When you think of historic districts in North Denver, you likely think of Potter Highlands, Packard’s Hill, or one of the other neighborhoods designated as having historical importance. Not every historic district is an entire neighborhood though, and Denver’s newest district is around one square block behind Highland Park.
The Tilden School for Teaching Health Historic District was proposed by a group of North Denver residents and sponsored by former Councilman Rafael Espinoza as one of his last actions in office.
The district is named after Dr. John Henry Tilden who founded the school in 1916. An early adopter of holistic medicine, he preferred alternatives to surgery and medicines. The Tilden School was one of many sanatoriums and other health facilities opened in Colorado because of the belief that our climate and altitude was beneficial to patients.
The school’s headquarters, the Bosler House, was individually designated as a Denver landmark in 1984. It is flanked by the primary facility next door at 3249 W. Fairview Place and an apartment building for patients on the other side at 3279 Grove Street. All three buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
“These buildings tell a story about Denver and the people who came to our city seeking good health,” said Laura Aldrete, executive director of the Denver Community Planning and Development. “By preserving them, we are not only protecting their architectural significance, but also keeping these interesting stories alive.”
Council unanimously voted to approve the 56th historic district with a vote of 12-0. District 1 City Councilwoman Amanda Sandoval, whose council district the historic district resides in, was absent due to illness but was supportive of its creation and sent a statement after passage:
“Although I was unable to officially vote on District 1’s new historic district due to being home under the weather, I was proud to support moving the application forward when it came to the City Council land use committee and am proud the application received unanimous approval from my colleagues on Monday, Dec. 16. I’d like to thank the applicants who worked on advancing Northwest Denver’s new Historic District and the residents of the Tilden Building for working together in such a thoughtful, proactive way.”
Photos courtesy of Paul Cloyd.
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