I hadn’t been on Brighton Boulevard for some time because of all the construction, and when I discovered the home at 3543 Brighton was gone, it felt like losing a family member.
Brighton Boulevard was once called Wewatta Street, and the area was platted as part of the Ironton subdivision in 1881. There were jobs nearby: Rocky Mountain Ore Production Works, Denver Rolling Mill, Colorado Iron Works (where The Source is today), Denver Ore Sampling Works, and the Omaha and Grant Smelter. By the late 1880s, single-family homes on 25-foot lots were starting to sprout up along Wewatta and Delgany Streets, close to the heavy industries. (It was advantageous to be able to walk to your job).
The home at 3543 Wewatta was built in 1888 by William A. Farrow, who worked as a stone cutter for R.C. Greenlee and Sons, a firm that specialized in masonry and decorative architectural elements. Farrow demonstrated his artistic skill on his own home. Delicately carved lintels and faces adorn the windows, and stone quoins mark the corners. Even the chimney is decorated. This exquisite little gem is gone. If you google 3543 Brighton Boulevard, you can see what’s being built there now.
I get it - this tiny home sold for $400,000 and is worth more as redevelopment than as a historical site. Although the RiNo (RiverNorth) neighborhood touts its industrial roots, evidence of that story is being systematically erased, and with it, the community’s history and personality. The generic condos and apartments that line Brighton Boulevard could be anywhere - Glendale, Broomfield or Aurora. The area once attracted artists, painters, sculptors, and fabric designers, because is was more affordable than lower downtown. Can artists even consider the district now?
One artist, William A. Farrow, has had his work demolished. Farrow will join the nameless craftsmen whose artifacts are acquired by salvage firms and find another life in some new condo or trendy tavern - maybe even in RiNo.
With the completion of the Broadway Extension project,
Wewatta Street was renamed Brighton Boulevard
by the Denver City Council in 1924. Denver Urbanism
Wewatta Street was renamed Brighton Boulevard
by the Denver City Council in 1924. Denver Urbanism
8 comments:
Beautiful little house! What a shame.
Mark, So much of Denver's personality is disappearing - this one brakes my heart.
Mary Lou
maryloudesign@comcast.net
This house was built by my great-grandfather, William Farrow, before he brought his wife to Denver from Scotland. My grandmother, Annie Farrow Marr, and my mother, Helen Marr Wilson, were both born in this house. My great-uncle Thomas Farrow, who served in Russia and Japan in WW I, in this house his whole life. We are so sad to see it’s gone, but i guess it was inevitable.
Annie Farrow married John Marr, who owned the John Marr grocery store across and down the street. I wonder if it’s still there.
William Arres Farrow was my great-great grandfather. I visited this house many times during the 1950's when William's son Thomas lived there. The exterior of the house with all the stone carving was exquisite, however the interior was quite small and very spartan. I believe there were only four rooms; two on each floor. Family lore says that William, his wife Betsy, their four children and William's brother James lived in the house. Its sad to see the house gone, but that neighborhood is no longer a residential area supporting family living.
Unknown and William Wilson,
I loved that house - I took photos each time I could get close. I wondered about the fellow who built this house and how carefully he carved those beautiful faces. So much has been lost in Denver - when I looked up information on the area, other craftsmen as well as stone carvers had little houses along the street, close to their jobs working on big homes and high rise buildings being built downtown.
What has replaced almost everything on Brighton Boulevard are town homes and condos that could be anywhere - Glendale, Broomfield, Thornton, New Jersey. So many stories - I wish someone had cared about this gem instead of seeing it as a lot to be sold.
Thank you both for sharing your wonderful stories - I loved hearing them.
Mary Lou
maryloudesign@comcast.net
Unknown, I'll see if I can find out about the John Marr Grocery and if the building is still there.
Mary Lou
Paste this line in your browser
https://researchworks.oclc.org/archivegrid/collection/data/43793401
Does it look familiar?
Mary Lou
One more about John Marr Grocery - 3560 Brighton Boulevard, Denver 80216 - the building is still there and looks like the one in the researchworks site above. Built in 1920 - probably won't be there long -
Mary Lou
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