Vacant for more than four decades, a 48,000 square foot Denver school building, lauded for its Classical Revival architecture, may soon have a new life.
The Evans School, at 1115 Acoma Street in the city’s popular Golden Triangle neighborhood, was built in 1904, serving several generations of elementary and junior high school students before being closed in 1972 by the Denver Public Schools system, owing to its declining enrollment.
The three-story red brick building, designed by Denver architect David Dryden, who created similar Classical Revival looks for nearly two dozen public schools in the city, is particularly valued for such features as its vintage tin ceilings, copper stairwell, and mosaic entry tiles.
The structure was put on the list of the National Historic Register in 1980.
In the decades since the school was sold to a private party, various proposals have been floated regarding a new use for the building.
Now, a development team, led by the Denver-based City Street Investors, is hoping to purchase the structure with the hope of repurposing parts of the building into restaurant, bar, and special events space.
The development team also includes the Columbia Group of Denver.
Negotiations regarding the purchase of the structure are currently ongoing, but reports suggest that if a final deal can be reached between all of the interested parties, work upgrading the Evans School could begin later this year or in early 2020.
By Garry Boulard
