Mid-century Resources Littleton Boulevard

Listed: 2014

Constructed: Various

Threat: Demolition; development

Closest Town to Resource: Littleton

Significance: The Mid-century Resources of Littleton Boulevard include several commercial buildings and building complexes that can be found along the Littleton Boulevard corridor south of Denver. While many building owners have embraced their mid-century buildings, many have become vacant and received little maintenance in the past few years. These buildings are integral to interpreting the automobile movement of the 1950s in Littleton. Mid-century resources are under attack throughout the country; often seen as dated and obsolete, they fall victim to the wrecking ball and demolition by neglect. Recent Urban Renewal Authority plans for the area have increased concerns for the structures.

Site Needs: Awareness, promote identified key resources, and monitor Urban Renewal Plans for the area. Support expansion of the Main Street District.

Update: Due to development pressures, Littleton has expressed increased interest in its mid-century resources. A historical survey has been completed to expand the Main Street Historic District to the east as a non-contiguous “opt-in” district. That includes several possible mid-century buildings on the corridor. A consultant is also developing design standards and guidelines for future work on the homes in Louthan Heights. Preservation consultants Diane Wray Tomasso and Michael Paglia completed the new survey to understand these resources better.

Listed: 2010

Constructed: 1884

Threat: Development

Closest Town to Resource: Littleton

Significance: Willowcroft Farm was added to the Colorado State Register of Historic Places in 1993 as an example of a complex rich in architectural significance and social history. Settler, politician, and one of the most important early settlers in the Littleton area, Joseph W. Bowles, hired noted Denver architect Robert Roeschlaub (known for the Central City Opera House, Trinity Methodist Church in Denver, and the Chamberlin Observatory) to design the main house in 1884.

When listed on the Endangered Places in 2010, the complex included the main house, bunkhouse, smokehouse, horse barn, and a large two-story barn originally built to house a dance hall and speakeasy in the 1920s. The main house (constructed from rose-colored lava stone quarried in Castle Rock) was intended to be an architectural and technological showpiece. A newspaper article from 1884 reported that the house was “furnished with hot and cold water on every floor, heated by furnaces and lighted by gas made on the premises. Nothing has been omitted that could add to the comfort and convenience of the household.” Willowcroft was surrounded on two sides by a neighborhood of multimillion-dollar homes, which resulted in significant development pressure. The Farm was sold at auction. Colorado Preservation, Inc. started discussions with the new owner encouraging the preservation of both the land and the buildings as an urban farmstead. Unfortunately, the property was demolished in 2011, despite the efforts of Colorado Preservation, Inc., who urged saving the buildings at the commission meeting