Tramway Building - Denver, CO - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

" 1886, John Evans and his son William Gray Evans incorporated the Denver Tramway Company (DTC) with William Byers, hotel keeper Henry C. Brown and businessman and library builder Roger Woodbury. The DTC secured an exclusive city franchise to build electric streetcar lines, thereby dooming the horse railways that built Denver’s first streetcar lines in the 1870s. By 1900, the DTC had driven rival cable car and horse railways out of business and monopolized Denver streetcar service. The Tramway installed a city-wide network of overhead electric trolleys for lines that reached every neighborhood in Denver. The DTC shot out East Colfax Avenue to Park Hill, Montclair and Aurora, out West Colfax and West 13th Avenue to Lakewood and Golden. One of the busiest lines went south on Broadway to Englewood and Littleton. Another DTC line headed west on 32nd Avenue to Wheat Ridge and Arvada. The Washington Avenue line served Globeville and Adams County.

The Denver Tramway Company became one of Denver’s biggest employers and an essential part of many people’s lives. Most, lacking horse and carriages, took streetcars to work, to shop and to play. Special tramway cars were rented out for weddings and honeymoons, while Funeral Cars A and B took many Denverites on their final rides—to Riverside and Fairmount Cemeteries.

The rapidly expanding DTC built a huge power plant at the confluence of the South Platte and Cherry Creek (today’s REI Flagship Store (visit link) ). After the death of John Evans, his son demolished the family house at 14th and Arapahoe to construct the Tramway headquarters in 1912. The complex included an office tower, classrooms to train streetcar conductors to be courteous and efficient, and car barns and shops. (Excerpted from (visit link) by Thomas J. Noel)"

The building then became administrative offices for the University of Colorado-Denver Campus. I remember visiting the building while attending classes. The building was functional, but a bit run down. Then in the 1990s, CU-Denver moved to other facilities and the building was renovated and became Hotel Teatro, on of the premier hotels in Denver and the world! (visit link)

Street address: 1100 Fourteenth Street Denver, CO USA 80202 County / Borough / Parish: Denver Year listed: 1978 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering, Person Periods of significance: 1900-1924 Historic function: Commerce/Trade Current function: Hotel Privately owned?: yes Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed Secondary Website 2: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

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