and other services."

Historic District and Community Association

In the 1960s Denver, along with many cities across the country, began to experience problems with

urban decay Urban decay (also known as urban rot, urban death or urban blight) is the sociological process by which a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude. There is no single process that leads to urban decay. ...

and suburban flight. Crime, welfare, unemployment and overcrowding rates all rose. In 1968, a successor to the dormant Improvement Association was created, called the Montclair Community Association (MCA) which eventually became the Historic Montclair Community Association, Inc. (HMCAI).Thomas J. Noel. Richthofen's Montclair: A Pioneer Denver Suburb. pp 33. Graphic Impressions, Inc. (c) 1976 Jane Smith, a Montclair preservationist, began pushing the idea of a

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains historic building, older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal p ...

in 1973. In 1975, residents and the Denver City Council voted to make the central heart of Montclair a

. This made Montclair one of the first neighborhoods to seek landmark designation, and the district was the fifth city-designated landmark district.Thomas J. Noel and William J. Hansen. The Montclair Neighborhood. pp. 14. Historic Denver, Inc. (c) 1999 Precisely the same requirements that made Montclair exclusive at the turn of the century became a driving force behind the establishment of the district - the neighborhood includes grand old trees, large lots, and distinctive houses, including nineteenth-century

Victorian architecture Victorian architecture is a series of Revivalism (architecture), architectural revival styles in the mid-to-late 19th century. ''Victorian'' refers to the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901), called the Victorian era, during which period the st ...

and

Queen Anne style architecture in the United States Queen Anne style architecture was one of a number of popular Victorian architecture, Victorian architectural styles that emerged in the United States during the period from roughly 1880 to 1910. It is sometimes grouped as New World Queen Anne R ...

as well as 'TB houses' designed specifically for

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

sufferers. However, during the twentieth century these original homes were joined by

bungalows A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is typically single or one and a half storey, if a smaller upper storey exists it is frequently set in the roof and windows that come out from the roof, and may be surrounded by wide verandas. Th ...

, cottages,

Tudor revival Tudor Revival architecture, also known as mock Tudor in the UK, first manifested in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture, in rea ...

, and modern Ranch-style houses.

As Denver architect and architectural critic Tom Morris puts it, "Montclair buildings are a catalog of architectural styles from 1885 to the present. If a person is interested in what the American suburban dream might look like if ever brought to fruition, Montclair is its living model."

In addition to land marking the architectural merit of Montclair, the historic district designation served as a means of community preservation and revitalization.

Geography

Montclair is located at (39.734914,-104.908769). The neighborhood boundaries are Colfax Ave to the north, 6th Ave to the south, Holly Street to the west and Quebec to the east. What is commonly known as East Montclair is located east of Quebec, north of 11th Ave, south of Colfax and west of Yosemite. Montclair Post Office is located in East Montclair, which borders Lowry to the south and Aurora to the east.

Parks

Montclair has four city parks: * Montclair Park, located at Richthofen Place Parkway and Oneida St * Mayfair Park, located at 10th and Jersey St * Kittredge Park, located at 9th Ave and Olive St * Denison Park, located at Richthofen Pl and Quebec St

Schools

Montclair is home to Montclair Elementary School in the 1151 Newport St and Palmer Elementary School at 955 Grape St. Montclair Elementary is a Denver Public School serving grades K-5. Starting in 2005 Montclair has seen a rebound in neighborhood attendance. St. James Catholic School (preschool - 8) and Paddington Station (preschool) are both private schools located in the Montclair neighborhood.

References

External links

City and County of Denver

City and County of Denver: Neighborhoods mapState of Colorado

History Colorado
{{authority control Former municipalities in Colorado Neighborhoods in Denver Richthofen family