The Little Tenny That Could: Holdout House Awarded Historic Landmark Status

A 115-year-old holdout house at 4450 Tennyson Street in northwest Denver earned landmark status from Denver City Council on Monday, December 9, and now has the city’s commitment to preserve the property as a piece of local history.

The house, which is nicknamed “Little Tenny,” was built in 1909 by a Canadian immigrant, Arthur Currie. It stands out because European and North American immigrants lived there all the way into the 1970s, while Currie’s professional craftsmanship allowed the house to stand the test of time.

“I knew that my house was architecturally significant,” said the home’s owner, Daphne Salone, at the city council meeting. “It represents how forward-thinking individuals were when they immigrated here to Denver. They laid down their roots by building a home and knowing they wanted a larger home permanently, and then renting the smaller home to other families that were similar.”

Designating a property for landmark preservation in Denver will delay building permits or deny them if they don’t meet guidelines set by the Landmark Preservation Commission, according to the Denver Revised Municipal Code. Salone told Westword in November that she doesn’t mind the new rules, as preservation is “the best use for it for everybody in the city.”

“It’s a rare example of an original home that was still standing in the neighborhood and in the area that had not been affected by any major improvements or renovations,” she said at the December 9 council meeting. “It’s pretty much in its original state.”

The council unanimously approved the bid for landmark status, adding it to a list of dozens of other properties across Denver that are considered historic, like the Brown Palace Hotel and the Buckhorn Exchange.

Salone bought the house in 2006, but she didn’t realize it might be historic until Currie’s grandchildren visited a few years ago. After telling Westword about the house in 2023, she looked for help digging up more history and filing a preservation application.

She hired Front Range Research Associates, known for preservation applications for landmarks across Colorado, including Civic Center Park, and the preservation application was submitted in April. The application urged preserving the home as a rare example of the alley houses common in Denver during the early twentieth century and as forerunners of affordable housing options today.

“The dwelling type was a form of less costly urban housing, often utilized by immigrants, African Americans, working-class people and young families,” reads the application. “Alley houses, the forerunners of today’s accessory dwelling units (ADUs), increased urban density near transportation routes, shops and business areas.”

A boardmember of Berkeley Regis United Neighbors, a neighborhood organization, spoke in opposition to preserving the house. Alejandra Castañeda said that preservation would slow down attempts to build more affordable housing units in the area.

The property is currently zoned to allow a three-story residential property like the apartments that surround the house. Castañeda noted that preserving the property would remove that zoning and the possibility of tearing it down to build more housing that could one day be affordable.

“I’m not against preserving some historical structures for public enjoyment,” Castañeda said. “It would serve a much better community purpose if it continued to honor its history of providing an affordable housing opportunity to a variety of people. Please don’t vote to down-zone this property at a time when we desperately need more housing in Denver.”

The house sits in the jurisdiction of Council President Amanda Sandoval.

“Tennyson has a lot of mixed-use redevelopment occurring on it right now,” Sandoval said during the hearing. “I’ve gotten lots of complaints about Tennyson during my entire life living in northwest Denver.”

The councilwoman was grateful that the owner brought forward the application, saying that it saves the city time in having to look for historic properties and eases some concerns about development changing the character of the Tennyson Street corridor.