Granite/Graham-Clayton Building - Denver, CO - NRHP Historic Districts - Contributing Buildings on Waymarking.com

"The Granite Building, also known as the Graham-Clayton Building, at 1460 Larimer Street, was built by George W. and William M. Clayton in 1882 for the M.J. McNamara Dry Goods Company, a forerunner of Denver Dry. The four-story building, constructed entirely of Colorado materials except for the glass and hardware, sits on the site of the first house in Denver, General William H. Larimer, Jr's 16x20-foot log cabin. During the 1860's, William Clayton served as mayor of Denver and George served as a city councilman--their names still stand on the corner roof pediment of the building. McNamara left the building in 1887, and the building, by then called the Granite Building, became an office complex. The Denver Post was started in one small office.

The Larimer Square Historic District, covering the 1400 block of Larimer Street, was the birthplace of Denver City in 1858, with false-fronted stores, hotels and saloons catering to prospectors and pioneers. The original wood buildings were destroyed during the fires of 1863, but the surviving second generation two and three-story late Victorian brick buildings date from the late 19th century. In the mid 1870's, it was the main street of the city, and the site of Denver's first post office, bank, theater, and streetcar line. By the 1930s, urban decay left a skid row of pawnshops, gin mills, and flophouses. The buildings were spared demolition from the sweeping urban renewal projects of the mid-1960's, primarily due to the efforts of Denver preservationist Dana Crawford. As part of the nation's first historic neighborhood revitalization campaign, a for-profit corporation renovated all 16 of the block's commercial buildings in 1969, providing mixed space for shops, restaurants and offices. (from (visit link) )

George Clayton went on to use his fortune to help orphaned boys with the development of Clayton College. See (visit link) for more information.

Name of Historic District (as listed on the NRHP): Larimer Square Link to nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com page with the Historic District: [Web Link] NRHP Historic District Waymark (Optional): [Web Link] Address: 1226 15th Street Denver, CO 80202 USA How did you determine the building to be a contributing structure?: Other (Please explain in the Private Message field) Optional link to narrative or database: [Web Link]

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