Windsor

Windsor is the southeast Denver neighborhood bounded by Alameda Avenue on the north, Mississippi Avenue on the south, Quebec Street on the west and Havana Street on the east, where Aurora takes over. Two big landholders shape almost everything here, a cemetery and a condo complex, and the High Line Canal runs past both.

Fairmount Cemetery came first

Fairmount opened in 1890 at Alameda and what was then Oak Street, now Quebec, a long trip out onto the plains from the city of that time. Reinhard Schuetze, who also designed Washington Park and Cheesman Park, laid it out. The Gate Lodge and the Little Ivy Chapel both date to the opening year, and the Fairmount Mausoleum opened in 1930. The city has designated all three as Denver landmarks.

For three years starting in 1893 the cemetery ran its own railroad, about a mile and a half south from Center Avenue and Quebec to the front gates, connecting with the Colfax Electric Railway. Today it covers 280 acres with 78 kinds of trees. If you buy nearby, the drives and paths make a quiet loop for a walk under old trees.

Windsor Gardens and the condos around it

Most of the homes in Windsor sit in or around Windsor Gardens, an age-restricted condominium complex for adults 55 and older. It spreads across 154 landscaped acres, with 2,689 units in 72 buildings, and its management office is at 595 S. Clinton Street. Inside are a community center and auditorium, a fitness center, a woodshop, a library, an indoor pool with saunas, and an outdoor pool open from Memorial Day weekend through September 15. Plan for association dues on top of the mortgage, and read the age rules before you set your heart on a unit there.

Around the complex are subdivisions of 1970s houses, townhomes and condos without the age rule, including a small subdivision at the southwest corner of Alameda and Havana. If you want a townhome or a house with no age requirement, those pockets are where to look.

Emerald Greens and a place to eat

Emerald Greens Golf Club, at 595 S. Clinton, is a nine-hole par-3 that opened in 1965 and is open to the public, with putting and chipping greens for practice. The Windsor Gardens complex has its own restaurant too. Up on Alameda, Cucina Bella is a family-run Italian place that opened in 2022, with happy hour all day Monday and 2 to 5 pm Tuesday through Friday.

The High Line Canal and Windsor Lake

The High Line Canal borders Fairmount on the south and runs the full length of Windsor Gardens. A pump house on the canal once fed water into Windsor Lake, which was kept for watering the cemetery. The trail behind the condos is part of the long canal path, so from here you can walk or ride toward Green Valley Ranch one way or Waterton Canyon the other.

Buses on Alameda and Quebec

RTD's Route 3 runs Alameda, with stops at Alameda and Havana and at Alton and Clinton by Windsor Gardens. Head west and it reaches Alameda Station for light rail; head east and it ends at Aurora Metro Center Station on the R Line. Route 73 runs Quebec between Central Park Station on the A Line and Belleview Station. If you'll ride the train often, check how far your door is from a Route 3 stop.