University Park School

University Park Elementary School was once known as "the little red brick schoolhouse" to neighborhood residents. John Babock, a town trustee and legislator, owned several acres in University Park. In the 1890s, Babock donated a portion of his estate to the school and served as the school's benefactor for more than 15 years. The school was built in 1893 to serve the children of the University of Denver's faculty and staff. After the University of Denver moved from downtown to its current location, the population of the neighborhood grew steadily. In 1924, the school added a Spanish-style expansion designed by architect Lester Varian, who also designed the Phipps mansion. The building was considered cutting edge architecture, as it was equipped with five classrooms, a teachers' room, lockers, a shower room, a clinic, and fireproof corridors. In the 1940s, the school could no longer handle the large numbers of student teachers and returned exclusively to educating of the area's children. By 1948, the school ran double sessions to cope with over-crowding. The following year, the building was expanded with an auditorium, eighteen classrooms, two kindergarten rooms, a new room for teachers, a cafeteria, PTA kitchen, visual aid room, and library.

Photo credit: OAHP, History Colorado and Denver Public Library Western History Genealogy Department

2300 S. St. Paul
Denver, CO 80210