Molkery - Denver, CO
Posted by: 
Outspoken1
N 39° 44.123 W 104° 54.527
13S E 507816 N 4398391
This park was once the focal point of the Town of Montclair housing patients of tuberculosis.
Waymark Code: WMG8PT
Location: Colorado, United States
Date Posted: 01/29/2013
Views: 4
The plaques read:
THE MOLKEREI
Baron Walter Von Richthofen built this structure in 1898 as a tuberculosis sanatorium. Imported cattle were stabled below the patients lounged upstairs on the sun porches, drinking fresh milk and breathing barnyard effluvium. A sure cure according to the Baron. After failing as a health spa, the molkerei was converted into an insane asylum. In 1908 it became one of Denver's first community centers.
BARON WALTER VON RICHTHOFEN
The Baron was born in Germany in 1848 and came to Denver some thirty years later. In 1885 he platted the Town of Montclair and promoted it as a fashionable suburb and health spa. When the Baron died in 1898 the neighborhood had one home to a block. Many of these survive including the Richthofen Castle two blocks east of here. The Baroness and Montclair townsfolk erected a public fountain southeast of this park in memory of the Baron.
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Molkery
Built - 1888
After Montclair was annexed to Denver the building was bought by the city and remodeled in 1909. Called the Montclair Civic Building it became Denver's first "community center" and heart of the neighborhood. The Molkery became a local landmark in 1973 and is the anchor for the Montclair Historic District designated in the same year. It was completely restored, upgraded and rehabilitated in 2003-4 while respecting the 1909 period of significance. It is rumored that there was a secret tunnel linking the Molkery to the Richthofen Castle two blocks east of here and old timers claim to have traveled its full length; however this project found no evidence. The spelling of Molkery and dates on this plaque correct those of the original plaque to the left.
F.W. Ameter
"architectural engineer"
Department of Parks
1909
2004
Historic Montclair Community Association
District 5 City Council
Department of Parks and Recreation
Department of Public Works
City and County of Denver
SlaterPaull
Architect
J.A. Walker Co., Inc.
General Contractor
1998 Bond Project
Partial Funding by
Colorado Historical Society - State Historic Fund Grant
Rededication
June 2004
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Group or Groups Responsible for Placement:
Historic Montclair Community Association
District 5 City Council
Department of Parks and Recreation
Department of Public Works
City and County of Denver
County or City: Denver
Date Dedicated: 2004
Check here for Web link(s) for additional information: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
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