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Speer

About Speer

Despite the bustling street bearing its name, the Speer neighborhood is a quiet residential area. Since the early 2010s, this area has seen growth in residential and commercial properties, making it a perfect spot for families, young professionals, retirees, and more. The Speer neighborhood is bordered north and south by Seventh Ave and Alameda and Downing and Broadway to the east and west.

Demographics

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11,715

Total Population
Denver Population: 693,417

33.6

Median Resident Age
Denver Median Resident Age: 34.6

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$54,249

Median Income Per Resident
Denver Median Income Per Resident: $41,778

$61,077

Median Income Per Household
Denver Median Income Per Household: $64,973

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$1,173

Median Rent
Denver Median Rent: $1,255

$406,433

Median Home Value
Denver Median Home Value: $399,216

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29.8%

% homes owner occupied (vs. renter)
Denver % of homes owner occupied (vs. renter): 50%

89.3%

% homes occupied (vs. vacant)
Denver % home occupied (vs. vacant): 94%

Speer-Year Home Was Built

Data for Year Home Was Built-Speer Compared to Denver
Speer Denver
Before 1940 31% 19%
1940 - 1949 3% 7%
1950 - 1959 10% 15%
1060 - 1969 22% 11%
1970 - 1979 15% 14%
1980 - 1989 6% 7%
1990 - 1999 5% 7%
2000 - 2009 2% 12%
2010 - 2013 3% 4%
After 2013 4% 3%

Speer-Resident Ethnicity

Data for Resident Ethnicity-Speer Compared to Denver
Speer Denver
White 81% 54%
Hispanic 11% 30%
Black 2% 9%
Indigenous 0% 1%
Asian 4% 4%
Hawaiian PI 0% 0%
Other 0% 0%
Two or more 2% 2%

Speer-Resident Education Level

Data for Resident Education Level-Speer Compared to Denver
Speer Denver
Bachelor or higher 72% 48%
Some college 19% 22%
HS grad or Equiv 7% 17%
Less than HS 2% 13%

Speer-Resident Age

Data for Resident Age-Speer Compared to Denver
Speer Denver
Under 10 5% 12%
10 - 19 4% 10%
20 - 29 26% 18%
30 - 39 29% 20%
40 - 49 13% 13%
50 - 59 9% 11%
60 - 69 8% 9%
70 - 79 4% 5%
80+ 2% 3%

Registered Neighborhood Organizations

lineart illustration of hour glass with sands nearly all in the bottom indication time is running outSpeer History

Alamo Placita, which means “little cottonwood plaza” in Spanish, is located 3 miles southeast of downtown Denver and is bounded by East 7th Avenue to the north, Downing Street to the east, and the Cherry Creek to the southwest....

Alamo Placita, which means “little cottonwood plaza” in Spanish, is located 3 miles southeast of downtown Denver and is bounded by East 7th Avenue to the north, Downing Street to the east, and the Cherry Creek to the southwest. It was purchased in 1864 by Moses Hallett, an attorney from Illinois, but by 1889 he had sold it to the Arlington Park Land and Improvement Company and became one of their investors. Speer was in the real estate business and the Arlington Park Land and Improvement Company became his first major client. It wasn’t long before Speer was involved in starting the Arlington Park amusement park, which opened its doors on July 4th, 1892. Over 12,000 people attended, perhaps to see the main event, which was a spectacular performance called “The Last Days of Pompeii”, in which Speer used 300 actors and a 64-foot tall Mt. Vesuvius, which erupted in fireworks. Just as the park’s future seemed bright, the Silver Crash of 1893 occurred, which devastated the economy, forcing the park to close. Victorian houses from this early development boom prior to the Silver Crash can still be seen throughout the neighborhood today. After 1893, the area remained largely undeveloped for the next 20 to thirty years.

In 1898, Chutes Park opened on the old Arlington site, advertising themselves as the “Coney Island of the West”. They had three new main attractions. First, just as the name suggests, there was a large waterfall ride, in which riders in boats flowed down the graded falls to a lake below. The next attraction was “Shooting the Chutes” with Miss Sadie Boynton. Spectators would watch in amazement as she rode down the falls on a bicycle. Third, there were Professor Barnes’ diving elks. He had actually trained a herd of elks to climb up a 60-foot high platform and dive off into a pool of water. A couple of major fires in 1901 and then again in 1902 forced Chutes Park to permanently close. Robert Speer used the experience he gained from planning the Arlington Park addition to Alamo Placita, as well as the connections he formed promoting the amusement park, to run for public office.

By 1930, records show that over 90 percent of the current historic buildings were built and by 1940 it increased to 94 percent. The types of structures built during those early years of the 20th century were single family dwellings, multifamily dwellings, as well as some commercial buildings. The popular architectural styles of that era were a mixture of bungalows, Tudor style, Spanish Mission style, and other vernacular styles that reflected the Southwest. After World War II, when the suburban building boom was drawing people out to shiny new homes in the suburbs, the Alamo Placita neighborhood became home for many working-class people looking for more affordable housing. From the 1960s through the 1980s, young professionals like teachers, doctors, and lawyers made the neighborhood home. There was also a newfound appreciation for the architecture in the area, which led to the formation of the Alamo Placita Neighbors Association. In 2000, the Denver Landmark Preservation Commission unanimously recommended designation of the Alamo Placita Historic District, based on its historical, architectural, and geographical significance.

This content was prepared by local non-profit Historic Denver, Inc., with excerpts from the organization’s Historic Denver Guides series and other research. Historic Denver was founded in 1970 and provides technical assistance to owners of historic properties, conducts research, advocates for preservation, and owns and operates District 10’s own Molly Brown House Museum at 1340 Pennsylvania. For more information, or to get answers to your historic home questions, visit www.historicdenver.org.

Public SafetyPublic Safety


Denver Police District 3

Email | Website

Address: 1625 S University Blvd.
Phone: 720-913-1300

Community Resource Officers:

Mike Borquez
mike.borquez@denvergov.org
720-913-1183

Matt Grimsley
matthew.grimsley@denvergov.org
720-913-1218

Jim Lopez
jim.lopez@denvergov.org
720-913-1248

Antonio Pacheco
Antonio.pacheco@denvergov.org
720-913-1245

Denver Police Districts Map

The map above shows the outline of Police Districts 2, 3 & 6 within the boundaries of Denver District 10. 

District 10 Neighborhoods

Click on the map to explore other District 10 Neighborhoods. Neighborhoods are shown outlined on the map below and are linked to pages: Belcaro, Capitol Hill, Cheesman Park, Cherry Creek, Civic Center/Golden Triangle, Congress Park, Country Club, North Capitol Hill/Uptown, and Speer.

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Map of District 10