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Bonnie Brae
About 650 residences on curving streets that loop around an oval park, laid out in 1923 to break from Denver's grid. Steep-roofed Tudors sit beside Spanish, modernist and blonde-brick postwar ranches, with a short shopping block on South University Boulevard.
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Winter sun
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See how the winter sun falls on Bonnie Brae (opens in new tab)Living in Bonnie Brae
Bonnie Brae is a pocket a few miles southeast of downtown Denver, bounded by Exposition Avenue on the north, Mississippi Avenue on the south, University Boulevard on the west and Steele Street on the east. On the city's map it's part of Belcaro, and Washington Park, Cory-Merrill and the Polo Grounds sit next door. The whole thing comes to about 650 residences, one oval park and a block of shops along University.
A Scottish village plan that went broke
George W. Olinger, a mortician and casket maker, started buying property here in the early 1920s through his company, Associated Industries. He had seen a Kansas City subdivision called Bonnie Brae, Gaelic for "pleasant hill," and borrowed both the name and the idea of a quiet Scottish-style village. In 1923 the company hired landscape architect Saco DeBoer to lay out streets that follow the land instead of Denver's grid. Olinger put up stone pillars at the Kentucky and Tennessee Avenue entrances on University Boulevard, and they still stand.
Associated Industries went bankrupt in 1928, most of the land fell to the city for unpaid taxes, and the Depression slowed building further. Things picked up in 1936, when DeBoer's centerpiece park was finally built.
Houses built one lot at a time
Bonnie Brae filled in house by house over roughly thirty years, so the streets mix eras and styles. The steep-roofed Tudor is the house people picture, but Spanish-style places and modernist ones in the Bauhaus and International mold sit right beside them. Most of the houses east of the park went up after World War II, and by 1956 the neighborhood was built out. The last original type is the one-story brick ranch, often in blonde brick, north of Bonnie Brae Boulevard. For a one-story house, look there.
The neighborhood isn't a landmarked district. A push for landmark status failed in the late 1980s, and since then a number of houses have gained pop tops and additions while others have been scraped for much larger new ones. For a buyer that cuts both ways: no historic district review when you remodel, and nothing to stop a big new house going up next door.
Circle Park and the alley mosaics
Bonnie Brae Park, which nearly everyone calls Circle Park, is an ellipse with ornamental stone steps and a ring of deciduous trees and flowering shrubs. The streets wrap around it in loops that at one point confused the fire department enough that a captain toured the neighborhood and mapped it. Plan on a few wrong turns during your first showings.
The alleys are worth a walk. Since 2008, homeowners have mounted tile mosaics on garages and fences, most of it from tile saved out of remodels, and the neighborhood association keeps a map for self-guided tours.
The 700 block of South University
The shops sit on the east side of University between Exposition and Ohio, and the block has changed a lot lately. The Bonnie Brae Tavern opened there in June 1934 and closed in June 2022, and the Saucy Noodle, open since 1964, shut that August. The tavern building came down in June 2025 for a three-story apartment building.
Bonnie Brae Ice Cream has held the corner of University and Ohio since 1986, and it was Westword's Best of Denver pick for ice cream in 2024 and again in 2025, with a line out the door on sunny days. Katherine's French Bakery, toward the Exposition end of the block, specializes in European pastries and quiche and made Westword's list of Denver's best croissants. Ni Tuyo, at 730 South University, opened in 2022 from the team behind Adelitas and La Doña on South Broadway, and people come for its bubbling molcajetes. It takes walk-ins only.
University Boulevard, light rail and the library
University Boulevard is the main road in and out. RTD's route 24 runs along it with stops at Exposition and Mississippi, and heading south it reaches the University of Denver light rail station on Buchtel Boulevard, which serves the E and T lines and has a 540-space lot.
The Eugene Field Branch Library, at 810 South University, opened in 1970. A bond-funded renovation was slated to start construction in October 2026, so check the library's page before you count on it being open.
FAQ
Is Bonnie Brae an official Denver neighborhood?
No. On the city's map it falls inside Belcaro. Locally it means the area between Exposition and Mississippi Avenues, from University Boulevard east to Steele Street.
Why are the streets curved?
Developer George Olinger wanted a Scottish-style village, and in 1923 his company hired landscape architect Saco DeBoer to lay out streets that follow the land around a central oval park instead of the grid.
What kinds of houses are in Bonnie Brae?
Tudors with steep roofs, Spanish-style and modernist houses, and one-story postwar brick ranches, many in blonde brick, north of Bonnie Brae Boulevard. The neighborhood was built out by 1956.
Is Bonnie Brae a historic district?
No. A landmark effort failed in the late 1980s, so there's no historic design review, and houses here get pop tops, additions and full scrapes.
What's happening to the old Bonnie Brae Tavern site?
The tavern closed in June 2022 and the building came down in June 2025 to make way for a three-story apartment building.
How do you get to light rail from Bonnie Brae?
RTD's route 24 runs along University Boulevard to the University of Denver station, which serves the E and T lines and has a 540-space lot.
Where do people eat and shop?
On the 700 block of South University: Bonnie Brae Ice Cream, Katherine's French Bakery and Ni Tuyo.