Homes, Sweet Homes

I’ve always been a house-watcher. Luckily, Denver has a wonderful trove of old homes to watch: Blessed with a built-in elegance, the city’s many choice Victorians, Denver Squares, Arts and Crafts bungalows and sweet cottages glow with an inner beauty that must often be brought back to life by the...

By Susan Froyd

November 26, 2009

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I’ve always been a house-watcher. Luckily, Denver has a wonderful trove of old homes to watch: Blessed with a built-in elegance, the city’s many choice Victorians, Denver Squares, Arts and Crafts bungalows and sweet cottages glow with an inner beauty that must often be brought back to life by the kind of conscientious home-owner who seeks out diamonds in the rough. And Denver’s Old House Society, formed in 2008 to assist such loving old-house owners in their quest to preserve and restore properties that are at least fifty years old, is doing its best to ensure that Denver will always have lots of beautiful old houses for people like me to look at.

The establishment earlier this year of the Denver’s Old House Society Favorite Old-House Award is just one of the nonprofit’s efforts to increase awareness — but it requires the participation of folks like me, who like to look. The DOHS is accepting nominations of older homes worth appreciating, either for how skillfully they’ve been preserved or for the quality of their restoration; all you need to do is snap a picture and describe in a short essay of 100 words or less why you love a particular house, and submit it all by December 31. Or you can simply vote for another’s nominated favorite. Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in January; so far, there are seven gorgeous entries. Go to www.denversoldhousesociety.org to view and vote, or to complete your own nomination form.
Nov. 1-Dec. 31, 2009

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Susan Froyd started writing for Westword as the "Thrills" editor in 1992 and never quite left the fold. These days she still freelances for the paper in addition to walking her dogs, enjoying cheap ethnic food and reading voraciously. Sometimes she writes poetry.

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