While LoHi is the trendy close-to-downtown darling of millennials and developers, West Highland, the other part of the Highlands or North Denver neighborhood, is its quieter, though no less popular, sibling. West Highland is an area bounded by West 38th Avenue to the north, Federal Boulevard to the east, West 29th Avenue to the south and Sheridan Boulevard to the west.
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West Highland was established in much the same way Highland was. As people began to move up the hill after the flood of 1864 they also began to spread west.
This became even easier when streetcars made their way into the area. What was at the time the Town of Highland was Denver’s main streetcar suburb and business centers began to pop up around the street car stops. One of these stops was at 32nd and Lowell, what is now Highlands Square, the main shopping district of West Highland.
Another popular stop was at 32nd Ave and Federal, which was then called “The Boulevard” or “Boulevard F.” It was a gorgeous stretch of ornate mansions and large trees meant to attract buyers to the area.
By May 1, 1890 there was another attraction bringing visitors to the area in droves. John and Mary Elitch bought 16 acres of former farmland and turned it into the first zoo west of Chicago: Elitch’s Zoological Gardens.
In 1891, The Elitch Theater was built. It became home to the oldest summer stock theatre in America in 1893 in 1896 hosted Colorado’s first moving picture. In 1904, the Gardens began operating its first roller coaster and a carousel was added in 1906. Mister Twister, a 96-foot wooden coaster and probably the park’s most famous ride, opened in 1964.
In 1995, Elitch Garden’s moved into downtown Denver. The original Elitch Theater remains at the original site in West Highland and hosts a summer film series. For the first time this summer, tours will also be offered of the theater. The Garden’s original 1906 carousel in still in operation today as the Kit Carson County Carousel in Burlington, Colorado.
West Highland is also the home of Little Sisters of the Poor, a nonprofit that since 1917 has operated the Mullen House at 3629 W. 29th Ave. as a care center for the impoverished elderly. It was financed by J.K. Mullen and his wife Catherine Smith, both prominent Denver residents who wanted to leave behind something that would benefit the elderly. The original building is still in use today.
Little Sisters of the Poor recently made national headlines after it was among several religious institutions that sued the federal government's Affordable Care Act for mandating that it provide workers with contraceptives. The U.S. Supreme Court heard the case and in May punted it back to lower courts.
West Highland was one of two Denver neighborhoods that real estate company Redfin said is among the 8 best in the nation for offering walkable amenities and great schools. Highland Square also hosts a summer famers market each Sunday from June until September.
Known for having its fair share of hipster dog lovers there, West Highland used to house Bark Bar, a dog-friendly bar at 4132 W. 38th Ave. that was shut down a year after opening after issues with Denver's codes. The idea of dogs in breweries and bars is a hot topic right now as Denver officials ramp up inspections, even as business owners plan to open bars that are dog-friendly.
While construction on apartment complexes buzzes in the neighborhood next door, development in West Highland is slower. In 2014, a planned, $32 million, 3-story apartment complex development by RedPeak Properties was scrapped after a neighborhood group calling itself "No High Rises in West Highland" fought to overturn a Denver City Council ruling that rezoned the area at 32nd Avenue and Lowell Boulevard to allow for taller buildings. In November 2014, Alliance Residential purchased the site for $9.7 million and is currently wrapping up construction on a 148-unit apartment community there.
But just because it's not seeing the high rate of development Highland is doesn't mean it's short on trendy, top-rated restaurants. Tacos-Tequila-Whiskey (which you may know by another name we'd get in trouble for publishing here), a former food truck that's now brick-and-mortar located at 3300 W. 32nd Ave, has won countless awards for being among the best Mexican restaurants in the nation. There's also Sweet Cow, an ice cream shop that's also found its way onto lists calling it among the best in the nation.
Like Highland, West Highland home prices have risen steadily as the population of Denver rises. The median sales price for a home there is $493,750, up 6.3 percent from the same time in 2015. Illustrating the housing boom further, in 2011, the median sales price for a home in June was $353,000, according to real estate website Trulia.com. West Highland and Highland are also among the metro Denver neighborhoods where rents are rising most, up 7.9 percent since 2015.
