BY MAUREEN DUBE-SAVAGE & JOHANNA WOODROW
I recall back when I worked in an inner city hospital and I was getting ready for a trip to London. An employee asked me to bring her back any local London newspapers I could get my hands on. At first I didn’t think too much of it, but when I returned with a couple copies, she was delighted. She said, “to get to know the people, you have to hear it from their voices. The only place to get that is from a true local paper.” You try to replicate in your head that genuine feeling of what it’s really like to be from a community.
The Wash Park Home Tour is an annual event that brings insight through a similar local lens. It provides insight about what it means to work together and to literally let people inside your home with a result of making a difference for our local school as well as the Denver Homeless Education Network. This grassroots idea was conjured over 30 years ago by moms on the PTAs of two local schools trying to raise some money for needed items that the district could not provide.
This year, is one for the record books, as we have homes that will inspire all of your design and architecture Pinterest boards! From an original Tudor home built in 1923, paying tribute to the quality of nearly century old architecture, to a new build home with both an elevator, as well as a substantial wood shop with its own staircase to the outdoor space.
Another home, includes a wine country-inspired foyer with brick detailing from the exterior used on both the floor and a barrel-vaulted ceiling. Carved panels found in the basement of a local antique store were incorporated into the architecture to frame the formal dining room with an office on the other side. The office features unique furnishings including an antique clock, a light that has been fashioned from a gas can and as an objet d’art, a teal guitar signed by Bruce Springsteen. We aim to impress and this year’s homeowners will not disappoint!
At the end of the day, visitors of the Wash Park Home Tour will observe the community spirit in action, as this event is made up of 100% volunteers from Steele families, educators, students and our sponsoring local business partners & associations. Teachers, parents and children don bright orange shirts, kids take over the streets like it’s 1975, alumni reminisce and neighbors feel the power of our efforts. It becomes clear that good schools, are all-in when it comes to supporting our future and we support them.
Our neighborhood associations join in to discuss preserving our beloved park, streets and buildings to keep that community-feel we know and love. This event shines a light on raising community conscience. This event is unique, in defining who we are and what we find important. See you May 11th! Visit https://bit.ly/2WIrNXu to purchase your tickets in advance.