Historical Bonnie Brae resembles a Village in Scotland
Bonnie Brae can be described as a neighborhood with towering trees, fabulous neighborhood businesses and convenient central Denver location, is a very popular Denver community
Denver’s Bonnie Brae neighborhood offers us a few rare glimpses of the 1930s Art Moderne architectural style. Bonnie Brae, whose name means “Pleasant Hill,” in Gaelic is a historical neighborhood in Denver designed to resemble a village in Scotland complete with shops, a central park and curving streets. Today, you can find homes of varying architectural styles: Cape Cod, English Tudor, brick ranch and more. Homes built in this style used classical elements in a streamlined manner and gloried in curved corners, bands and panels of glass blocks, and horizontal bands of highly polished materials such as aluminum, stainless steel, opaque color glass, and glazed terra cotta.
The International style of modern architecture can also be found in this neighborhood, with its asymmetrical composition, smooth continuous wall surfaces, and avoidance of applied decoration. Bonnie Brae is another of Denver’s highly desirable neighborhoods, thanks to its proximity to Washington Park and Cherry Creek, as well as its own small district of quaint shops, ice cream parlors and restaurants.
Identifying 1930s Art Moderne architectural style is easy for the trained eye. They feature Smooth wall surface, often stucco; smooth-faced stone and metal; polychromy, often with vivid colors; forms simplified and streamlined; geometric designs including zigzags, chevrons; towers and other vertical projections, presenting a vertical emphasis; machined and often metalic construction materials for decorative features. They have a flat roof with small ledge at roofline; horizontal grooves or lines in walls (sometimes fluted or pressed metal); asymmetrical façade; casement/corner windows or other horizontally arranged windows; metal balustrades; and the glass-block windows, often curved.
Bonnie Brae History
While the land that encompasses Bonnie Brae today was from a grant to the Kansas Pacific Railroad in 1870, the actual development did not begin until the 1920’s when George Olinger purchased the property with his land development company, Associated Industries.
Platted in 1923 by S.R. DeBoer to emphasize the natural topography, Bonnie Brae is largely composed of curvy streets. The goal in mind was to create a Scottish village within the city, and the name reflects this idea: Bonnie Brae is “Pleasant Hill†in Gaelic.
The first houses in the neighborhood were built in 1923 and the first businesses were located on the 700 block of South University, which continues to be the thriving heart of Bonnie Brae business today.
Olinger sold out of Associated Industries in 1925 and the company filed for bankruptcy in the late 1920’s. This demise was negative for the development of Bonnie Brae. The west part of the neighborhood had streets and sidewalks but few houses. Development continued to be stalled throughout the mid 1930’s.
Ellipse Park (created in 1936) was a turning point for the neighborhood. Homes were built along the park and development continued to increase as WWII approached. To the east of the park, the majority of the construction is circa 1940’s and 1950’s
Famous Bonnie Brae Establishments
Bonnie Brae deserves its reputation as one of Denver’s finest ice cream parlors. The ice cream here is rich, custardy and supercreamy, and it’s packed with superior-quality ingredients. The vanilla ice cream is simple but nearly perfect. We loved the lemon custard flavor that tasted like lemon cream pie. With its apple bits, cinnamon and crunchy crust bits, the deep-dish apple pie ice cream tasted a lot like its namesake, a la mode.
Unique flavors include peppermint, triple death chocolate, amaretto peach, bubble gum, cashew divine, French silk, Grand Marnier chocolate chip, and Snickers delight.
When the Bonnie Brae Tavern opened in 1934, Carl and Sue Dire sold 10-cent beers, 15-cent shots of whiskey, 10-cent hamburgers and a plate of spaghetti for 50 cents. Carl owned a gas station on the corner of University Boulevard and Ohio Avenue and a dirt lot north of it. He planned to build a garage for the Chrysler-Plymouth franchise, but the end of prohibition tempted him to open a bar instead. In the beginning, the Dires lived in a small apartment above the restaurant with their two sons.
The tavern survived the Depression and then the Dire s remodeled the dining room and built a home across the alley from the restaurant. Carl died at age 81 in 1982, but his picture still keeps close watch over the bar. Sue, at 95, still lives in the house behind the tavern today.
The restaurant still attracts loyal customers, although the prices have changed through the years. A strong family business, the tavern was turned over by Carl and Sue Dire to their sons Mike and Hank, who now depend on their sons Michael and Rick to manage it.
Saucy Noodle
For nearly four decades the Saucy Noodle Restaurante has been a Denver landmark at the same location at 727 South University Boulevard. The little spot, known to locals throughout the Washington Park, Cherry Creek and Bonnie Brae districts was originally known as Jim Sano’s when it was purchased by the Badis family in 1964. Sam Badis, a former Big Band Leader and Denver entrepreneur, held court with a gregarious smile and warm welcome and served up what is arguably the best pizza and pasta in town. Traveling the country in the ’60’s and 70’s Sam would frequently buy unique antiques in small towns and haul them back to the Saucy Noodle to adorn the restaurant’s, now famous, red velvet walls
REAL ESTATE
If you would like additional information about Historic Bonnie Brae real estate in Denver Colorado as well as anywhere in Denver Metro Area contact us at 1-800-791-3990 ext 232.
Jeffery McClintock, is a real estate broker in Denver and prides himself on providing clients with professional guidance in all phases of residential new construction, including market research, product development, consulting, marketing and advertising. His personal mission is to bring to you a level of knowledge, experience, commitment, high standards and results to answer your real estate needs. He believes, the most effective way to provide superior service is to build a strong working relationship with you. His system includes regular consultations and feedback, which is the best tool for identifying and clarifying your real estate objectives and help define strategic solutions.
