"23rd Avenue Presbyterian Church/New Hope Baptist Church, 226?
Ogden, 1906. (Photo #33A)
This building was the third home in San Rafael of the 23rd Avenue
Congregation. It is of light brick with decorative brick trim around
the Gothic arched windows and doors. The square corner tower does
not have a spire, but terminates in a parapet with a series of
pinnacles above the cornice. There are gabled bays on the east and
north facades. The east bay features three Gothic windows with
finely detailed stain glass windows. The chancel is on the south
side of the building with Gothic windows and a conical roof." (from NRHD form Section 7, pg. 16)
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"SAN RAFAEL CHURCH CONVERTING INTO THE BELLTOWER RESIDECES
San Rafael’s New Hope Baptist Church, the historic 1915 golden brick building on the corner of 23rd and Ogden Streets, is being revived. After nearly ten years of
various occupants and on the brink of demolition for new development, the building is to be restored to a pinnacle of urban living as four fun, spacious, creative, quality living spaces.
Charles Nash is a well established Denver developer who, over the last 35 years, has conceptualized the renovation of four Denver Public Schools into condos, including Stevens School on 13th and Columbine, as well as a number of downtown warehouses and Capitol Hill historic homes.
He returned to Denver last year from a mountain sabbatical, where he restored the Hot Sulphur Springs Resort, to purchase New Hope Baptist Church and convert it into The Bell Tower.
Nash’s innovative and imaginative design, in collaboration with Norman Cable, renowned Denver artist and architect, will transform the Church into four unique 3600-4200 sq. ft. living spaces complete with 1000 sq. ft. great rooms, 30 ft. ceilings, massive stained glass windows, roof decks with mountain views, hand carved doors, custom circular stairs, and recycled original wood flooring and furnishings throughout.
The Bell Tower will feature many green and creative items culminating in urban living unlike any other. The Bell Tower is nestled in historic San Rafael, close to downtown and only one minute from St-Lukes Presbyterian medical complex.
Renovation is underway and due to be complete by September 2008. Nash will complete one of these inspiring spaces by late spring to showcase the quality of craftsmanship and design that will be bulwark to these homes.
The other three spaces will be 90% complete with the creative finishing of the interior decor left open to the whimsy of the buyer’s imagination." (from (
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"... Sadly, his last project, the Bell Tower Residences in the city's historic San Rafael neighborhood, would prove to be his undoing. The plan called for the conversion of New Hope Baptist Church into four luxury condominiums. But a year into construction, the economy tanked, and by the time he completed it in 2010 there were few, if any, buyers out there for million-dollar condos. The bank re-possessed the building in 2011, leaving Nash, then 80 and suffering from peripheral neuropathy, both financially destitute and physically disabled. He died on June 11, 2012. As per his wishes, a portion of his ashes will be scattered at his beloved Hot Sulphur Springs." (from (
visit link) )