Cherry Creek North

Cherry Creek North isn't one of Denver's official neighborhoods. It sits inside Cherry Creek, which runs from University Boulevard east to Colorado Boulevard and from 6th Avenue south to the creek. The name belongs first to a 16-block shopping district on 1st, 2nd and 3rd Avenues, from University to Steele Street, about three miles from downtown. North of the shops, up toward 6th, the streets are mostly residential. The blocks east of Steele and south of 1st go by Cherry Creek East.

Harman, the town under the shops

This ground was once the town of Harman, which incorporated in 1886 and went broke in the silver crash of 1893. Residents voted to join Denver in September 1894.

Two buildings from that era still stand north of the shops. Harman's 1891 town hall, an Italianate brick building by architect Franklin Kidder at 4th Avenue and St. Paul Street, is a Denver landmark and a private house now. The Mission-style Sixth Avenue Community Church building at 6th and Adams, from 1925, was added to the National Register in 2010.

The shopping came later. After a 1933 flood the city used a gravel pit by the creek as a dump, and the first shopping center went up on the filled ground in the early 1950s. In 1989 the blocks north of 1st became Colorado's first business improvement district.

Newer homes among older ones

Past the shops, the residential streets are tree-lined, with newer homes mixed in among some of Denver's older ones. Detached houses are scarce. The Assessor counts about 330 across all of Cherry Creek, and 41 percent were built in 2000 or later, against 31 percent before 1940. The median house runs about 2,860 square feet. That leaves roughly a hundred pre-war houses in the whole neighborhood, so if an older house is what you want, be ready to move fast when one lists.

The city adopted the Cherry Creek Area Plan in 2012 and rezoned the area, about a square mile, in 2014. Since 2020, ten large infill projects have been finished or started in the shopping district, with five more under review. If you're weighing a condo here, ask what's planned on the next lot.

Second Avenue, Clayton Street and the shops

The district has more than 300 stores, about 75 cafes and restaurants and 50 spas and salons. The Cherry Cricket, at 2641 E. 2nd Ave., has been a bar at that address since 1945, was featured on the Travel Channel's "Man v. Food," and won Westword's readers' pick for best burger in Denver in 2026. Barolo Grill, at 3030 E. 6th Ave. on the north edge, is a Northern Italian dinner spot with a deep wine list, and it has been in the Michelin Guide Colorado since the first edition in 2023. South of 1st, the mall adds about a million square feet and more than 160 stores, anchored by Neiman Marcus, Macy's and Nordstrom.

Arts festival weekend and construction

The Cherry Creek Arts Festival runs over the Fourth of July weekend (July 2 to 4 in 2027). It fills 2nd Avenue from Clayton to Adams Street and the blocks between 2nd and 3rd from Detroit to Adams, with about 260 juried artists and free admission. If you're looking at a place on those blocks, plan around that weekend.

Construction is the other thing to plan around. As of May 2026, eight projects were under construction across Cherry Creek, three of them office buildings due that year, including an eight-story tower at 201 Fillmore St. Parking is tight, and fencing covers curb spaces on some blocks.

Getting around

Head west on 1st Avenue and it becomes Speer Boulevard, which carries you downtown. University and Colorado Boulevards both run south to I-25, and the 7th Avenue Parkway runs along the north side. RTD bus routes serve the neighborhood. The Cherry Creek Trail starts at Confluence Park downtown and follows the creek along the south edge.