About Denver's Montclair

My husband lost his father when he was a young boy, about twelve or thirteen years old. As such, he missed out on a lot of family history that he would normally have heard from his Dad as he was growing up. He's always known much more about his Mom's side than his Dad's, and with good reason. She's been here to tell the tale as he's been old enough to have it mean something.

Well, after making contact with a cousin of his that lives in Seattle, he's been in receipt of some pretty neat family history items from his Dad's side of the family. Today's delivery was just in time for the haunting season. Turns out that his father's boyhood home in Denver is known to be haunted. Evidently, his grandfather Percy Cleland, having lost a fortune in the stock market crash that tipped off the Great Depression, couldn't seem to get over his indebtedness, or the loss of social stature that he'd held in the Denver society. He sat on the lawn of the home and attempted to commit suicide with a muffled rifle. He'd only thought so far as to not wake up the wife, sleeping upstairs.

Turns out, his grandfather's plan to end it all missed. He ended up with vision problems and a lop-sided face from the shot. And even though he didn't die in the home, stories of his ghost haunting the residence circulate through Denver to this day. It's such a legend that the family that lived there (who knows if they still do) used to vacate the home on Halloween in order for a local haunted house tour to visit.

The story was in a book his cousin sent. Here's the link to the book on Amazon if you are interested in the Montclair neighborhood history. It doesn't appear to be about haunted houses, just about the neighborhood. And if there are any Denver agents that can bring us up to speed on this home, we'd love to hear more, or see photos. The address is 765 Olive Street.

The Historic Richthofen Castle was built by Baron Manfred von Richthofen who was the uncle and Godfather of the famous World War I Flying Ace - the Red Baron. Baron von Richthofen designed the The Historic Richthofen Castle after the family von Richthofen Castle in Germany!













Finished about 1887 after being started in 1883, the Historic Richthofen Castle was remodeled by then owner, Edwin Hendrie around 1911 and an additional wing was added to the Historic Richthofen Castle after being designed by famed architect JJB Benedict.

The Historic Richthofen Castle has 35 rooms and has an oak-panelled entry way. There was hand-crafted leather wall paper, much of which remains today.

Also in 1911, the Historic Richthofen Castle was the site of one of Denver's most notoricalfamous murders. Mrs. Gertrude Patterson, claimed her husband, Charles, abused her and she shot him twice, in the back of his head claiming self defense...hmmmm. There is a book written about the murder called "Alienation of Affection".

The Historic Richthofen Castle is located at at 7020 E. 12th Ave in Denver's Historic Montclair Neighborhood.

The Montclair Neighborhood is a quiet residential area comprised mostly of single family homes. The Montclair Neighborhood was originally developed in the late 1800s as a small suburban community to attract wealthy residents.

The Montclair Neighborhood is a quiet residential area comprised mostly of single family homes. The Montclair Neighborhood was originally developed in the late 1800s as a small suburban community to attract wealthy residents. To ensure Montclair Neighborhood's reputation as a prestigious place to live, the first houses built in the area were required to be built on double lots and had to be at least 2 stories high and made of brick or stone.

Baron von Richthofen, was the uncle of Manfred von Richthofen, better known as the WWI Flying Ace the "Red Baron". Baron von Richthofen came to Colorado from Germany in 1877. Baron von Richthofen established the Montclair Town and Improvement Company in 1885. In 1887, the Baron started construction on a 35 room Castle in the Montclair Neighborhood. The Richthofen Castle is a focal point of the Montclair Neighborhood today. After construction of the castle, the growth in the Montclair Neighborhood continued until the crash of the silver market in 1893.

Today, the Montclair Neighborhood is an eclectic collection of many architectural styles such as Victorians, Queen-Anns, Denver Squares, Tudors, Colonial, Bungalows, Neoclassic and classic Ranch Style homes. Today, the Montclair Neighborhood is a Denver neighborhood where you could live in a homey Post War Bungalow across the street from an architecturally important Victorian. This is due to the fact that over time, as property tax bills and other financial obligations came due, land was sold off to meet those financial obligations. This is how a large vintage Victorian home from the 1800's could be situated next door to a 1950's style ranch home. The ranch style home was in fact, sits on the last bit of land sold off from an original large parcel. A truely beautiful area in Denver, historic Montclair Park is popular for jogging, picnics, and just walking the dog.

Click here for more information about the Historic Montclair Neighborhood

Posted By: Kerry Klun - Historic Homes of Denver - 303-549-0818
www.historichomesofdenver.com


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