Old North End Neighborhood

Old North End Neighborhood

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HISTORY:

The Old North End Neighborhood is located in the heart of Colorado Springs, about one mile north of the Downtown. It is a residential area that is one of the community’s oldest and most distinctive neighborhoods. To the west of the Old North End is Monument Valley Park, a linear park along the banks of Monument Creek donated to the town by its founder, General William Jackson Palmer, in 1906.

The historic district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in December, 1982 because it contained the best intact collection of turn-of-the-century residential architecture within Colorado Springs. Another Historic District, the Weber-Wahsatch Historic District flanks the eastern side of the Neighborhood.

Although some houses in the Neighborhood were begun in the 1870’s, the real building boom began in the 1880’s. After the Cripple Creek gold boom which began in 1891, 373 homes were built around the turn of the century. Typical for the era, the homes were set back some distance from the street to create a deep front yard and a formal entrance. Most North End homes from that period were built with large porches with decorative detailing and trim. The Hassell Iron Works provided many of the ornamental iron fences seen in the neighborhood. Homes were built in a wide variety of styles popular at the time: Italianate, Colonial Revival, Georgian Revival, Tudor, Shingle, Queen Anne, Dutch Colonial Revival and early Craftsman. Noted town planner, Charles Mulford Robinson, was retained by the city in support of its first Comprehensive Plan to create the landscaped medians that are characteristic of the Neighborhood.

In contrast to the large estates, the majority of the twentieth century building in the Old North End consisted primarily of bungalows and cottages in period revival styles, which although smaller, continued the area’s tradition of high quality design and materials.

Noted early residents of the Old North End: James (Jimmie) Burns, Percy Hagerman, Cassius Hibbard, Arthus Sharp, Artus Van Briggle, E. P. Shove, L.A. Giddings, Gerald Webb.
Noted architects of Old North End Homes: Thomas MacLaren, E.E. Neiman, Nicholas van den Arend, firm of Douglas & Hetherington, F. E. Edbrook.

OLD NORTH END NEIGHBORHOOD TODAY:

The Neighborhood remains proud of its distinctive architecture, its mature landscaping, its old park, Monument Valley Park, and its new park, Steele School Park, completed in 1997 through the tireless efforts and contributions of people in the neighborhood (spanning 11 years) and the community at large.
The Old North End Neighborhood Board, selected from among your neighbors, attempts to keep watch on the general health of the neighborhood. The Board strives to keep a single precept at the forefront of all its activities: that we are a residential neighborhood (therefore we keep watch on intrusions of a non-residential nature, such as advertising, city efforts to remove portions of our medians and landscape buffers, and increasing cut-through automobile traffic). The Neighborhood has a Master Plan, formally accepted by City Council in 1991 which defines the neighborhood and outlines its goals. The Neighborhood also has a book, North End Historic District Design Guidelines, which is of invaluable assistance to people hoping to restore, or even paint, their North End home, or who may simply like to know more of the Neighborhood’s history.





OLD NORTH END NEIGHBORHOOD BOARD MEMBERS 1998-1999 (annual meeting--May)

President: Cathy Mundy 471-8244
Vice-President, President Elect: Randy Karsh 471-3238
Secretary: Jon Thomas 634-3946
Treasurer: Jerry White 471-8215

Susie Chambless 630-3996
Mary Hayden 471-5871
Chris Jenkins 477-9549
Carrie O’Connell 632-6701
Sharon Schriner 473-9254
Rich Tallman 633-2393
Joanna Thompson 635-0388

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