Denver's Park Hill Community

Park Hill is a neighborhood in the northeastern part of Denver. It is divided into three administrative sections, North Park Hill, Northeast Park Hill and South Park Hill.

All of these areas are administered by the same neighborhood organization, the Greater Park Hill Community or GPHC, which is a non-profit organization that was formed in 1961. The GPHC produces and distributes a free monthly paper for the residents of Park Hill and organizes a number of activities. These include the annual Home Tour and the Youth Jobs Program, which helps the local youths to find summer employment for the school vacation. The Methodist church, which is the largest in Denver, is another important focus for many members of the community, and it also organizes many social events.

The area features many beautiful family homes that have attracted large numbers of residents who wanted to move back into the city from the suburbs. Park Hill is popular with professionals and families. The houses in Park Hill are mainly Denver bungalows and squares, with the addition of many newer builds. Although there are no parks within Park Hill itself, the neighborhood does overlook City Park, site of Denver Zoo. Park Hill does not lack greenery, however, since so many of its streets are lined with trees.

Dahlia Square is the main commercial area in Park Hill. The site, which was originally a landfill, was converted into a shopping center in the 1950s. At first, it was very popular with the locals and nurtured many thriving stores. The area was allowed to fall into disrepair, however, and as a result businesses failed and the residents of Park Hill came to view it as a problem. From the 1990s onwards, Dahlia Square became the target of major redevelopment. Despite a number of proposals being made, work did not begin until 2005. The work continues to bring new homes and services to Park Hill, and to completely turn around this problem area.

Park Hill was first developed by the Baron Alois von Winckler, in 1887. In 1898, during the Spanish-American War, he allowed the land just to the north of his new settlement to be used by the Colorado National Guard. A camp of 1400 men was set up on the land. According to local legend, the Baron was so distressed when the troops left to go to the Philippines that this was the cause of his suicide.

In 1900, homes in Park Hill began to appear on the market. The neighborhood quickly attracted immigrants from many European countries including England, Italy, Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands, as well as many African Americans. After the Second World War, many new homes were built in the Park Hill Area, and its population continued to grow. It was during the 1950s that the area became noted for its diversity and for the welcome given by the area to new residents, regardless of their background. The Park Hill Action Committee, which has now been renamed as the Park Hill Community, even held block parties in all-white areas of Park Hill in order to encourage the old residents to mix with the new ones and discover their similarities. The area soon became one of the most diverse in the city. Martin Luther King Jr even visited Park Hill to see how well the diverse community functioned in the neighborhood. Park Hill today has a diverse and multicultural community that is incredibly welcoming to new residents.