Westwood

Westwood is the square of southwest Denver between Alameda Avenue on the north and Mississippi Avenue on the south, with Federal Boulevard on the east and Sheridan Boulevard on the west. Sheridan puts it right on Denver's western border. Athmar Park is across Federal, and Mar Lee starts on the other side of Mississippi.

How it filled in

Westwood grew up in the 1940s, with housing tied to the ordnance plant that went up to the west, in what's now Lakewood. Morrison Road runs diagonally through the neighborhood.

Houses built in a hurry

Most of the houses here come from that 1940s rush, and they went up quickly, without much thought for code or how long they'd last. At least one started life as a barracks. A few newer, denser buildings are going up, but most of the houses are the originals. On a house that old and that quickly built, assume decades of patches and fixes, and give the inspection report a slow read, especially the electrical, plumbing and foundation notes.

Morrison Road, the diagonal main street

Morrison Road slices across the neighborhood from Alameda down to Sheridan, and it's where the restaurants, bars and nightclubs are. The area is a state-certified Colorado Creative District. Kahlo's Mexican Restaurant, at 3735 Morrison Road, is decorated with Frida Kahlo's art and serves mole, enchiladas verdes and almost 30 juices and smoothies. It has a listing in 5280's restaurant guide. Over on Federal near Mississippi, Pho Duy at 925 S. Federal is a longtime Vietnamese pho shop. Since 2010, BuCu West has put on the free Westwood Chile Fest along the road most Septembers, with live music, more than 60 artists and vendors, and a pepper-eating contest.

Right now the road is a construction zone. The city started rebuilding Morrison between Sheridan and Nevada Place in August 2026, adding wider sidewalks, more lighting, new trees, speed cushions, better crossings and two pedestrian plazas. The south end goes first, the north half starts in early 2027, and the whole job is scheduled to wrap up at the end of 2027. If you're looking at a house on or just off Morrison, count on lane shifts and limited street parking until then. Properties along the road also sit in a maintenance district set up in 2004, and fees for adjacent owners go up starting in 2028, so ask whether a property you like is inside it.

Parks, gulch trails and a rec center on the way

Westwood Park has a nature play area with a hand pump for water and mud, playgrounds, a fallen-timber climbing area, outdoor fitness machines and a loop path past pollinator gardens. Seven laps make a mile. The Weir Gulch trail starts on the west side of Wolff Street and, together with the Sanderson Gulch trail, makes a loop of about five miles through Westwood and Mar Lee. On Alameda just west of Morrison Road, Cuatro Vientos (Four Winds) Park opened in October 2014 where a mobile home park and bar used to be, with a playground, water play, two turf fields and a walking loop.

The Westwood Recreation Center is under construction at Morrison Road and Walsh Place, on an old car wash lot, with an indoor pool, a gym, a pottery studio, an outdoor turf field and a teaching garden in the plans. It's a roughly $54 million project, and the grand opening is planned for late summer 2027.

Getting around

Four big streets frame the neighborhood: Alameda, Federal, Mississippi and Sheridan. The Morrison Road rebuild adds a new RTD bus boarding area on the southbound side at Tennessee Street.