Cole is one of Denver's oldest neighborhoods, now a vibrant, lived-in, and deeply rooted city neighborhood.
Cole is one of Denver’s oldest neighborhoods, its story beginning in 1871 when brothers Hiram F. and William R. Ford—cattle ranchers on the city’s northeastern edge—platted Ford’s Addition. Their first boundaries stretched from 32nd Avenue to Downing Street, and from 35th Avenue to High Street. Just a few years later, under the Territorial Sessions laws of 1874, the area officially became part of the City of Denver.
In its earliest days the neighborhood was known by its patchwork of subdivision names: Ford’s (1871), Riverside (1871), Hyde Park (1881), and Provident Park (1885). It would later take the name Cole, shared by its junior high school, in honor of Carlos M. Cole, an early superintendent of Denver Public Schools.
Growth came quickly. Industry in the nearby Platte River Valley drew workers to the rail yards, smelters, stockyards, and warehouses that powered the state’s mining economy. Development moved steadily from southwest to northeast. By 1900 half the residential blocks were built; by 1930 the neighborhood was complete, its boundaries stretched north to 40th Avenue and east to York Street. Early residents were largely Western European immigrants, and over time Cole grew even more diverse, becoming home to a predominantly Latino and Hispanic community.
The neighborhood’s landmarks tell their own stories:
• Annunciation Catholic Church (1885) at 36th and Humboldt
• Hyde Park School (now Wyatt Academy), built in 1877 at 36th and Gilpin
• Denver Rock Drill Manufacturing Company at 40th and Franklin
Its streets carry history as well—Bruce Randolph Avenue, named for beloved “Daddy” Bruce and his legendary Thanksgiving giveaways; Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, with George Morrison Sr. Park forming the southern boundary with Whittier; Williams Street, once called Main Street before annexation; and York Street, still a major north–south ribbon through Denver.
Today, Cole is a vibrant, lived-in, deeply rooted city neighborhood. Perfectly placed at the edge of RiNo, minutes from downtown, and steps from RTD’s A Line and D Line trains, it blends old and new with ease. Restaurants, shops, churches, schools, nonprofits, and parks dot its blocks. Its homes—Victorians, Queen Annes, bungalows, Denver Squares, and more—create a rich architectural mix.
Cole remains proudly residential, grounded in its past yet very much alive in the present, a neighborhood with heart right in the center of the city.
(below: @marka_27 - Victor “Marka27” Quinonez - Denver Rock Drill Mural credit)
Reed Raskin currently serves as the president of the board of the Cole Neighborhood Association.