Check Out Highland Square’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Highland Square

Hi Highland, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Highland Square began as the epicenter of one of Denver’s prominent “Streetcar Suburbs”. It was laid out in December 1858 by William Larimer, Jr. just one month after founding Denver City.

East Highland and Highland Park were annexed in 1885 to form the Town of Highlands. Highland Park still remains and is set on the eastern boundary of West Highland. Businesses centered themselves around the original trolley stops located at various points in the Town of Highlands. The stop at 32nd Avenue and Federal Boulevard is barely recognizable, but the stop at 32nd Avenue and Lowell Boulevard is still vibrant and created what we call Highlands Square, the epicenter of West Highland today.

The Town of Highlands was promoted early on as a quieter, cleaner, safer setting above the then smog-filled den of iniquity that was Denver, with quality living, limited drinking, no cursing, no spitting, and no marble playing on the sidewalks. Clearly, the temperance has eased greatly in the neighborhood, and what remains is its rich architecture and a rich history of residents — including, but not limited to, political leaders, industrialists, land developers, and notably some of the first women in Denver to ever own real estate. Today’s Highlands citizenship is a broad mixture of diverse people from all walks of life and from every socio-economic background. Like much of North Denver, Highland Square attracted immigrants looking to build community and get established in a new life.
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We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The shopping district we now know as Highland Square has been around almost as long as the town has. Many of the buildings have preserved and original details, and even the same kind of stores in them as we had in the late 1800’s. The district has survived a lot—the 1893 Silver Crash crushed the town’s finances which led to the Highlands joining with Denver. Many Coloradans flocked to The Highlands during the tuberculosis epidemic through 1950 for the dry air, and many sanitariums were in the area. The neighborhood has stayed kicking through the Great Depression of the 30’s, the 2008 recession, all of the ups and downs of COVID-19, with plenty of other bumps along the way. ⁠ It’s not just that our neighborhood is lucky, it’s that every aspect of our neighborhood has that same community spirit that’s been alive and well since we were just a little town North of Denver.⁠ The reason we had very little turnover during the height of COVID was because our neighbors prioritize shopping local and because our business owners got creative with online shopping and car-drops for online orders. Now, we’ve welcomed some new businesses into the neighborhood, including Hello Darling, Dumplin’, Odell’s Bagel, Beyond the Blackboard, IF: Ideal Fashion for Men, and this Spring Cerebral Brewing and Outside Pizza as well as a makeover for Pizza Alley will also happen. But, these new additions are happening next to long-standing businesses like El Camino, Wordshop, and Mondo Vino, all of which are celebrating big anniversaries, so it’s a good mixture of something new and something familiar. We’re also one of those unique historic neighborhoods where everything you need—groceries, veterinary services, restaurants, doctors, dentists, orthodontists, workout classes… truly everything you need is walkable and locally-owned. I think as a neighborhood we try to keep the philosophy that cities change and neighborhoods change, that’s inevitable, and that as long as we maintain our core values and welcome new businesses in we can maintain that community spirit that has kept our neighborhood alive and thriving through so much.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
As a neighborhood, the collective nature of the businesses in Highland Square is something we are most proud of. Our neighborhood events, initiatives, and changes all happen because of a collective of small business owners who devote their time, money, and effort into the neighborhood. Many people don’t realize that our businesses meet once a month to discuss events, how to make our neighborhood even better (and prettier), issues that are near and dear to everyone’s heart, and to find ways to foster that community spirit. We’ve recently been brainstorming some ways to bring more beauty to the streets, and we’re always working on making our community events even better and finding ways to team up with each other.

We have over 40 businesses in Highland Square, most of which are locally-owned and many of which are woman-owned businesses. There’s everything from great food and dining to a variety of workout classes and health and wellness services, specialty shops and boutiques, and even living services like dentistry and veterinarians. The best thing about having so many shops in a dedicated strip is that you get the small-town community feel with all of the city amenities Denverites know and love. The greatest thing is that if you’re looking for something specific or not sure what to check out, everyone in the shops and restaurants has recommendations (and can tell you exactly who to talk to). I think we’re all proud of the fact that we function as a community.

We’re also definitely known for our annual events like the Farmers Market at Highland Square (which typically runs May-October) is a big one. Our businesses agree every year to open up their streets and storefronts for this big community gathering that happens every Sunday. And, without fail, every year we end up with our Sunday Family and community we look forward to seeing. It’s always a happy thing to see the families in our neighborhood out and about shopping and listening to music and enjoying great food. We also put on one-day events throughout the year, like our annual Highlands Street Fair in the Summer, Harvest Festival and Trick or Treat Street, Holiday in the Highlands, and we recently launched our first Oktoberfest. Harvest Festival and Holiday in the Highlands are put together by local businesses as a way to give back and make sure the people in the community have fun and have another reason to gather.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.visitdenverhighlands.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/visitdenverhighlands/

Image Credits
all images from @visitdenverhighlands