Harvey Park

Harvey Park is in southwest Denver, south of Jewell Avenue and north of Yale Avenue, with Federal Boulevard on the east and Sheridan Boulevard on the west. Sheridan runs through it, so the neighborhood has an east section and a smaller one on the west side. Mar Lee is to the north. Harvey Park South, a separate neighborhood built around the old Loretto Heights campus, starts on the other side of Yale and has its own page.

A bandleader's ranch, then 4,000 houses in four years

Much of this ground was once the Black and White Ranch, which jazz bandleader Paul Whiteman owned as a retirement place for his parents. Arthur Harvey bought the land in 1948, and Denver annexed it in March 1954. After that it filled in fast: nearly 4,000 homes went up between 1954 and 1957.

The houses, and the Cliff May ones in particular

Nearly every house here dates from the same decade. Denver Assessor open data puts 93 percent of the roughly 3,540 detached houses in the 1940 to 1959 window, at a median of about 1,100 square feet. Lou Carey built custom houses around Riviera Lake.

The ones that get the attention are the roughly 170 designed by Cliff May, the California architect. They were sold as tract homes from prefabricated parts, with three color schemes to pick from. You'll spot them by the open floor plans, floor-to-ceiling windows and private courtyards, and most are smaller than 2,000 square feet. Historic Denver put them on its 50 Actions for 50 Places list.

Two practical notes. Expect a compact house, so if you need more space, look for one that's already been added onto or has a finished basement. And if it's a May house you want, the open plan and the glass are what make it one, so pay attention to how much of that a past remodel kept.

Three lakes, two of them private

Harvey Park Lake, Riviera Lake and Wolcott Lake are all inside the neighborhood. Harvey Park Lake is in the city park and is a favorite with bird watchers. Riviera Lake, at the north end, is ringed by those 1950s custom houses, and the Riviera Circle Lake Club runs member events there. Wolcott Lake, to the south, is managed by the Lakeridge Association and charges annual dues. If lake access is part of why a house appeals to you, ask the seller whether a membership comes with it.

The city park and Harvey Park Recreation Center

The park has a paved walking trail, tennis courts and its lake. Harvey Park Recreation Center, at 2120 S. Tennyson Way, has a gym, a weight room, a cardio room, a pickleball court and an outdoor pool that opens for the summer swim season.

Federal, Sheridan and Jewell

The houses fill the streets between those three roads, and the commercial strips and most of the traffic sit on them, so expect to drive for errands. Crown Lanes, at 2325 S. Federal, is an old-school bowling alley and sports bar, a gathering place for league bowlers and Friday night crowds, with strong drinks and classic bowling-alley food. It's closed Sundays. On the west side, Cơm Nhà Kitchen & Bar at 2133 S. Sheridan serves Vietnamese food made for sharing, like pho tacos and bò né, and its owner grew up in Harvey Park. Jaime's Mexican Restaurant, at 1910 S. Depew on the far west edge, does breakfast, street tacos and fajitas. Back on Federal, San Antonio Fresh Mexican Bakery at 2007 S. Federal shapes its conchas, cuernos and bolillos by hand before sunrise. Chalmers-Hadley Branch Library sits at Federal and Jewell and opened in June 1964.