The Eugene Field House in Denver: Tribune Years and 1883 Mint Robbery

The Eugene Field House sits in Washington Park, where it operates as a branch of the Denver Public Library system and serves as the headquarters for Park People. The house was built in 1875 and was first located at 315 W. Colfax, so its story begins on West Colfax before it reaches the park. Three dated points carry that story: the 1875 build, Eugene Field's time as managing editor of the Denver Tribune from 1881 to 1883, and an 1883 robbery near the Denver Mint. This guide sets those dates in order and shows where each one comes from, for readers who want the house's record rather than legend. The reason to go is that the house is where the Tribune years and the 1883 Mint robbery meet in one building.

The Eugene Field House was built in 1875, a date given in the 303Happenings landmark entry, which covers the house under Denver's Oldest Landmarks. The Denver Public Library's history of the building says the house was first located at 315 W. Colfax. That address puts the first location on West Colfax, and the house stood there before it came to Washington Park. The two sources divide the work: the landmark entry gives the build year, and the library record gives the original address. The 1875 date is the earliest fact in the story, so the rest of this guide follows the house from the Colfax site into the park.

Eugene Field was managing editor of the Denver Tribune from 1881 to 1883, and he lived in the house during those years, according to the 303Happenings landmark entry. The Denver Public Library's history gives the same residence years, so the two accounts agree on the dates. That span is the part of the house's record a reader should hold in mind first, because the later dates are placed against it. For background on Field and the house, the article House is memento of memorable Denverite is the next thing to read. Each date in this section has a named source behind it, and none of them depends on local legend.

The 303Happenings landmark entry places an 1883 robbery near the Eugene Field House, at the Denver Mint. That year is also the last year of Field's Tribune period, so the robbery falls at the end of the dated residence described above. The three dates line up in order: the 1875 build, Field's 1881 to 1883 tenure, and the 1883 Mint event. The source states the robbery, its year and its location near the Mint, and this guide keeps to that statement and nothing more. Readers who want the Mint in the story should take it as one dated event placed near the house in 1883.

According to the Denver Public Library's history of the building, the house is now a branch of the library system in Washington Park and is the headquarters for Park People. That current use is the clearest change from the house's earlier record at 315 W. Colfax. A building that first stood on West Colfax now works as a library branch and a park base. For a reader planning a visit, the park is where the story stands today. The 1875 build, Field's Tribune years and the 1883 Mint robbery all lead to that present use, and the house's role in the park is the last link in the sequence.

Three facts come from the 303Happenings landmark entry: the 1875 build, Field's 1881 to 1883 managing editorship and residence, and the 1883 robbery near the Denver Mint. The article House is memento of memorable Denverite is listed for background on Eugene Field and the house. The original West Colfax address, the library branch and the Park People headquarters come from the Denver Public Library's history of the building. Readers who want to check any date in this guide can start with those three entries.

Updated 2026-10-11: removed unsourced dates, ages and architecture claims; kept the 1875 build, the 1881 to 1883 Tribune years and the 1883 Mint robbery.