Denver in Context: A Historic Context Series
The Denver in Context series seeks to recognize and honor all those who have been part of Denver’s history, celebrating diverse cultures and acknowledging tragic histories. By creating written histories, documenting places of significance, and sharing these with the wider Denver community, Denver Community Planning and Development’s Landmark Preservation team aims to tell a fuller, richer history of Denver.
Landmark Preservation initiated its Denver in Context series in 2020 to engage historically marginalized communities in preservation conversations by developing historic contexts and sharing tools to protect and celebrate our city’s heritage and culture. Denver’s designated historic landmarks do not represent the city’s full history and do not adequately reflect the diversity of the various communities—including racial, ethnic, religious, gender, sexual, and cultural identities—who have called Denver home. Ongoing development puts places associated with historically marginalized communities at risk. Through the Denver in Context project, Landmark Preservation seeks to work with communities to identify, document, and preserve places significant to Denver’s history so that they may be preserved and honored as Denver continues to grow.
What is a historic context?
Historic contexts tell the story of how, when, and why a place developed. The Denver in Context series examines the forces, people, ideas, and cultures that have shaped Denver. It is focused on sharing the stories of the communities who have often been excluded from historical narratives.
Historic contexts are not intended to be chronological recitations of a community’s significant historical events or a comprehensive community history. Instead, historic contexts focus on identifying patterns and themes in history. Land use patterns and the built environment are expressions of the ideas and cultural practices of individuals and groups in response to the climate, geography, economy, politics, technology, and available resources. Historic contexts seek to connect history to the world around us.
Historic preservationists use historic contexts to guide preservation planning. Historic contexts provide the tools needed to evaluate the potential eligibility of buildings, sites, and landscapes for historic designation. They can also be used to raise awareness and appreciation of a community’s history.
Denver Community Planning and Development has developed several historic contexts to help guide the city's work to identify and protect significant historic places across Denver, including the citywide building survey Discover Denver.
Current Contexts
Denver Landmark Preservation's next historic context will focus on Denver's LGBTQIA+ community. The project will launch in 2027.
Completed Contexts
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