From the 1859 Four Mile House to the 1875 Crawford Building — the ten oldest surviving landmarks in Denver, and the frontier stories behind each one.
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Denver was founded in 1858, and a surprising number of its earliest buildings are still standing — some hiding in plain sight on Larimer Square, others tucked into residential blocks in Highland and Capitol Hill. This guide tours the ten oldest surviving landmarks in the city, from the 1859 Four Mile House stage stop to the 1875 Crawford Building's Second Empire façade.
Built in 1875, the Crawford Building at 1600 Glenarm Place is the finest surviving example of Second Empire commercial architecture in Denver — a Mansard-roofed statement of Eastern sophistication planted in a frontier city that was determined to project confidence.
Built in 1874 by Henri Foster — the developer who platted the original Town of Highlands — this Italianate Victorian at 3445 West 32nd Avenue is one of the oldest surviving structures in Denver's Highland neighborhood, and the home from which Foster sold the neighborhood's earliest lots.
Eugene Field — the poet who wrote 'Wynken, Blynken, and Nod' — lived in Denver from 1881 to 1883, editing the Denver Tribune and writing poetry. The 1875 house associated with his Denver years has a legend attached: bullet holes in the exterior woodwork, reportedly from a robbery near the Denver Mint.
Built in 1873 on Larimer Street, the Kettle Building pioneered party-wall construction in Denver — a method where both side walls are shared with neighbors. It's a small but historically significant piece of how Denver's dense downtown fabric was assembled.
Built around 1875 on Gaylord Street, the Bosler House sat vacant and deteriorating for decades until the fines for landmark violations reached $560,000 — one of the largest preservation fine cases in Denver history. A preservation coalition then rescued it.
Built in 1874 at 1338 15th Street, this Wells Fargo express office is one of the few surviving examples of Gothic Revival commercial architecture in Denver — pointed arches on a frontier money house, chosen to project the solidity of a cathedral.
In August 1876, 39 delegates gathered in a modest building at 14th and Blake Streets to write the Colorado State Constitution. The Centennial State was born in Constitution Hall — which was later demolished for a parking lot.
Barney L. Ford arrived in Denver having escaped slavery via the Underground Railroad. By 1863, he had built a brick commercial building on Blake Street that housed one of Denver's finest restaurants — serving Black and white diners at the same table when most of the city was segregated.
Built in 1859 as a stage stop four miles from Denver's land office, Four Mile House is the oldest surviving structure in the Denver area — a log-and-frame frontier inn that still operates as a living history museum in today's Four Mile Historic Park.
Built in 1873 on Denver's oldest commercial street, the Gallup-Stanbury Building anchors Larimer Square — the historic district that preservationist Dana Crawford saved from demolition in the 1960s for $1 million.
Each landmark below links to a full profile covering when it was built, who built it, what happened inside its walls, and how it survived the demolition waves that erased most of frontier Denver. Visit them in order and you walk through the city's first two decades — gold rush, statehood, and the railroad boom that turned a mining camp into the Queen City of the Plains.
This guide is maintained by the 303Happenings editorial team and updated regularly. Have a suggestion? Use the contact form.
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