Henri Foster didn't just live in the Highlands — he built it. In 1872, Foster platted the original Town of Highlands on the high ground northwest of Denver. In 1874, he built his own home at what is now 3445 West 32nd Avenue, a 2-story Italianate Victorian that still stands today. Denver Landmark #31, the Henri Foster House is one of the oldest surviving structures in the Highland neighborhood, and the address from which Foster marketed Denver's first streetcar suburb.

⚠️ Editor note: Research on this building is relatively thin. Supplemental sources from Denver Public Library Western History Collection or Denver Landmark Preservation Commission records are recommended before final publication. Denver Historic Landmarks Map

⚠️ <strong>Private Residence.</strong> The Henri Foster House is a private home and is not open to visitors. The exterior is viewable from the West 32nd Avenue sidewalk. Please respect the residents' privacy.

The Town of Highlands was incorporated in 1872 on the high ground above Denver's South Platte River lowlands. Henri Foster was its principal developer — he platted the townsite, laid out the streets, and began selling lots with a pitch that emphasized what downtown Denver lacked: clean air, elevated terrain above the flood plain, mountain views, and the genteel residential character of an Eastern suburb.

Foster built his own home on West 32nd Avenue in 1874 as a demonstration of the neighborhood's character. Potential buyers would take carriage rides from downtown Denver and orient themselves relative to Foster's house, which represented the kind of Victorian domesticity he was selling. Highlands marketed itself to Denver's growing professional and business class as a respectable alternative to the crowded, noisy city below.

The 1864 Cherry Creek flood — which had devastated downtown Denver — was a powerful selling point. Highlands sat well above the floodplain; Foster's sales pitches emphasized the elevation explicitly. The neighborhood's high ground, combined with carriage access along 32nd Avenue and later streetcar service, made it one of Denver's most desirable early suburbs.

Highlands was an independent municipality until Denver annexed it in 1896. Today the Highland neighborhood (also called "LoHi") is among Denver's most sought-after residential and dining destinations. Denver's Oldest Landmarks

The Henri Foster House is a two-story Italianate Victorian frame house — the dominant residential style in American cities in the 1870s. Decorative eave brackets, a bay window on the main facade, clapboard siding, and a porch with turned spindle columns characterize the style. These details were ordered from catalogs and applied by local carpenters following widely distributed pattern books; the Italianate house was essentially the "spec home" of its era.

The house's survival is partly a function of the Highland neighborhood's relative stability over the 20th century. Unlike some Denver neighborhoods that experienced cycles of commercial development or disinvestment, the residential blocks around West 32nd Avenue maintained much of their Victorian-era fabric. Explore Denver

Henri Foster's real estate sales technique was ahead of its time. He would load potential buyers into carriages in downtown Denver and drive them to the Highlands, narrating the journey — the elevation gain, the improving air quality, the expanding mountain views. By the time the carriage reached his own home on West 32nd Avenue, buyers had experienced the product firsthand. It was an early version of the immersive sales tour, adapted to the frontier real estate market.

3445 West 32nd Avenue, Denver — in the Highland neighborhood. RTD bus route 32 runs along West 32nd Avenue. Parking is available on nearby residential streets. The surrounding neighborhood — LoHi and Highland — is excellent for walking; dozens of restaurants and bars are within a few blocks.

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