Baker Historic Home Tour
The Baker Historic Neighborhood Association (BHNA) takes pride in the preservation and conservation of the neighborhood’s unique history. Through this home tour, we hope to honor that history and the members of the neighborhood who work so hard to preserve it.
Nestled between Lincoln south of 6th Avenue from South Platte River to Lincoln and ending at Mississippi Avenue, our residents and visitors enjoy a wide array of restaurants, event venues, and community spaces. Baker was designated a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985 and became a historic district in Denver in 2000. Baker continues to draw residents who love the charm of its history and the conveniences of its urban location. The neighborhood’s history begins in the early 1800s when it was referred to as South Side or South Broadway. It was Thomas Skerritt who laid out South Broadway from Englewood to Cherry Creek. He accomplished this by pulling a heavy log behind the wagon to create a broad roadway. Because the road was the widest street in the area, it was referred to as “Broadway."
Nestled between Lincoln south of 6th Avenue from South Platte River to Lincoln and ending at Mississippi Avenue, our residents and visitors enjoy a wide array of restaurants, event venues, and community spaces. Baker was designated a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985 and became a historic district in Denver in 2000. Baker continues to draw residents who love the charm of its history and the conveniences of its urban location. The neighborhood’s history begins in the early 1800s when it was referred to as South Side or South Broadway. It was Thomas Skerritt who laid out South Broadway from Englewood to Cherry Creek. He accomplished this by pulling a heavy log behind the wagon to create a broad roadway. Because the road was the widest street in the area, it was referred to as “Broadway."
William Lang, a prominent Denver architect constructed some of the most interesting homes in the city, including the Molly Brown house, and 39 of his homes are in Baker (albeit more modest). The neighborhood’s greatest period of construction occurred during 1888 to 1893, which encompassed the Victorian architectural era, including the Queen Anne Style. Today, 46% of the buildings in the Baker Historic Neighborhood are Queen Anne Style. Distinctive features of the American Queen Anne style may include asymmetrical facades, dominant front-facing gables, overhanging eaves, towers, balconies, and elaborate ornamentation. Larger homes in the Baker Historic District even retain their original barns (or carriage houses), some of which have been renovated into Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs). The area was also a hub for various modes of transportation, providing a background rhythm of movement to the neighborhood, including trains along Santa Fe Drive and cable cars running on South Broadway after the early 1900s.
Baker residents appreciate the diversity of our community and the varied architecture of our homes, churches, and business buildings. We would be honored to invite you to enjoy our Home Tour, see inside our charming homes, and experience our community - come join us!
Baker residents appreciate the diversity of our community and the varied architecture of our homes, churches, and business buildings. We would be honored to invite you to enjoy our Home Tour, see inside our charming homes, and experience our community - come join us!
