Cole

Cole is just northeast of downtown Denver. Downing Street is the west edge and York Street the east, with Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard (the old 32nd Avenue) along the south and 40th Avenue across the top. Walnut Street clips off the northwest corner, up against RiNo.

Ford's Addition, then a name borrowed from a school

Two cattle-ranching brothers, Hiram and William Ford, platted Ford's Addition here in 1871, and the area became part of Denver in 1874. Jobs at the rail yards, smelters and stockyards in the Platte River Valley fed the growth, and about half the residential blocks were built by 1900. The rest were filled in by 1930. The name Cole came later, from the junior high, which honors Carlos M. Cole, an early Denver school superintendent.

Bungalows, Denver Squares and some Victorians

Cole is mostly single-family houses on a regular street grid, so a detached house is the usual purchase here. You'll see Victorians, Queen Annes, Denver Squares and plenty of bungalows. The best-kept run is the Cole Neighborhood Historic District, the 3200 and 3300 blocks of Vine and Race Streets, on the National Register since 1995. Nearly every house there is brick, set back the same distance from the street, with a grass strip between the sidewalk and the curb. Most are one- and one-and-a-half-story Craftsman bungalows with full-width front porches, and the blocks also have a few Classic Cottages and Tudor Revivals, one Mission-style house, plus detached garages from the same era. If a street of matching century-old brick bungalows is what you're picturing, walk Vine and Race between MLK and 34th before anywhere else.

The red brick and sandstone Hyde Park School at 3620 Franklin Street was designed by Robert Roeschlaub, Colorado's first registered architect, and Wyatt Academy uses it now. The Warren Branch library at 3354 High Street, finished in 1913 with Carnegie money, holds residential lofts today.

Bruce Randolph Avenue

The 34th Avenue that crosses the middle of Cole carries the name of "Daddy" Bruce Randolph, who ran Daddy Bruce's BBQ at Gilpin and 34th and gave out a free Thanksgiving meal every year. The city renamed part of 34th for him in 1985. His old building now holds Corner Ramen & Poke, open since 2016, which serves tonkotsu and spicy miso ramen, poke bowls and pork belly buns and is in 5280's dining guide.

Up on Williams Street at 37th, Brasserie Brixton is a small French bistro with steak frites, French onion soup, a burger and a short natural wine list, and it's in the Michelin Guide.

Russell Square and the smaller parks

Russell Square Park covers 2.3 acres at 36th and Vine. The rebuild that started in 2022 kept the playground, open field and mature trees and added nature play, an outdoor classroom, basketball courts, habitat gardens and public art. St. Charles Park holds the northwest corner, and George Morrison Sr. Park forms the southern boundary along MLK.

Getting around

RTD's 38th & Blake station is a few blocks past the northwest corner. It's the first A Line stop out of Union Station on the way to the airport, and it has about 200 parking spaces.

The Rock Drill site at 39th and Franklin

The biggest change is at the north end. The old Denver Rock Drill factory at 1717 E. 39th Ave. made pneumatic rock drills for mining, and its sawtooth-roofed buildings have sat mostly empty since about 2010. City Council approved the rezoning in September 2025, and the plan calls for 700 to 800 homes, offices, retail and a hotel, keeping most of the east side's sawtooth buildings and registering close to a dozen warehouses as historic. If you're looking at houses near 39th Avenue, expect a large construction site close by once work starts, and walk it before you write an offer.