In another attempt to address the foreclosure issue in Colorado, the Denver Office of Economic Development is launching programs to lessen the impact of foreclosure on Denver neighborhoods.

Some of the Denver area neighborhoods that stand to benefit from the programs are Montbello, Green Valley Ranch, Northeast Park Hill, Elyria Swansea, West Colfax, Villa Park, Barnum, Athmar Park, Westwood and Mar Lee. For more on the activity, see the Denver Business Journal article dated May 13, 2009.

We thought it was the hip place to have coffee, drinks, or good vegetarian and organic fare back in the ’90s, probably because it was. And it still is. The Mercury Cafe has been doing good things for Denver and the Five Points area for years. Between being the go-to venue for poetry jams, swing dances, Denver’s hottest bands, community theater, and other celebrations of the arts, the Mercury is one of those places in Denver it’s hard not to root for.

Thanks to its matriarch, Marilyn, “the Merc” is going strong after it settled in the middle of Denver in 1990. She’s a patron and champion of the arts and letters, and it’s good to see there’s room for a place in Colorado like it. After all, who else is going to provide space for an event called Literary Death Match?

The Mercury Cafe
2199 California Street (see a map of California Street)
Denver, CO 80205

The Congress Park neighborhood in Denver is a classic in the middle of some of Denver’s best attractions. Considered the place where Denver proper gets some of its best flavor, it’s also a place where families, couples, professionals, seniors, natives, and a wide variety of other kinds of residents gather together under the banner of community. It’s where you’ll find “old Denver” favorites such as City Park, home of the Denver Zoo, Gates Planetarium, and the Natural History Museum. At the southwest corner of the area, you’ll find Cheesman Park and the renowned National Jewish Medical and Research Center. Minutes from Capitol Hill and Downtown Denver, Congress Park strikes a happy medium for those who want to live where a lot of the action is, without sacrificing the architectural character and diversity of areas that have been razed and rebuilt with new construction and/or high-rise buildings.

One of the marks of a desirable neighborhood is a strong neighborhood association or organized efforts that better the neighborhood atmosphere and support open communication between residents, local and state agencies, and cooperating organizations. Such efforts can yield such results as lower crime rates, higher property values, and an overall better quality of life for residents and visitors.

In furtherance of that kind of community commitment, Congress Park residents will hold its annual Congress Park Alley Cleanup on Saturday, May 16, 2009. For more information, see the Congress Park Neighbors Web site at http://congressparkneighbors.org/

If you mentioned the name “Clement’s Addition“ to anyone under the age of sixty, you would likely be met with a confused look. No, Clement’s Addition is not the name of the contracting company your friend hired to pop the top on his two-bedroom bungalow. Although it’s one of Denver’s more interesting, celebrated, and historic communities, Clement’s is not always recognized by name. Much like a lesser-known working actor, you’ll recognize Clement’s Addition when you see it; you just didn’t know its name.

Where It Is: Southeast of Lower Downtown (LoDo) between 20th and 22nd Streets (see map of 20th Street), from Tremont Place (map of Tremont) to Glenarm Place (map of Glenarm).

What It Is: Clement’s Addition is a little sliver of old Denver; it’s the oldest intact block of housing in the city, along with Curtis Park, which remains remarkably intact north of 23rd Street (map of 23rd Steet). South of the line, however, there isn’t much residential remaining with any regularity. The exception is the Arapahoe Square area, with what is becoming a less sparsely-housed neighborhood just west of Clement’s. Clement’s Addition proper is the one surviving block that staved off the bulldozers and wrecking balls of the mid-70’s that made way for the 1976 Winter Olympics Housing.

What’s Nearby: The arts and lit scene, eg the Thomas Hornsby Ferril House on 2123 Downing Street, now home to the Lighthouse Writers Workshop and formerly other fine nonprofit organizations in service to Denver and its people (Ferril was Colorado’s Poet Laureate from the late ’70s until his death in 1988). Also Benedict Fountain Park, Curtis Park, Arapahoe Square, Ballpark, Central Business District, LoDo, Park Avenue Addition, and numerous lightrail stations.

What’s to See: A new 32-story luxury high-rise at 1950 Welton Street, historic single-family homes, historic office conversions, brand-new, one-of-a-kind brownstones at 2137 Glenarm Place, and more.

Also Known As: A part of the greater neighborhood area known as Uptown.