In the Neighborhood
by Felicia Diamond
 

Hilltop

Bounded by: 6th Avenue on the North; Alameda Avenue on the South; Colorado Boulevard on the West; Holly Street on the East.


George Cranmer found Hilltop. His Italian Renaissance style home was built in 1923 on top of what was known as Mountain View. By 1950, it was the area in which to live. And, it still is. The view today is as stunning as it was then: a panorama of the front range of the Rocky Mountains from Pikes Peak in the south to Longs Peak in the north. The neighborhood quickly became an enclave for the wealthy who were able to design and build their own homes. Hilltop was not built on uniform design elements. There are more than 25 different architectural styles represented in the area. While the majority of homes were Tudor, there was always room for the avant garde, the contemporary, Mission Revival, International, and the outright stunning.

But if you want to see Hilltop as it ought to remain but won’t, you’ll have to hurry. Hilltop has fallen prey to the mini-mansion craze in which all Mediterranean or Tudor homes sit from property line to property line. And, it’s rather sad. The charm of Hilltop was its diversity of styles. Ok. Let’s stop our whining! There’s still plenty to see in the neighborhood!

I’m going to suggest four day-strolls that will each be approximately 1 to 2 miles in length. If you’re feeling particularly energetic, you can do all four all in a day.

Let’s start at Sixth Avenue and Colorado Boulevard and just stroll up to Holly. The beautifully manicured laws frame the eclectic designs of the homes. Hungry already? At Holly, turn south and head over to The Cheese Company on Third Avenue. This is my favorite take-home food of all time! The good folks at the Cheese Company prepare an amazing collection of entrees each week. The food is always good, creative and well priced. After lunch, head back to 6th Avenue and walk the other side. You’ll spot an original farm house or two. This trek will be two miles.

The second walk will take you to the Clermont Historic District. It sits just north of George Cranmer’s mansion. This walk can be done in two ways or all at once. First, begin at 6th and Clermont. Head South until you reach 4th Avenue. Turn west at Hill Middle School and walk one block to Birch. Walk south and enjoy the charm of this neighborhood. A perfect example of International Style sits on the east side of the street. Walk up to 3rd Avenue, turn west and walk to Bellaire. Turn North and enjoy Mission Revival style homes. The stroll along this street and the next two . . . Ash and Albion is simply delightfully comfortable. There isn’t a home in this section not worth wanting. This walk is 1.1 miles.

The third walk also takes you through the Clermont Historic District in the most straight-forward fashion: begin at 6th and Clermont, walk through Cranmer Park (don’t forget to check out George Cranmer’s mansion on the east side as well as some rather stunning contemporary homes). Be sure to check out the Sundial and the Mountain Panorma set in flagstone that details the major peaks of the Front Range. Once you reach 1st Avenue, turn around and enjoy either another stroll through the park or pop around the block to see the backside of the mansions facing Cranmer Park. At 3rd Avenue, head back to Clermont and check out the gardens and homes on the East side of the parkway. This walk will be about 1.8 miles.

And, finally the fourth stroll in Hilltop begins at 1st and Ash. Walk south to Bayaud. This is perhaps the smallest street in Denver and features some spectacular homes as well as the backside of Shangri-La (built by James Huffman in the 1930’s after the mansion featured in “Lost Horizon”). Take a left turn onto Bayaud then left again to Bellaire, back to 1st Avenue, right and then again south on Birch. Walk down Birch until you reach Bayaud, turn right and then an immediate right on Shangri-La. This little semi-circular section of Hilltop features Shangri-La, Cableland (now the official residence of theDenver Mayor even though none has yet to live there), and a series of contemporary designed homes. Once again, the view here is spectacular! Turn again onto Bayaud and walk on Albion back to 1st Avenue. The distance: 1.2 miles.

Hilltop has more to offer than just gorgeous residential homes and gardens. There are two small shopping districts, one at 3rd and Holly and the other at Cedar and Holly. Next door to the Cheese Company is a lovely little Italian restaurant,Locando del Borgo. A couple of blocks south, you’ll find Pete’s Vegetable Market and Summer Hill Market (Formerly Fred’s Fine Meats). Summer Hill has created a fine market hybrid of meats, poultry, fish, canned and frozen items and some additional take-home. Given that Pete’s and Summer Hill are next door to each other, the two together make a nicely accessible market that’s within walking distance of many people.

And, there’s one more feature that Hilltop boasts: it’s within walking distance to Cherry Creek.

Want to live there? Whoa! You’ll need lots of money! This is the area of million dollar homes! Less than that and it’s a tear-down, scrape-off or pop-up. A condominium development at 3rd and Holly offers some nice spaces for considerably less. And, there are a few remaining houses that could surely use a nice sprucing up!

Felicia Diamond

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